In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
Your Excellency President Dr. Heinz Fischer,
Excellencies and Highnesses,
Your Excellency the Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Your Excellency the United Nations High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like first to express my thanks and gratitude to His Excellency President Heinz Fischer for his kind invitation for me to participate in this important Forum, for the good organization and preparation to make it a success and for the warm welcome and generous hospitality.
I am pleased to express my appreciation to His Excellency Mr. Jorge Sampaio for his efforts to strengthen the role of the Alliance.
I would also like to congratulate H.E. Mr. Nassir bin Abdulaziz Al-Nasr on taking over the post as the High Representative for this important Alliance.
This Forum assumes great importance currently in the light of the circumstances witnessed by the world, where the severity of divisions have increased as a result of tensions, conflicts and instability in many parts of the world.
The world is replete with political and ideological divisions that require continuous efforts from the international community to eliminate the causes of disputes and risks of conflict and to work hard and diligently to spread the values of the culture of understanding and coexistence, marked by dialogue, alliance of civilizations and development of sound relations between nations and peoples.
There is no doubt that dispute and conflict are signs of power politics and domination throughout history, and will remain so, but the question facing by the international community is about the possibility of imposing dialogue and negotiation as a basis for conflict resolution, and the quest for the commonalities that constitute concerns and challenges for the whole humanity, as well as in coping with those who dress conflicts and disputes in the mantle of civilizations, as if we encounter a clash of civilizations.
Therefore, we have to lay the foundation, through the political and popular will, for setting up a global human community based on shared values and respect the cultural and religious specificities, where international law prevails over all, without any double standards and selectivity in dealing with countries and peoples.
Also, we should strive to find equitable solutions to global problems through genuine respect for the values, norms and principles instilled into the hearts and minds of humans, which promote constructive cooperation, and achieve security, peace, prosperity and sustainable and equitable development for all nations and peoples.
While our ultimate goal is to achieve peace, security, stability and development, it is regrettable and unfortunate that violence prevails in many parts of the world. The acts of violence and gross violations of human rights inflicted on Syrians and Palestinians constitute a disgrace to humanity. The international community should bear its responsibilities by standing up to address these violations and to back the Syrian and Palestinian peoples to attain their legitimate rights. There are still major powers in the world that adopt an unfair attitude preventing the resolution of the last colonial issue in history, the Palestinian cause, which is exacerbating and constituting a constant source of tension in our region. It also constitutes a reason for people to believe that racism is still prevalent in the international community, making them skeptical about the fairness in enforcing international law. Recently we have witnessed a supportive attitude by major states towards the genocide committed by a regime that lacks legitimacy in Syria, while other countries do not act beyond verbal condemnation.
Mr. President,
The previous period has witnessed an increase in the aspects of misunderstanding Islam and Islamic civilization, along with the increasing suffering from marginalization, discrimination and hatred to which Muslims are subjected in many parts of the globe.
These aspects, among others, emphasize the urgent need for the Alliance of Civilizations’ initiative to build prospects of cooperation between various nations and peoples, and address tensions and conflicts as well as eliminate any factor that might further widen the gap between the nations. There is no doubt that the complexities of striking a balance between freedom of expression and respect and protection of rights, sanctities, beliefs and feelings of others, and the failure to criminalize racist practices all contribute to the clash of civilizations’ myth gaining ground, help instill the discourse of hatred in the collective consciousness, spark the flame of conflict, and undermine efforts to disseminate the principles of convergence, co-existence and promotion of cultural diversity among peoples.
Understanding others and respecting their cultures and beliefs, as well as the renunciation of extremism, hatred and racism constitute the most effective way to pull the plug on the pretexts of those who exploit these aspects to encourage violence and terrorism.
In this context, the media should shoulder a growing responsibility in portraying the right image of the other while avoiding biased assumptions and stereotyping others. The media should look at facts to judge accordingly. The success of the dialogue among civilizations depends largely on the availability of this level of rationality and impartiality in media, which should take into consideration that they have a mission and humanitarian responsibility. Even under the domination of market laws, its mission should go beyond creating sensations, and securing high readership rates. The media should also take account that their writers and journalists might be biased as a result of their own upbringing and education, and that freedom of expression is vital but not enough, as it ought to be coupled with responsibility. I am talking here about the ethical and human rather than political responsibility.
Therefore, we emphasize the importance of consolidating the effort to redress fallacies and address all destructive trends that promote the spread of hatred, extremism and violence, hindering the prospects of dialogue and alliance among civilizations. The major test in this respect is not what we say in conferences but in tackling such destructive ideas internally; when they assume a form of political demagogy that would embarrass rulers, or when their ban contradicts freedom of expression, we need to adopt awareness-raising means, or even find new legal means to address them.
May peace and blessing of Allah be upon you.