ABU DHABI, Secretary-General of the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity (HCHF) Judge Mohamed Abdelsalam has participated in a roundtable discussion titled “The Human Fraternity Document and the Christian-Muslim Dialogue”, organised by the Senegalese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Community of Sant’ Egidio in Rome.
Judge Abdelsalam said that the long-standing relationship between Islam and Christianity have grown unbreakable since it began with the advent of Islam.
He explained that the early relations evolved into a unique model of coexistence and citizenship between the followers of the two religions and since then, integration and convergence have become a characteristic of Muslim-Christian relations in the Arab world.
In the early era of Islam, the East and the West had mature manifestations of such relations as exemplified in the historic dialogue between St. Francis of Assisi and Al-Malik Al-Kamil, Sultan of Egypt, Abdelsalam noted.
The secretary-general pointed out that these relations have taken another dimension, beyond mere dialogue and scientific discussions, under the leadership of His Holiness Pope Francis, Head of the Catholic Church, and His Eminence Dr. Ahmed el-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, who have a shared vision and a sincere desire to achieve peace for all human beings.
He stressed that the HCHF was formed to implement the principles and values of the historic Document on Human Fraternity that embodies such a humanistic vision of the two figures. In so doing, the Committee seeks to establish international partnerships and launch ambitious initiatives that take into account the world’s realities, he added.
In his remark about the HCHF’s key initiatives, Abdelsalam said the Abrahamic Family House is one of the Committee’s key initiatives that includes a church, a mosque, and a synagogue in one place, for the first time in history, in Abu Dhabi, the land of peaceful existence, noting that the project will provide a shared space for dialogue and existence while affirming and respecting the peculiarities of each religion. He also shed light on the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity initiative which is aimed to celebrate and encourage those who promote human fraternity values.
Judge Abdelsalam noted that in its second round the award went to Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Latifa Ibn Zayatin, for their remarkable efforts to spread peace and counter extremism.
Source: Emirates News Agency