Witnesses of Mercy for Peace and Reconciliation

69 WITNESSING MERCY FOR PEACE AND RECONCILIAT ION beliefs? Is mercy limited to a few courtesies and offering a little kindness and charity or does it include all of us cooperating in the name of humanity? In this we recall: “There are two kinds of people, either a brother to you in religion or your equal by creation.” Considering that the requirements for life and its problems are complicated and numerous, they must be addressed with strength in order to resolve them and to instil hope in our souls. While duty requires us to give prime importance to those closest to us, it is still incumbent upon us to go beyond the place where we find ourselves in order to reach out and connect with those around us in our societies and in our nations, there- after to a wider environment and to the world. Then we will share ourselves with those who are different from us. Thus we will encompass a complete overview so that we can face common issues. This responsibility is religious, social and moral to such an extent that it is a responsibil- ity of governments and states. What our world is seeing in the Middle East is ter- rifying and tragic. Mercy has breathed its last breath before the crush of oppression, conquest and savagery. Religion has almost become the path to slaughter, vio- lence and hatred instead of fulfilling its true mission of being the way to a humanity leading onto greatness. We are on the verge of knocking down our civilization and religions ourselves. There is some hope and goodwill from believers who confront violence with good words, radicalisation with love, and injustice with mercy. And there are calls for peace through the emotionally charged positions that are initiated by such gatherings to influ- ence for the common good as we have at this meeting here. But unless we all ask God to have mercy on us and on you, to support people of spiritual breadth, to reach solutions and wisdom and to return to the essence of religion and what it commands of mercy and empathy – unless this comes to pass we will fall. We collectively hope that this meeting – one that has brought together practitioners, opinion leaders and esteemed friends – will send a clear and strong message about our agreements on common values that all of our religions and creeds share. We wish to maintain this agreement regarding the idea of mercy, which His Holi- ness the Pope announced as the subject of a jubilee year and which is also a duty imposed on us by our faiths and our common values – a message to spread reconciliation, compassion, mercy and above all, peace. He is God, the essence of peace, The Most Merciful. His Excellency Judge Sheikh Makarem HE Judge Gandi Makarem is the personal representative of His Eminence Sheikh Naim Hassan Sheikh Aql from the Druze community in Lebanon. He has a masters degree in law. Pictured opposite: HE Judge Gandi Makarem (left) in conversation with Rev. Dr. Michel Jalakh