Ladies and gentlemen
I am very pleased to be here amongst this gathering.
I would like to thank the organizers of this seminar which is being held to
honour Dr. Mohammad Iqbal, the great poet and philosopher from Pakistan who
wrote most of his work in Farsi.
The subject of my speech today is: Dialog amongst religions and
international relations to avoid confrontation and bring about peace in the
world
We live in a pluralistic world in which there are many faiths, different
religions such as Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam.
If one of these religions tries to impose its thoughts on others it would be
met with resistance and as a rule no one can claim that a particular
religion should be dominant in the world, but if we take a deeper look at
all the religions we will notice that the thoughts and teachings of all the
religions in fact confirm and propagate one concept and that is prosperity
and deliverance for mankind.
When we reach this conclusion that God has sent religion for the guidance,
for the good of and deliverance for mankind we become motivated and try in
earnest to explore all avenues to attain true deliverance. Such actions can
be described as "dialogue amongst religions"
It is natural for every religion to claim that it guides human beings in a
better and nobler way. This means that I, as a Muslim, believe that Islam is
a more comprehensive religion. If I did not accept this I could not be a
true believer. A Christian also thinks in the same way. A Christian also
thinks that his religion is complete.
Dialogue amongst religions is one of the necessary arguments and special
attention must be paid to it. We are now in the 21st century, but
unfortunately, in every corner of the world prejudices and destructive
religious thoughts bring about changes in the way people view others. These
changes normally have violent tendencies. So much so that people who used to
have peaceful co-existence, suddenly attack individuals, mosques, churches,
or insult religious sanctities. It is with regret to say that we witness
this trend in many European countries.
In the present day world, one of the reasons for ethnical and religious
clashes is lack of mutual understanding on both parties. This understanding
can come about from both direct contacts with the main body of the societies
by being present in the society or through the noble men and women of the
societies. The purpose of religious dialogue is not the description and
illustration of one's own religion to others and learning a bit of theirs.
The purpose is to help in the creation and advancement of world civilization
based on peace, love, kindness and friendship.
All the religions share the common theme of monotheism, and the oneness of
God, the Day of Judgment, and prophet hood and in all of them humanity
feature prominently.
Dialogue amongst religions can be based on this concept: humanity.
It is not necessary to be the follower of this religion or that. Rather, our
conscience must be awake and we must choose the good over the evil. There is
one path to be followed and that is the path of truth.
We must move ahead with this in mind that "blessed are those who seek
blessing for others".
To achieve this, at first we have to consider the commonalities of all the
religions. A Muslim, a Christian, a Jew must at first learn to be religious.
That is to say, a Muslim should try to be a good Muslim; A Jew should try to
be a good Jew. If they all adhere to the general teachings of their religion
and follow its instructions they will reach a single truth: God Almighty.
In these dialogues we are not trying to persuade a Jew or a Christian to
convert to Islam. We have to pursue this aim that a Jew remains a good Jew
and a Christian to remain a good Christian.
Even at the advent of Islam, Muslims do not force any Jew or Christian to
convert to Islam. Rather they are told that you can become a Muslim, or
remain faithful to your own religion, and we can enter into an agreement
within which we can interact.
A believer must respect other human beings, bestow nobility upon them and
enter into dialog with them. It is a fact of life that human beings have to
live side by side on this planet and the closer and more limited the
geographical domain the more the need for compromise and mutual
understanding.
In today's world, globalisation, immigration and communications have made it
possible for large and diverse ethnical and religious groups to live side by
side. These people, whilst being proud of their own faiths and culture share
common human values.
Regarding politics and international relations I would like to state that
the different legal conventions passed, or numerous international
organizations established and ethical declarations made, have all been to
alleviate the hardships, oppressions, and injustices that human beings have
been and still are being subjected to.
The United Nations was first established to help the people of this earth.
It is true that 5 members of this organization obtained extra rights over
the others, but the essence of creating international organizations was
based on ethics and help for all man kind. But in this day and age, these
establishments should not be political tools at the disposal of big powers.
If the international organizations condemn an unpleasant event in one
country, a similar event in another country should not go without any
reaction.
If the use of weapons of mass destruction is bad, as it indeed is, then why
isn't the use of such weapons by one state against its neighbour condemned
by the UN?
When world peace has been put in jeopardy, and one nation has been aggressed
by another, why does it take weeks, or even months for the UN to take a
stance, not even a decisive one at that? Examples are the all-out Iraqi
aggression against Iran and this summer's Israeli aggression against
Lebanon. In another instance like the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait the reaction
of the Security Council is swift, as indeed it should be.
Unilateral actions under such false pretext as pre-emptive measures and
fight against terrorism, not only do not bring nations together, but can
have destructive repercussions.
The presence of Western forces in some parts of the world arouses this
suspicion that still the old thinking of domination over natural resources
of other nations persists in some minds.
In this connection, the presence of Western forces in the Middle East, has
not only failed to secure security and stability to the region but has
actually brought about more instability and insecurity.
Mention was made of terrorism to which I would now like to devote a few
words.
Terrorism is an evil phenomenon which can not be justified under any
circumstances and it has to be confronted with. But this can not be done by
ignoring the roots of it.
Though no clear definition of terrorism has been given, from an Islamic
viewpoint terrorism can be defined as: killings outside legal framework,
driving people out of their homes and towns and making them homeless,
destruction of civil infrastructure, spreading of conspiracy and corruption
and creation of chaos.
A bitter and regrettable truth, to which some people in the West are
indifferent, to say the least, is that under the pretext of fighting
terrorism some states are given a free hand to commit atrocities of the kind
mentioned, using advanced and the most sophisticated military hardware
without their actions ever being perceived as terroristic.
We condemn terrorism in whatever form. Despite the problems we have had and
still have with successive governments of the United States, the then
president of my country, was amongst the first to condemn the September 11
attacks.
Islam is the religion of peace. Islam is a religion of moderation. The Holy
Prophet has invited the faithful to refrain from extremism and has stated
and I quote: I swear to God, almighty, He whose neighbour is not at peace
through his actions and tongue is not a true believer.
Islam and terrorism are diametrically opposed to each other. Islam condemns
terrorism in all forms. There is therefore, no justification for anyone to
speak of Islamic terrorism and Islamic fascism.
I would like to conclude with this sentence from Albert Einstein: Peace can
not be maintained by force; rather it has to be achieved through mutual
understanding.
I hope that in the current century the world, by recognizing the rights of
one another and honouring their obligations, can reach the necessary
understanding to establish peace and justice throughout the world.
Thank you ladies and gentlemen for your patience.
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