Promoting Peaceful Coexistence and Common Citizenship

[ 30 ] — INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE FOR PEACE — does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes — from being righteous toward them and acting justly toward them. Indeed, God loves those who act justly” (Qur’an 60:8). God the Almighty has spoken the truth when He said, “There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of God an excellent example for anyone whose hope is God and the Last Day and [who] remembers God often” (Qur’an 33:21). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his companions demonstrate the most refined practical appli- cation of peaceful coexistence, manifesting the justice and tolerance of Islam in dealing with people of other faiths. All of our religions call upon us to love our neighbours, whether they live next door, in neighbouring countries, or are simply our neighbours in humanity. Similarly, all reli- gions call upon individuals to respect the rights of their neighbours and defend them against aggression. This is the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) who said: “Exchange greetings of peace, feed people, [prostrate] in prayer when others are asleep and you will enter paradise in peace.” This was the Prophet’s first message when he entered Madinah after emigrating from Mecca. At the same time, he strictly warned against inflicting harm to neighbours — so great is the right of a neighbour that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) considered anyone who harms his neighbour stripped of his faith. He said: “By God, he is not a believer. By God, he is not a believer. By God, he is not a believer.”The companions asked him: “Who is that, O Messenger of God?” He said, “The person whose neighbour does not feel safe from his evil.” Honourable guests, the world is in dire need of dialogue platforms based on firmly established principles. We need a dialogue that respects our contexts and does not seek to stir animosity, hatred or impose hegemony over one anther. We need a dialogue that is based upon religious plurality and cultural diversity. Under no circumstances should dia- logue be unilateral; rather, it should promote rapport and build bridges of understanding and cooperation in fulfil- ment with the will of command of God the Almighty. God created different nations and tribes so that they might know each other as per His words: “O humankind, indeedWe have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of God is the most righteous of you. Indeed, God is knowing and acquainted” (Qur’an 49:13). We are striving hard to create this kind of dialogue that goes beyond closed rooms and to build bridges of under- standing among nations and followers of different religions. It is our hope that this great dialogue initiative will go beyond the walls of conferences to help the public understand the nuances of religious principles and fathom the divine wisdom behind religious diversity, consequently allowing them to counter evil-mongers anywhere in the world. As the head of a great religious institution, Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta , it gives me great pleasure to take part in this event. I am full of pride and confidence that I follow in the footsteps of the previous scholars of the noble Azhar andmuftis who have established the means for promoting religious dialogue and coexistence.The Dar al-Ifta was keen to translate these values into something tangible through its events, fatwas, statements, initiatives and its international conferences. There is no doubt that, in order to reap the fruits of these HE Sheikh Dr. Shawki Ibrahim Allam Grand Mufti of Egypt Dr. Allam is the 19th Grand Mufti of Egypt. In February 2013, he was elected by Al-Azhar’s Council of Senior Scholars, headed by Sheikh Ahmad Al-Tayeb. Allam is also a professor of Islamic jurisprudence and law at the Al-Azhar University, and has written more than 25 works, many of which address issues pertaining to women. He received his PhD in 1996 from the Al-Azhar University in Jurisprudence and Sharia law and served as chairman of the Department of Jurisprudence at the School of Sharia at Al-Azhar University’s Tanta branch. It is our hope that this great dialogue initiative will go beyond conference walls to help the public understand the nuances of religious principles and fathom the divine wisdom behind religious diversity