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Winners’ Speech at World Interfaith Harmony Prize Giving Ceremony

April 17, 2019Your Majesty, Your Highnesses, Your Excellencies, World Interfaith Harmony Week team and honoured guests. I greet you in the name of all that is Good and Holy and True. I greet you in the name of Peace. What do we say, when thank you is not enough? In a world where innocent and beautiful dreams are buried every day through hate crimes motivated by religious extremism, we are deeply aware of the responsibility of the work we do and of the significance of receiving the 2019 HM King Abdullah II Prize for our work in the United Nations’  World Interfaith Harmony Week. Apart from the immense encouragement it gives us in our work, it also gives us a global platform from which we must and will continue to spread the message of interfaith, encourage fellow organisations and to carry the light of love for the other, wherever we may go. We are enthused to continue our work, always striving to ...

Angela Merkel presents peace prize to Jordanian King Abdullah

March 30, 2019Chancellor Angela Merkel has presented the “Lamp of Peace” to Jordanian King Abdullah II for his human rights efforts. Merkel received the Catholic prize last year for promoting “peaceful coexistence among peoples.”      Jordanian King Abdullah II received the “Lamp of Peace of Saint Francis” at a ceremony in the Italian city of Assisi on Friday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as last year’s recipient, presented the monarch with the award. Abdullah has been given the Catholic award for promoting human rights, interfaith dialogue and Middle East peace, and for taking in Syrian refugees fleeing the conflict in their country. Promoting interfaith harmony In her presentation speech, Merkel praised Abdullah for sending “an important signal in 2007 when he supported the letter sent by dozens of Islamic scholars to Christian leaders.” She also mentioned Abdullah’s 2010 call for a UN “World Interfaith Harmony Week” that is now celebrated annually across the world in February. In addition, the chancellor praised Jordan for not “closing ...

Franciscans give Jordan’s king peace award

March 30, 2019Lamp of Peace awarded to King of Jordan Abdullah II Dale Gavlak   Jordan’s King Abdullah II urged greater co-operation to take on serious challenges worldwide as he was awarded a top Catholic peace prize by the Conventual Franciscans of the Sacred Convent of Assisi in central Italy. The annual award, known as the Lamp of Peace, recognises King Abdullah’s promotion of peace in the Middle East, support of interreligious dialogue, welcome of refugees and educational reforms. “To me, the Lamp of Peace of St Francis symbolises how peace lights our way forward to a better future for all people, of every faith and country and community,” Abdullah told a packed St Francis Basilica, housing the saint’s relics and the renowned fresco series of his life. “But it is our task to provide the fuel for that light, and what fuels global peace is mutual respect and understanding,” Abdullah emphasised, receiving strong applause. “It is only by combining our efforts ...

Pope and grand imam sign historic pledge of fraternity in UAE

February 22, 2019In first papal visit to Arabian peninsula, Francis calls for end to wars in Middle East Harriet Sherwood in Abu Dhabi  Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb in Abu Dhabi on Monday. Photograph: Luca Zennaro/EPA The pope and the grand imam of al-Azhar have signed a historic declaration of fraternity, calling for peace between nations, religions and races, in front of a global audience of religious leaders from Christianity, Islam, Judaism and other faiths. Pope Francis, the leader of the world’s Catholics, and Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the head of Sunni Islam’s most prestigious seat of learning, arrived at the ceremony in Abu Dhabi hand-in-hand in a symbol of interfaith brotherhood. The document pledges that al-Azhar and the Vatican will work together to fight extremism. Claiming to be in the name of “all victims of wars, persecution and injustice”, it warns against a “third world war being fought piecemeal”. It says: “We resolutely declare that religions must never incite war, hateful attitudes, hostility ...

Jamaica sponsors World Interfaith Harmony Week

February 22, 2019Jamaica sponsors World Interfaith Harmony Week Photo by Tangerine Clarke Courtenay Rattay, ambassador and permanent representative of the Permanent Mission of Jamaica, making opening remarks at the World Interfaith Harmony Week 2019 observance. Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations, Ambassador, Courtenay Rattay on Feb. 6, told world religious leaders, humanitarians and guests at the United Nations Headquarters in New York city, that World Interfaith Harmony Week is more than a celebration, noting that it is a manifestation of the shared values of coexistence, fraternity and human understanding. “The recognition of interfaith dialogue is an important condition for sustainable peace and development. As such, it is our duty and responsibility to ensure that interfaith harmony is mainstreamed in the implementation of each and every goal of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.” “Every religion, every country, and every culture has something positive to contribute to the promotion of social harmony and human values, and to the achievement of the 17 ...

World Interfaith Harmony Week

February 22, 2019AMMAN — The World Interfaith Harmony Week kicked off in Amman on Wednesday. The event is being held by the Awqaf Ministry in cooperation with the Chief Islamic Justice Department and the Jordan Interfaith Coexistence Research Centre (JICRC).  His Majesty King Abdullah’s initiative for World Interfaith Harmony Week, which was endorsed by the UN General Assembly, reflects Jordan as a real model for harmony, Awqaf Minister Abdul Nasser Abul Basal said. Abul Basal, who inaugurated the event on behalf of Prime Minister Omar Razzaz, said that harmony is the path for coexistence, which allows a nation to realise its goals and potential while keeping fanaticism at bay, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. The minister added that harmony is a prerequisite for cultural growth, which has become an important factor for the nation to create its future and overcome problems hindering its development. World Interfaith Harmony Week was first proposed at the UN General Assembly on September 23, 2010, by ...

Promoting Interfaith Pluralism and Understanding for Prevention

February 22, 2019http://webtv.un.org/watch/promoting-interfaith-pluralism-and-understanding-for-prevention/6004252526001 19 Feb 2019 – High-level interactive panel discussion in celebration of World Interfaith Harmony Week (A/RES/65/5) organized by the Permanent Mission of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the United Nations and the Permanent Mission of Spain to the United Nations in partnership with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the United Nations Office of Counter Terrorism (UNOCT). The event will provide an opportunity for UN Member States, UN entities and the international community to celebrate the three commandments that are at the heart of every belief – the love of God, love of one’s neighbour, and love of goodwill. Special focus will be placed on the role of inter religious dialogue in promoting mutual understanding and peaceful coexistence. SOURCE

Celebrating World Interfaith Harmony Week 2019

February 22, 2019Communities across British Columbia celebrated World Interfaith Harmony Week (WIHW) in a variety of ways. Encouraged by official proclamations issued by the Province of British Columbia as well as several cities and municipalities, individuals and groups from a wide variety of faith traditions joined in a week of dialogue, music, food and service to one another. A number of interfaith organizations — including the Surrey Interfaith Council, Global Clergy Association, Multifaith Action Society and the United Religions Initiative — joined with individual congregations from the Muslim, Sikh, Baha’i, Jewish, Hare Krishna, Hindu and numerous Christian faiths and communities to celebrate. Dr. John Borrows, professor of law at the University of Victoria, addresses nearly 200 people at the 12th Annual World Religions Conference. Borrows was one of three Christian presenters discussing how their faith helps them find God. 1 / 4One Billion and Rising volunteers in Surrey, B.C., listened to speakers address violence against women and children prior to assembling care ...