(MENAFN- Gulf Times) HE the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi chaired Qatar's delegation to the Ninth Bali Democracy Forum, which kicked off in Bali, Indonesia, yesterday.
Addressing the Forum, HE al-Muraikhi said Qatar believes in the importance of protecting religious freedom and promoting peaceful coexistence among nations in order to contribute to spreading the spirit of religious tolerance and respect for diversity among the people of all sects.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs stressed that Qatar pays great attention to the importance of dialogue between religions which reflected in hosting the annual Doha Conference on Interfaith Dialogue and the establishment of the Doha International Centre for Interfaith Dialogue (DICID) aimed at spreading the culture of dialogue, the peaceful coexistence of humanity and the acceptance of others.
The Minister said that Qatar's strategy in addressing these issues stems from its National Vision 2030 which stipulates the contribution towards international peace and security through political initiatives and developmental and humanitarian assistance, referring in in this regard to the successful Qatari mediation in resolving a number of conflicts, including in Sudan's Darfur region, the conflicts between the Lebanese and Yemeni factions and the Djibouti-Eritrea border crisis.
Qatar has made significant humanitarian and development assistance to more than 100 countries around the world, the Minister added.
Difference and diversity is a divine rule, al-Muraikhi said, adding that the United Nations has stressed the need for coexistence and tolerance between religions as a mean to achieving peace and harmony in the world and spare it from the horrors of sectarian conflicts and disputes, which was clearly manifested in the United Nations General Assembly Resolution on October 20, 2010, combating hate speech, calling for spreading a culture of peace and justice, fostering mutual respect and understanding and living together in peace and harmony.
‘‘The world is in dire need today that the wise leaders, who are able to deal with differences and resolve conflicts in the spirit of tolerance based on a historical responsibility and the rejection of hatred and racism', he said.
‘'Young people in the Arab and Muslim worlds are looking forward to a better future, in which they will not be confined between the hammer of violent extremism groups and the anvil of tyranny and dictatorship regimes', al-Muraikhi said, stressing that the best way to counter violent extremism and terrorism is addressing its root causes including marginalisation, degradation of human dignity, the absence of social justice, employment and widespread of poverty and corruption.
In this context, he stressed the need to establish a democratic process, which respects pluralism, political consensus, differences, respect of religious diversity and the rights of minorities while protecting rights of the majority of all factions and political actors in all stages of democratic transition leading to a smooth and peaceful transfer of power in order to enable communities to cross into the future.
He stressed the importance to focus on achieving sustainable development objectives, meet the challenges of climate change, lay a system of good governance and confront the phenomena of financial and administrative corruption.
Islamic history is marked in a number of great Islamic capitals and cities such as Baghdad, Damascus, Al Quds, Samarkand and Cordoba by religious pluralism and coexistence and tolerance between Muslims, Jews and Christians along with a doctrinal pluralism among Muslims, al-Muraikhi added.
The Islamic religion urges righteousness, justice and good treatment among all human beings, al-Muraikhi said, referring in this regard to the Prophet's (Peace be upon him) treatment of non-Muslims according to the principles righteousness and fairness.
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