Common factors instrumental in connecting mankind
ABU DHABI: Shaikh Abdullah Bin Bayyah, President of the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies and Chairman of the UAE Fatwa Council, stated that capitalising on the faith in human convergence between peoples, as well as appreciating them and reinforcing them, will help end misunderstandings and conflicts.
Followers of the Abrahamic faiths share the traditional narrative of values and virtues and the origins of ethics, which established the foundations of peace and coexistence among communities, he added.
He made this statement during his speech at the “Abrahamic Faiths Initiative Forum” organised virtually by the US State Department, in cooperation with the Abrahamic Faiths Initiative, which was established by the Vatican at the start of 2020. The forum is being chaired by Samuel D. Brownback, Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom at the US Department of State, with the atendance of prominent religious and intellectual figures from around the world.
Shaikh Bin Bayyah stressed that common factors connecting people can protect human dignity, through promoting elements that Islam calls the five necessities, which are religion, life, the mind, property and family that are common factors in all faiths, especially the Abrahamic faiths.
“In Islam, we respect all faiths and do not deny the contributions of other religions and civilisations in creating humanity’s ethical values. Religious ethics are still able to guide the world to salvation from its problems, such as the COVID-19 crisis,” Shaikh Bin Bayyah further said while urging people to promote the values of cooperation and solidarity.
The “New Alliance of Virtue”, which was launched by the Abrahamic Family last year in Abu Dhabi last year, will create a reference for this new beginning, he further added, noting that these are not only theoretical principles but can be implemented within a practical approach.
Signed by a group of the world’s most respected Islamic scholars, faith leaders joined by experts from governments, and representatives of civil society organisations, the New Alliance of Virtue aims to elevate religious freedom, cooperation, and tolerance from mere possibilities to necessary ethical commitments and legal obligations.
The Alliance affirms that religions of the Abrahamic family have common and distinct theological and ethical traditions. They share values of the Abrahamic faiths, as well as the rights with which all human beings are naturally endowed.