Religions for Peace

 STATEMENT FROM THE SECRETARY GENERAL
ON THE UNITED NATIONS “CULTURE OF PEACE”

13 NOVEMBER 2008

Saudi King Abdullah and UN SG Ban Ki-MoonPeople of faith around the world in Religions for Peace, the world’s largest and most representative multi-religious coalition, hailed Saudi King Abdullah’s historic call for multi-religious dialogue at the High-Level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. I personally joined with the Heads of State, United Nations officials and religious leaders who gathered together to make calls for multi-religious dialogue in this unprecedented “Culture of Peace” meeting. I also had the opportunity to engage in discussions with His Majesty at a reception he hosted last evening for religious leaders. His Majesty’s deep personal commitment was clear to all. 

King Abdullah’s call for dialogue is fully aligned with the mission of Religions for Peace, its solid principles of respect for religious differences and its forty-year history of building peace through common action. Religions for Peace stands ready to collaborate with His Majesty in a principled and action-oriented fashion.  

Religious leaders around the world are increasingly united in the conviction that multi-religious cooperation is a key to building peace. Great spiritual and moral strength is necessary for the actions that are required to address today’s challenges of war, extreme poverty and the vulnerability of our shared earth. Political initiatives have too often closed the door to the positive roles that multi-religious cooperation can play in building peace. King Abdullah has taken a major step to open that door.   

Religions for Peace shares King Abdullah’s conviction that without engaging the world’s religious communities in cooperative efforts there will be no durable peace between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. H.E. Shimon Peres, the President of Israel, expressed a similar sentiment yesterday morning in his remarks during the Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Religions for Peace recalls with appreciation some of the immediate background of King Abdullah’s initiative at the United Nations: the historic meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in November 2007 which the Vatican recognized as advancing the discussion on the need for multi-religious dialogue; the Mecca Conference in June 2008 which  identified clear Islamic  principles for dialogue; and the World Dialogue Conference in Madrid in July 2008 which set forth a global initiative to advance multi-religious dialogue and cooperation. 

Religions for Peace leaders around the world have been deeply involved in King Abdullah’s initiative to advance multi-religious dialogue. Furthermore, Saudi religious participation in Religions for Peace, spanning decades, can be appreciated as valuable steps along the way to His Majesty’s recent acts of leadership. We recall, in particular, the Secretaries General of the World Muslim League, Their Excellencies Drs. Abdullah bin Omar Nasseef and Ahmed Mohammed Ali, who served on the international boards in Religions for Peace. We are also grateful for the current leadership of H.E. Sheikh Nasser Almutawa Alotaibi, our International Trustee from Saudi Arabia. 

We know from long experience in some of the most difficult places on earth that sincere and principled cooperation among diverse believers has a unique power to solve real problems and do good on earth. 

We also know in Religions for Peace that each of our religious communities is a majority in some places on earth and a minority in others. In either case, we are united in advancing the fundamental respect for the full dignity of each person and protecting his or her basic human rights, including the freedom of religious belief and practice. We can and must respectfully help one another to more fully achieve these noble high standards. 

As we reflect with appreciation on King Abdullah’s important initiative, we can recall with gratitude the many acts of remarkable courage that the leaders of our various religious communities have made in advancing multi-religious cooperation for the common good. Let us also re-dedicate ourselves to the long road of cooperation for peace, encouraged by the promise of recent developments. Leaders in each of our communities are now uniting in their calls for principled multi-religious cooperation for the common good of the human family.