President Zaradri urges interfaith harmony and understanding

PPP Greater London

WASHINGTON: President Asif Ali Zardari told the conference on interfaith and cultural harmony at the United Nations on Thursday that Pakistan rejects those who are sowing hatred in the world and dividing religion against religion and nation against nation, something that negates the legacy of the patriarch Abraham.
Zardari complimented King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, the motivating force behind the conference, for having revived the great Islamic tradition of reconciliation and inclusion. He credited the King for having opened the largest women's university in his country and for having travelled to the Vatican and hence opened a dialogue between the two largest religions of the world. He recalled that Benazir Bhutto had sacrificed her life for the cause of tolerance, dialogue and the avoidance of a clash of civilisations. Pakistan, he added, was created according to the vision of the Quaid-e-Azam and his dedication to the pluralism sanctified by the Holy Quran. "Islam is tolerant of other religions and cultures and internally tolerant of dissent," he added.
Zardari said there is nothing more un-Islamic than discrimination, or violence against women or terrorism "“ the killing of innocent men, women and children, a crime expressly prohibited by the Quran. "Unfortunately," he conceded, "at a time when most Muslims are advocating interfaith dialogue they also witness events that frustrate our call for dialogue. We hear hate speeches across countries and regions in which Islam as a religion is attacked. Hate speech against Islam also leads to injustices against Muslims. Indeed the imaginary fear of Islam has been rising. This is exactly what the terrorists had hoped to provoke. Those in the West that accept this are falling into the trap of the terrorists. This imaginary fear of our religion has created a new form of discrimination and is giving rise to new tensions," the Pakistani president told the conference, being attended by several heads of state. "
Zardari said he would like to propose that hate speech aimed at inciting people against any religion should be considered unacceptable. Injustice and discrimination on the mere basis of one's faith must be discouraged through word and action. Bigotry manifested in Islamo-phobia and anti-Semitism must be combated. Dialogue, and not discord, between civilisations and faiths must be encouraged. Nations with few resources caught in the crossfire of extremism should be helped, strengthened and aided by the international community. People should be engaged, not isolated. He also called for the elimination of the root causes of extremism and terrorism, giving all people in all societies renewed faith in their countries, in their laws, and in the future of their children. The menace of terrorism should be condemned, not its innocent victims. "This meeting on inter-faith dialogue must be the beginning of a new journey for our nations, in the immortal word of my beloved wife, a journey of 'reconciliation', " Zardari concluded.