Promoting Peaceful Coexistence and Common Citizenship

[ 29 ] — RELIGIOUS LEADERS’ PLATFORM — endeavour to fan the flames of conflict, sectarianism, and terrorism and rob us all of our God given dignity. God the Almighty has made diversity in His creation. He has determined man to have different colours, languages, religions, and perceptions as He says in the holy Qur’an: “But they will not cease to differ except whom your Lord has given mercy, and for that He created them” (Qur’an 11:118–9). Whoever is able to fathom the divine wisdom of this diversity will be able to understand God’s command to respect all humankind, confirmed and affirmed in the words of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) who said: “None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.” When we say that the message of Islam is universal, we mean that it is a message that means to engage every person. The message of Islam is not limited to the borders of Mecca or to the Arabs, but is general to all peoples and places. God the Almighty says: “Blessed is He who sent down the crite- rion (i.e. the Qur’an) to His slave (i.e. Muhammad) that he may be a warner to the worlds” (Qur’an 25:1). The early Muslims were able, through the universality of their message, to engage with other civilizations and nations embracing a diversity of cultures and different religions and norms. TheMuslims epitomized the universal message of the Qur’an that includes verses such as: “We have not sent you but as a bearer of glad news and warner to the whole of human- kind” (Qur’an 34:28), and prophetic traditions such as “God the Almighty has sent me as a mercy to all humankind.” Islam has established rules and principles for coexistence with followers of different faiths in various contexts, times, and places, allowing Muslims to integrate and live in per- fect harmony with the societies in which they reside. God the Almighty has even made this a fundamental precept for cooperation and interaction with others. He says: “God