November 3, 2022
First session of Bahrain Dialogue Forum
Manama, Nov. 3 (BNA): The opening session of the “Bahrain Dialogue Forum: East and West for Human Coexistence” highlighted the importance of interreligious dialogue regionally and internationally.
The session on “Promoting Global Coexistence and Human Fraternity” was moderated by Aladdin Project President, Dr. Leah Pisar.
Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (SCIA) President, Member of the Muslim Council of Elders Shaikh Abdulrahman bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, and other religious and figures touched on Bahrain’s historic approach on embracing different religions, faiths, and their followers.
The two-day forum is within Bahrain’s keenness to build bridges of dialogue among leaders of religions, sects, thought, cultures and media, in cooperation with Al Azhar, the Catholic Church, the Muslim Council of Elders, and other international institutions concerned with dialogue, human coexistence, and tolerance.
The speakers highlighted their pleasure in participating in this distinguished forum supported by HM the King’s vision of empowering unity and religious freedom amongst all, marking Bahrain a hub for peaceful coexistence.
Speakers from different international organisations reviewed experiences of promoting coexistence to overcome conflicts and challenges.
Former Niger President and Muslim Council of Elders Member, Mahamadou Issoufou, explained that what the world is going through today in terms of political, economic, and security conflicts and crises, in addition to the issues of poverty, hunger and climate, have put people under enormous pressure that requires cooperation, rapprochement, and convergence through interfaith dialogues to achieve peace and security.
Maronite Patriarch of Antioch Bechara Boutros Al Rahi said that the forum is a link between the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together”, signed by the Pope and the Grand Sheikh of Al Azhar in Abu Dhabi in 2019, and the message of peace, launched by the Pope in 2020 under the slogan “We are all brothers”, which confirms that all human beings are equal in rights, duties, and dignity.
The Patriarch Council for the relations with the Islamic World of the Russian Orthodox Church Hieromonk, Grigory Matrusov, highlighted the danger of conflicts and wars on the security and stability of humanity in light of the development of the times and the requirements of globalisation, hence the need for peace, tranquility, and contemplation in how to reach a world that accepts the existence of the other with difference without dispute.
His Eminence Matrosov pointed out to the necessity of solidarity among religious, civil, and governmental institutions to confront the malicious conspiracies hatched to strike peace among religions and distort their image through terrorist crimes committed by some extremists in the name of religion.
In his review of the efforts of the Kingdom in coexistence and peace, Ethnic Understanding Foundation President Rabbi Marc Schneier praised the Kingdom’s efforts globally by building bridges of communication among peoples through initiatives to lead in this field, including the second stop in the GCC during the foreign visits of His Holiness the Pope.
The World Council of Churches Secretary-General Ioan Sauca, reviewed several human experiences and stressed the importance of addressing issues to build and encourage coexistence.
He explained that one of the most important experiences of coexistence facing humanity in recent years is the climate issue that requires unity, cooperation, and real determination to change human behaviour to overcome this crisis that threatens the planet.
The Muslim Council of Elders Secretary-General Dr. Mohamed Abdelsalam concluded the session with an explanation of the universal language of love adopted by all the participations of the session, making Bahrain a living and noble model for devoting the values of tolerance and establishing peace.
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