Promoting Peaceful Coexistence and Common Citizenship

[ 25 ] — RELIGIOUS LEADERS’ PLATFORM — establishment of a formal body for interreligious collabora- tion in the Arab world, with a concrete strategy, plan, and defined common goals, has never happened before. We are making history, but it will mean nothing if we don’t follow through our discussions with action. KAICIID’s role is to facilitate dialogue and cooperation, but this platform initiative emerges from within your communi- ties, and is designed for your communities—a collective effort, addressing a shared responsibility. We are here to support you in your implementation but, without all of you, this platform would never be possible. So I ask you, first and foremost, do you believe that this initiative can really make a difference to our world, and will it present a sustainable path to peace? Can religious leaders commit to working together to implement the action plan under this platform? At KAI- CIID, we certainly believe so. I have hope for sustainable cooperation and for a better future. Together, let us restore what has been damaged, let us take back religion from those who hijacked it. Together we can demonstrate the true essence of any religion—peace, humanity, coexistence, and common citizenship. Fahad Abualnasr KAICIID Director General Fahad Abualnasr serves as Director General of KAICIID, in charge of proposing, developing and implementing new programmes and projects with the guidance of the Secretary General. He oversees the day-to-day operations of the Centre, as well as the strategic alignment and coordination of the organization. Mr. Abualnasr led KAICIID through its first comprehensive exercise to define the 2016–2019 strategy plan and is responsible for ensuring its effective implementation. He has also been closely involved in the conceptualization and implementation of the Centre’s flagship initiative “United against Violence in the Name of Religion”. In addition to his work at KAICIID, Mr. Abualnasr chaired the founding committee and successfully established the Al-Aghar Group, an independent think tank in Saudi Arabia. He is also on the Board of Directors of the i2Institute, established to support entrepreneurship and social innovation for scientists, technologists and engineers in the Middle East and beyond. He also managed the project titled “Building Saudi Arabia´s National Innovation Ecosystem Framework”, in close cooperation with KACST, the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. HB Cardinal Mar Béchara Boutros Al-Rai am pleased to participate in this international conference, and extend a sincere tribute to KAICIID’s Secretary General, HE Faisal bin Abdulrahman binMuaammar, thanking him for his kind invitation. I also salute all of the participants. My speech today addresses the following theme: “The contribution of the Christian religion in combating violence, in order to promote dialogue and coexistence — a theologi- cal approach”. 1 The Christian faith asserts that violence in the name of God, or in the name of religion, is a true ideological devi- ation, contrary to the teaching of the Gospels. The Lord Jesus Christ left us an example in his suffering and death for the redemption of humankind. The Apostle Peter tells I Together, let us restore what has been damaged, let us take back religion from those who hijacked it