Activities

 THE MUTUAL KNOWLEDGE
 OF CIVILIZATIONS AND MESSAGES

Speech  Miss Khulud Annonu

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم و أفضل الصلاة و أتم التسليم على سيدنا محمد و على اله و صحبه أجمعين :

All praise is due to Allah the Cherisher and Nourisher of the entire Universe. I would like to begin my presentation by a verse from the Holy Quran which says

 (يا أيها الذين أمنوا انا خلقناكم من ذكر و أنثى و جعلناكم شعوبا و قبائل لتعارفوا أن اكرمكم عند الله أتقاكم ان الله عليم خبير )

O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full Knowledge and is well-acquainted (with all things).

There is no doubt that Islam is the religion of dialogue, and each Muslim by his nature might be tending to what is so-called dialogue with others.

There is an Arabic proverb says," The disagreement in the opinions does not necessary lead to miss the cordiality among people." Concerning to the matter of dialogue; Islam has confirmed this idea and relating to the early Islamic era. The prophet of Islam Muhammad (PBUH) was receiving lots of envoys from other religions, and he was welcoming them and responding to all their questions. The idea of dialogue can be clarified by remembering the famous story when the companions of the prophet had been hurt by the persecution of infidels, they were sent to Abyssinia because there was a just ruler. The prophet Muhammad says," There is a just ruler, so you will not be oppressed when you will restore to him." By this event, the essence of dialogue with others can be discovered.

In dealing with the matter of dialogue among civilizations, it should be said that it is a must, indeed a moral and human duty, it is a pre-requisite for initiating a positive and fruitful cooperation and establishing a peaceful co-existence among human. It requires, in addition to coherent wills and good intentions, a commitment to the goals aimed to reinforce the human values and principles, which constitute the common denominator of all civilizations and cultures.

Dialogue among civilizations contributes largely to bringing peoples and nations together and removing the barriers arising from mutual misunderstanding and unfounded stereotypes inhabiting the minds of people from a specific culture about the culture of other nations. Continuation of dialogue and enlargement of its scope becomes, therefore, a mission devolved upon intellectuals and religious scholars, as it is part of the dialogue among religions, and also upon cultural and scientific competencies and all segments of

society, as well as a responsibility to be discharged by all those concerned with the future of humanity, each one from his position.

To be more efficient and useful, dialogue among civilizations requires the multiplication of international attempts in such a way as to cover different areas and regions at the initiative of institutions and organizations having a common interest as well as universities and cultural and academic circles. However, the efforts must be focused on spreading far and wide the values of dialogue and co-existence with a view to paving the way for rapprochement and understanding, and consolidating the human bonds linking different peoples and nations.

Finally, and since I was a student graduated from Al Fateh Islamic institute and currently I am an MA student at Hartford Seminary in the USA and on behalf of my professors in Al Fateh institute I would like to welcome the delegation who came to Syria three days ago. Also, I would like to take an advantage of my being here to talk briefly about my experience there. I can consider that Almighty Allah has honoured me to represent Islam. It is actually a huge responsibility, but honestly I have to say that I lived practically with my other Syrian friends the status of co-existence and peaceful life through insightful suggestions on how the United States can improve relations with Islamic nations and peoples. In addition to establishment a common ground between Islam and west. Therefore, Muslims shouldn’t deny that the West has many privileges also the West should have the same outlook about Islam.