Read, appreciate to understand tolerance
dubai — Tolerance starts with reading a book and having the complete willingness to understand the unknown about others, a UAE minister said on Thursday.
Speaking during the opening ceremony of the 10th Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in Al Mamzar, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance, said that to understand the true meaning of tolerance, people must be willing to “open the books we haven’t read, be willing to read books, comprehend them and appreciate what we read”.
“We are here because we value the ways in which words come together to make meaning. Words enable us express our thoughts,” said Al Nahyan to a crowd of authors and delegates at the festival themed For the love of words.
The event also marked the official launch of the festival’s commemorative 10th anniversary book, For the Love of Words that features 84 inspirational voices of the festival. “We all know the immense difficulty of finding the right words and putting them in right places so they present thoughts with accuracy, style, power and excel in tolerable rustle with words and meanings.”
He noted that readers’ engagement in the worlds of different authors illustrates the benefit of tolerance.
Al Nahyan referred to the diverse population of the UAE that includes over 200 nationalities, stating that tolerance was embedded and in-
We are here because we value the ways in which words come together to make meaning. Words enable us express our thoughts,” Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak
troduced with the country’s leaders led by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. When building the nation, Sheikh Zayed invited talented and ambitious people from all over the world and peacefully sheltered them under the UAE’s welcoming tent.
“Our success relied on spirit of tolerance inspired by leaders who have encouraged us to take the first and necessary step towards understanding what we don’t know about other people, their thoughts, cultures, history, values and emotions.”
He added that engaging with the other and comprehending and appreciating them is a step that starts with every book people read.
“Each book enables a new understanding of ourselves and other people,” he said.
During the opening ceremony, Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh, Minister of State, was named as the Festival Personality 2018 for being an integral part of the cultural scene in the region and contributing to literature with his collection of books and ability to read and speak many languages. Running until March 10 at Intercontinental Hotel in Dubai Festival City, the festival this year features over 180 authors from 47 nations to engage in over 200 panel discussions around health, art, history and literature.
Some of the notable names include Jane Hawking, Andrew Morton, Ibrahim Nasrallah, William Dalrymple and famed personalities Kate Adie, Jenni Murray and Shashi Tharoor.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com