In particular, the new appeal insists on the need to foster dialogue between the different confessional and cultural identities that values human reason and the sharing of common values.
Newsroom (November 8, 2021, 8:30 AM Gaudium Press) – Jordan’s Prince El Hassan Bin Talal along with a group of Arab and international scholars, thinkers and religious figures — Muslim and Christian — have launched a global appeal to protect worshippers and places of worship.
The Jordanian prince chairs the Arab Thought Forum and also the Board of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies.
The signatories included Father Rifat Bader, director of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media in Jordan; retired Bishop Salim Sayegh of Jerusalem; Nayla Tabbara, president and co-founder of the interfaith Adyan Foundation in Lebanon; and Gabriel Said Reynolds, professor of Islamic studies and theology at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana. Professor Ali Muhyiddin Al-Qura Daghi, Secretary General of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (Qatar); Turkish professor Arshad Hormuzlu; Saudi professor Khalil al Khalil; Dr Ahmed al Khamlichi, Director of the Moroccan Foundation Dar Al-Hadith al Hassaniya; Lebanese scholar Nayla Tabbara, co-founder of the Adyan Foundation; Imam Yahya Pallavicini, President of the Federation of Italian Islamic Organizations; Dr. Martino Diez, Director of the Oasis International Foundation; Atallah Hanna, Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Sebastia amongst others.
The text of the appeal presents original contents, while moving within the horizon already outlined in the Document on human fraternity for world peace and common coexistence, signed on February 4, 2019 in Abu Dhabi by Pope Francis and the Sunni Sheikh Ahmed al Tayyeb, Grand Imam of al Azhar. In particular, the new appeal insists on the need to foster dialogue between the different confessional and cultural identities that values human reason and the sharing of common values.
“In the face of what we see as the continuation of repeated attacks on places of worship and on the souls of safe worshipers in several places in this world, and based on a common human and moral responsibility, we call upon a group of religious leaders, scholars and thinkers … to urge all people to reject all forms of extremism, hatred and painful practices against the spirit of faith and human dignity,” the more than 40 signatories said in their appeal.
“Hate speech and polarization that provokes hatred and justifies bloodshed continues to escalate” and is accompanied by some who resort to “the misuse of religions and beliefs as a pretext for violence, exclusion and discrimination.” They stressed that.
The Muslim and Christian signatories continued: “These abhorrent targets also include historical and archaeological sites and architectural heritage, including museums, libraries and manuscripts, which is an erasure of the memory that preserves the civilizations of peoples and their value core from extinction.”
“There is no doubt that the attack on places of worship and their sanctity at a time when worshippers perform prayer and religious rites in their premises is the culmination of these atrocities. This leads us to a legitimate question: Isn’t it time to consider the issue of freedom of worship as an integral part of the right to life and to consider the value of human heritage in relation to culture and identity?” they stated.