ABU DHABI: Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance, has reaffirmed the UAE’s firm stance on the Arab identity of occupied Jerusalem, considered a core element in the Middle Eastern peace process.
Shaikh Nahyan made his remarks during a speech at the 4th Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies, held under the patronage of Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, which opened today.
The Minister of Tolerance went on to say that the UAE will continue to support the Arab identity of occupied Jerusalem and its legal status, in accordance with international laws and conventions, as well as continuing to support the rights of Palestinian people.
He described the issue of occupied Jerusalem as being the main guarantor of stability in the region, and as representing the essence of the peace process.
“Supporting the rights of the Palestinian people is a firm policy of the UAE. The nation’s leadership continues to support the efforts of the international community to establish the true principles of peace that serve the interests of all parties and to achieve security and stability in the region, without resorting to extremist speech,” Shaikh Nahyan added.
Addressing the participants in the Forum, Shaikh Nahyan emphasised the importance of forming an Islamic council of observers to monitor and document all cases of Islamophobia, acts of hate and violence against Muslims on a global scale. He stressed the importance of working hard to actively build successful alliances in countries with multi-cultural societies, to ensure careful and precise analysis of the causes and motives behind such hateful acts and to develop legislation to deal with such cases in an appropriate manner.
“This forum, held under the patronage of Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, is an embodiment of his pride in our heritage and of his desire to promote the values of tolerance, coexistence and peace between all nations and their peoples,” Shaikh Nahyan said.
The minister added that the UAE has shown, through its various initiatives, its desire to emphasise the role of religion in the progress of societies and the importance of dialogue and communication between individuals of all religions and beliefs, so as to achieve lasting peace and stability across the world.
“The UAE is a successful model, which demonstrates that opening up to the world and contributing actively in the international arena has led to its success as a leading nation. This success is attributed to the Founding Father, the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who always emphasised the use of communication and dialogue to achieve understanding between peoples, and that individuals working together will always lead to the progress and prosperity of societies on a local and global level.
“This wise vision has been carried forward by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan; His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President [and] Prime Minister [of the UAE] and Ruler of Dubai; and His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, who emphasise that dialogue, tolerance, and understanding between individuals is the way forward to building a world of peace, prosperity and stability,” Shaikh Nahyan continued.
He said, “The overwhelming majority of the world’s population have narrow local interests and little knowledge of other peoples or civilisations. This situation is used by malicious and ill-intentioned people to spread lies and fabrications about Islam and Muslims. Some of them claim to their fellow-countrymen that Muslims and immigrants are the causes of their economic suffering, others claim that attacking Islam and Muslims is a defence of democracy and human rights and they falsely accuse Islam of being incompatible with these values and concepts.”
“We see the result of this in the fear of Islam and Muslims felt by some people in many societies. This is then reflected in the discriminatory treatment of Muslims and in the increasing of violence against them. It is reflected, too, in the negative view in media when describing any events related to them, and in what we see in Western societies, especially the books, literature and websites that attack Islam and Muslims and working with the intention of twisting facts and falsifying the truth. Unfortunately, they use the challenges and effects of the phenomenon of globalisation and the consequent marginalisation of some segments of society, in addition to the movements of migration and refugees and the terrorist attacks carried out by some of those affiliated with Islam in the territories of those countries,” Shaikh Nahyan said.
