The World Week of Harmonious Interfaith Relations is celebrated in the first week of February of each year and calls on people of all faiths to harmonious relationships. The UN General Assembly called on all states on a voluntary basis to support the spread of the ideas of interfaith harmony and goodwill throughout the week in churches , mosques , synagogues , temples and other prayer houses around the world based on love for the Almighty and love for one's neighbor or reverence for kindness and love to your neighbor, depending on your own religious traditions or beliefs [1] .
General Information
On September 23, 2010, at the 65th session of the UN General Assembly, King of Jordan Abdullah II proposed proclaiming the first week of February of each year as the World Week of Harmonious Interfaith Relations [2] . In his speech, Abdullah II said:
- It is also necessary to counteract the forces of schism, seeking to sow misunderstanding and distrust, especially between peoples professing different religions. In reality, people all over the world are closely connected with each other, not only by mutual interests, but also by the general commandments about love for God and neighbor, love for good and neighbor. This week, our delegation, with the support of friends on all continents, will introduce a draft resolution on the holding of the annual World Week of Harmonious Interfaith Relations. We suggest that within one week, people around the world, gathering at places of worship, talk about the commandments of tolerance, respect for others, and peace embodied in their religious teachings. I hope that the Assembly will support this draft resolution. [3]
On October 20, 2010, the Prince of Jordan, Ghazi bin Muhammad, Special Advisor and Personal Envoy of King Abdullah II, as well as the author of the resolution, submitted to the UN General Assembly in New York a proposal for a World Week of Harmonious Interfaith Relations. The resolution was adopted unanimously.
The resolution continues the Common Word initiative, created in 2007 by Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad. The basis of this initiative, as well as the resolution, is the common idea of love for the Almighty (or veneration of goodness) and love for one's neighbor.
In his address to the General Assembly, Prince Gazi stated that the goal of the World Week for Harmonious Interfaith Relations is:
- to morally support the silent majority of preachers, inspiring them to preach in favor of peace and harmonious relations, and to provide them with a ready-made mechanism for this. In addition, if preachers and religious mentors publicly commit themselves once a year to preach in favor of peace and harmonious relations, then the next time there will be another inter-religious crisis or provocation on this basis, they will not be able to return to a small-town state of fear and mistrust and, in all likelihood, will be able to resist incitement [4] .
Draft resolution A / 65 / L5, entitled “World Week of Harmonious Interfaith Relations”, was put forward by Jordan and received the support of another 29 countries: Azerbaijan, Albania, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Guyana, Guatemala, Honduras, Georgia, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Yemen, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Costa Rica, Kuwait, Liberia, Libya, Mauritius, Morocco, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Paraguay, Russian Federation, El Salvador, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey and Uruguay.
Resolution text
UN resolution 65/5 states: [5]
- General Assembly,
- Recalling its resolutions 53/243 A and B of 13 September 1999 on the Declaration and Program of Action for a Culture of Peace, 57/6 of 4 November 2002 on the promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, 58/128 of 19 December 2003 on the promotion of religious and cultural understanding, harmony and cooperation, 60/4 of October 20, 2005 on the Global Agenda for Dialogue among Civilizations, 64/14 of November 10, 2009 on the Alliance of Civilizations, 64/81 of December 7, 2009 on promoting interreligious and intercultural dialogue, understanding and cooperation for peace and 64/164 on December 18, 2009 on the elimination of all forms of intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief, recognizing the urgent need for dialogue between different faiths and religions in strengthening mutual understanding, harmony and cooperation between people, recalling with satisfaction the various global, regional and subregional initiatives related to mutual understanding and harmonious interfaith relations, including the Trilateral Forum on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace and the “Common Words” initiative o ", recognizing that the moral duty in all religions, beliefs and faiths is the desire for peace, tolerance and mutual understanding,
- Reaffirms that mutual understanding and inter-religious dialogue are important components of a culture of peace;
- proclaims the first week of February of each year as the World Week of Harmonious Interfaith Relations between all religions, faiths and faiths;
- calls on all states on a voluntary basis to support the spread of the ideas of interfaith harmony and goodwill throughout the week in churches, mosques, synagogues, temples and other prayer houses throughout the world based on love for the Almighty and love for one's neighbor or respect for good and love for one's neighbor, depending on one's own religious traditions or beliefs;
- Requests the Secretary-General to continue to inform the General Assembly of the implementation of this resolution.
Notes
- ↑ United Nations Official Website , World Week for Harmonious Interfaith Relations, February 1-7
- ↑ RIA Novosti , World Week of Harmonious Interfaith Relations.
- ↑ HM King Abdullah proposes World Interfaith Harmony Week at the UN
- ↑ Speech by Prince Gazi bin Muhammad ,
- ↑ Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on October 20, 2010 , 65/5. World Week of Harmonious Interfaith Relations.