by Rula Samain | May 12, 2014 | JORDAN TIMES
AMMAN — As long as there is no equality between humans, it will be impossible to put an end to extremism, HRH Prince Hassan said on Monday.
HRH Prince Hassan attends a conference on religion and violence on Monday (Petra photo)
Speaking at a conference on religion and violence, the prince, who is the chairman of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies (RIIFS) board of trustees, said such events and seminars are important in focusing on the relation between religion, violence and extremism.
“It is of great urgency to start a thorough study of the role of violence in common human history,” he noted, adding that religion and violence do not go together, and only forgiveness is key to resolving the world’s crises.
The extremist voices in all religions are the exception rather than the norm, the prince said, but the image presented by the media is manipulated to place more focus on extremism.
Violence is being used nowadays as a means of communication, he noted.
There is no religion superior to another; thus, religions should not compete but learn from each other.
“Seventy-six per cent of faithful people around the world are suffering… from restrictions on practising their religious rituals,” the prince said, calling for entrenching the “moral authority” shared by followers of all religions and focusing on humanitarian dialogue rather than the religious one.
The one-day event, organised by RIIFS in cooperation with the Italian embassy in Amman and the University of Petra, was attended by Christian and Muslim religious figures, diplomats and university students.
The Apostolic nuncio to Jordan, Archbishop Giorgio Lingua, said peace is the “spirit” of all religions, and originates from the hearts, minds and wills of all humans.
“The more we are close and connected to God, the more the feelings of brotherhood are experienced since we all are the sons of one God,” the archbishop added.
For the first time, Muslims and Jews will be accompanying the Pope on his visit to the Holy Land, he noted.
Pope Francis is scheduled to begin a visit to the Kingdom on May 24.
The Apostolic nuncio voiced hope that the visit will be a chance to enrich and develop brotherhood among people of different religions in the service of peace, and for the benefit of humanity in the face of violence.
During the conference, two sessions tackled religion and violence from historical and religious perspectives.
Petra University President Adnan Badran said current times are full of contradictions.
“The struggle we face nowadays is not between Muslims and Christians, but between the enlightened and the deluded, and [we] must not allow the deluded who are connected to violence and extremism to win,” Badran stressed.
SOURCE: JORDAN TIMES
Categories: Arab World, Asia, Jordan