WASHINGTON: Calling for a universal acceptance of the human rights to address religious intolerance, Pakistan’s Ambassador to United States Jalil Abbas Jilani said that Pakistan is playing a leading role in the United Nations to build consensus on religious tolerance.
Speaking at an interfaith Iftar dinner arranged at the Pakistan Embassy, he said that there was a need to promote religious and national identities based on common and cherished values of peace and amity in a globalised world. “Interfaith harmony is an important component of the approach that needs to be implemented in letter and spirit,” he said.
Representatives of Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhist and Sikh religion attended the event. Ambassador Jilani said that Islam was a religion of peace and harmony and there was no place for aggression, cruelty or injustice in the teachings of Islam. However, he regretted that the religion was sometime used as a pretext to promote bigotry.
– Battling ‘battle of ideas’ –
“This has fueled the menace of terrorism,” he said. He also said that this has emerged as the single largest threat to temporary existence and the international community needs to battle this battle of ideas in concert. In today’s interconnected world, technology and social media, there was a tendency to portray a negative image of religion leading to intolerance, Ambassador Jilani said.
“Politically-motivated fear mongering is a divisive practice resulting in hate and violence,” he warned. Pakistan has been actively involved in international efforts to curb terrorism and extremism, he said. “We have made countless sacrifices to eliminate this phenomenon. As the worst victim of terrorism, our demonstrated commitment to fighting this plague is second to none,” he said.
On the diplomatic front, he said that Pakistan as the chair of the OIC Group at the Human Rights Commission in Geneva has been playing the lead role in building consensus on religious tolerance. Ambassador Jilani said that founding fathers of Pakistan and the United States envisioned principles of interfaith harmony and coexistence for their respective societies.
He recalled that at the funeral of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, people of all faith, races and ethnicities gathered to pay homage to this great sportsman. “Today, more than ever before, we need religion and its common spiritual underpinnings as a unifying force of good,” he said and called for interfaith gathering to reiterate the resolve to reject hatred, terrorism and extremism. All leaders of different faith prayed in their languages for world peace and to adhere on commonalities present in their religions to create harmony, love and peace in the world.
