His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah, Chairman of the Emirates Council for Sharia Fatwas and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Peace Forum, praised the efforts made by the United Arab Emirates in the field of religious diplomacy, which was represented in embracing many initiatives at the highest levels, in order to spread religious values that call for peace and tolerance.
This came in the context of His Excellency Bin Bayyah’s participation in the work of the World Conference of Religions for Peace, which was organized in the city of Landau, Germany, in partnership with the German Foreign Ministry yesterday, under the slogan “Religion and Diplomacy” with the participation of more than 100 countries and about a thousand high-ranking international personalities from senior figures. Religious figures, representatives of the United Nations and some governments of the world, and the most prominent international figures active in the field of tolerance and religious dialogue.
In his speech, Sheikh Bin Bayyah expressed the importance of the issue of the relationship between religion and diplomacy, and considered that investing in this relationship can produce what benefits people and stay on the land, citing the words of the late Swiss philosopher and cleric Hans Keung: “There can be no peace in the world without peace between religions, and there is no peace between religions without interreligious dialogue.”
Sheikh Bin Bayyah added that these two sectors, namely the diplomatic religion, have a tremendous impact on people’s lives and in shaping the image of their present and future. In the context of emphasizing the wise vision of the UAE leadership in the field of peace, coexistence and interfaith dialogue, Sheikh Bin Bayyah stressed that the UAE included the principles of peace and tolerance among the ten principles guiding the state’s strategic plan for the next fifty years.
Sheikh Bin Bayyah recalled the transformation witnessed in recent years in the relationship between religion and diplomacy, which is represented in the keenness of international institutions such as the United Nations, the World Bank and others to involve the religious component in meetings and discussions on issues of security and peace. Considering that this transformation indicates that decision-makers around the world have begun to consider religion as part of the solution and not part of the problem, as the extremists seek to show.
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