“This celebration means the quest for a better world in which the spirit of tolerance, fraternity, solidarity, and collaboration prevails,” said Professor Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, President of the Muslim Council of the Elders.
The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, who three years ago signed a Document with Pope Francis in Abu Dhabi, which was the origin of the UN Day, sent a video message on the occasion of the Day of Fraternity.
Address The Challenges of Contemporary Humanity
In the video message, the Imam recalled that this celebration also points to “a hope to provide effective tools to address the crises and the challenges of contemporary humanity, especially the anxiety of orphans, the poor, the displaced and the afflicted; those that suffer so much the harshness of life as well as the hardness of the hearts of wealthy people that have wealth, authority and influence.” Vulnerable people “have been victims of modern materialism in all its concomitant excessive egoism, the promotion of lust and desires, and the idolatry of human beings and their individualistic tendencies.”
Greeting to His “Dear Brother Francis”
The Imam also wished to send a greeting “with respect and reverence to my dear brother Francis, Pope of the Catholic Church, incessant courageous companion in the path of fraternity and of peace.” On this occasion, he also wished to express his “profound gratitude to his honorable brother Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, who follows his father’s charitable steps, for sponsoring this document, and for his genuine and sincere support of the initiatives to sustain, consolidate and spread worldwide the Document of Human Fraternity.”
The Grand Imam also wished to recall that the International Day of Human Fraternity is observed this year after the pandemic, “of which the world has yet to recover.” “It is hoped today that the omens, of fear and panic that hover over the world, will alert somnolent consciences and arrogant souls, to wake up people with private agendas from their lethargy to show solidarity with honest and wise leaders, to liberate humanity from these successive crises, which are accumulating in all corners of the planet,” he added.
Hope of a New World
Likewise, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb wished to greet the members of the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity, “who continue to work day and night to put into practice the objectives of this noble Document, launching numerous initiatives to this end.”
“We have started out on this path with the hope of a new world, free from wars and conflicts, where the fearful are calmed, the poor are supported, the vulnerable are protected and justice is administered,” stressed the Imam in the video message.
He ended by emphasizing his commitment so that” together with other religious leaders and lovers of the good worldwide, peace and global fraternity and the sense of companionship” is achieved and “all stimulation of hatred, conflict, and wars is eliminated.”
Translation by Virginia M. Forrester
