Promoting Peaceful Coexistence and Common Citizenship

[ 121 ] — CLOSING CEREMONY — consideration, and is not a topic of clear focus in emergent cultures with regard to the Other. Let me give you a second example. There are approxi- mately 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. Today, 600 million of them, almost one third, live in countries and communities in India, China, Europe and America that are non-Muslim. This is a very fundamental change too and, here again, the change is not a subject of clear focus within new cultures, vis-a-vis the Other. By a new culture I mean one based on the principles of accepting and respecting differences, human dignity, freedom of conscience and freedom of belief. These principles form a bridge of conviviality, a prerequisite for peoples of different religions and of different ethnicities living together. We at KAICIID, with the guidance of our Secretary Gen- eral, believe that this is a noble humanitarian mission. We have adopted the mission but we are realistic and well aware that we cannot do it alone. No other organization can do it alone, not even the United Nations. This has to be a collec- tive human effort. This is why we at KAICIID believe that our Centre is an international hub for all organizations that share this culture of bridge-building. This conference is one of many initiatives that we have so far taken to fulfil this noble goal. I can see many among you who have already participated in our previous actions. We are happy to continue our cooperation with you, together acknowledging that bridge-building is daily, con- tinuous work. It is not something that can ever be fully accomplished. The beauty of it is that it is a bridge between the hearts, minds and souls of people of different cultures and of different religions; a bridge that can be felt but not seen. Along with my two examples of demographic change, we see a rise in fanaticism and extremism all over the world due, on one hand, to the misinterpretation of religious texts and on the other, to the rise of religious phobia, mainly Islamophobia. Humanity needs, more than any time before, to pro- mote the culture of religious freedom in parallel with the demographic change that is sweeping across all continents. We cannot live together in peace and harmony if we don’t know the otherness of the Other. The more I give the Other a place in my heart and soul, the more I understand them and the better I understand myself. In this way, KAICIID understands both you and itself better. It is an organization based on religious and cultural plurality and dedicated to promoting this culture with you, and for you, all over the world. If we succeed, it is your success and if we do not, the mercy of God is the bridge between what we think is good and what we do. Dr. Mohammad Sammak Secretary General, National Committee for Christian–Muslim Dialogue For Dr. Sammak, dialogue is a way of life. It is the accomplishment of building bridges between peoples of different religions and cultures, and the art of searching for the truth in the point of view of the Other. Career Summary v Secretary General of Lebanon’s National Committee for Christian–Muslim Dialogue v Secretary General of the Islamic spiritual Summit (Sunnit–Shiit–Druze–Alawite) in Lebanon v Secretary of the Arab Group for Christian–Muslim Dialogue v Member of the Board of Presidents of the World Conference Religion for Peace, New York v Writer and political commentator for prominent newspapers such as Al-Ittihad , Abu Dhabi, and Al-Mustaqbal , Beirut; and author of 30 books. Bridge-building is daily, continuous work. It is not something that can ever be fully accomplished. The beauty of it is that it is a bridge between the hearts, minds and souls of people of different cultures and of different religions; a bridge that can be felt but not seen