Together We Stand

[ 45 ] Interreligious dialogue for humanitarian relief and sustainable development Faisal Bin Abdulrahman Bin Muaammar, the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue T oday there are many existing secular humanitarian relief and development efforts implemented by various groups. Prominently featured among these are secular efforts by international organizations such as the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the World Food Programme and the World Bank, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), such as CARE, Swiss Solidarity, the International Red Cross and Oxfam International and their networks. While they are valuable and much needed, these efforts often do not take into account the role of religion and religious institutions in the lives of the majority of the world’s population. Religious teachings and practice offer a fundamental basis upon which to build and foster humanitarian relief and development efforts. All religious traditions emphasize and stress the sacredness of human life. Saving lives and improving the human condition are primary values in all religious traditions. Calling for support of the poor and needy is a foundational religious value. Many religious traditions even demand their followers pay an annual share of their income to help people in need. Recognizing the potential of interreligious dialogue as a methodology for peacebuilding, the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID) was established under the auspices of Austria, Saudi Arabia, Spain and the Vatican to promote dialogue among religious leaders and institutions to encourage them to cooperate more effectively across religious differences, as well as to collaborate with a variety of secular and religious policymakers and civil society. KAICIID More than 40 religious leaders, representatives fromMuslim women and youth communities and civil society meet at the International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID) headquarters in Vienna in February 2016 to explore how the Muslim community in the CAR can work together more effectively in the aftermath of devastating civil conflict Image: KAICIID T ogether W e S tand