Promoting Peaceful Coexistence and Common Citizenship

[ 19 ] Unfortunately, violent extremists do not believe in this as a need for survival and the preservation of dignity. History has witnessed painful examples of extreme vio- lence and barbaric terror. When we understand the cultural and religious diversity of each other, we will reach a very high level of civilization and wisdom. We are speaking today on behalf of all Muslim people united under the Islamic nation. We affirm that Islam has honoured the freedom of belief since our Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: “I have been sent as a messenger to convey morals.” That’s why we are very honoured and pleased to witness and attend such meetings, especially since humankind has suffered from intercultural, interreligious, political and sec- tarian conflicts which have generated an incomplete history that lacks ethical values. There is a huge lack of continuity from the great thinkers and intellectuals of old. We need to encourage a common understanding so as to preserve our history, civilization, and humankind without alienation and restriction, both personal and political. Specific circumstances throughout history require spe- cific laws that guarantee change and transformation, taking care to avoid those principles which were established in other eras and would no longer suit our world today. The prisoners of history, when talking about reforms and creativity, are unable to move forward. Whatever their sources, we need the wisdom that is lacking in many parts of the world. How- ever, in order to be considered wise, we have to recognize the men and women who are known for upholding human rights. These are the individuals that should be honoured. We need a better quality of life, which is based upon real humanity and real human values, in order to achieve ethical and social justice. It would be wonderful if such values could be included in all constitutions so that nations can refer to them whenever needed. However, unfortunately this is not often the case because there are many people who are chasing the illusions that extremism offers them. This is a syndrome that leads individuals to blindly deny and with- draw from all human values. This is why we need to resort to constitutions, many of which currently lack ethical values. I would like to share an example of a recent conversation with a friend who told me that he had objected to a piece of legislation. When I asked him the reason he told me that it was because it was against our religious and spiritual values. So, I asked him why he did not include those values in the constitution so as to ensure their preservation. The day we become aware that many individuals seek personal interests, is the day we will realize that we need to return to the true values in order to achieve the positive beat- itude. Otherwise, we will again find ourselves in the midst of conflict, far away from the tenets of the divine teachings. Of course, we do not presume or pretend that all of us should have the same beliefs, the same constitution or laws. Our religion of Islam has taught us this and we acknowledge it. However, we call upon everyone to uphold common human values, which are not specific to one particular reli- gion or culture, but rather to our intrinsic human nature. This is how God created us and made us different from any other creature. We need to wisely protect our diverse ethnicities, knowing that they are a rich source of our cooperation, rather than a reason for exclusion HE Dr. Mohammad Ibn Abdulkarim Alissa Secretary General, MuslimWorld League HE Dr. Mohammad Ibn Abdulkarim Alissa holds a bachelor’s degree in Comparative Islamic Jurisprudence and master’s degree and PhD in Comparative Judicial Studies, and Studies in Common Law – Constitutional Law. After having been appointed Vice President of the Court of Grievances in 2007, he became Minister of Justice in 2009; honorary President of the Judiciary, and Adviser at the Royal Court in 2012; General Supervisor at the Ideological Warfare Centre of the Ministry of Defence in 2015; General of the Muslim World League, and Chairman of the international Body of Muslim Scholars, and Senior Scholars Organization, Saudi Arabia in 2016. In 2017, he was assigned as General Supervisor of the King Salman Centre for International Peace, Malaysia. — OPENING CEREMONY —