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Pope Francis (L) and Egypt's Azhar Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb greet each other as they exchange documents during the Human Fraternity Meeting at the Founders Memorial in Abu Dhabi on February 4, 2019. Pope Francis rejected "hatred and violence" in the name of God, on the first visit by the head of the Catholic church to the Muslim-majority Arabian Peninsula. / AFP / Vincenzo PINTO Image Credit: AFP

Abu Dhabi: The Higher Committee of Human Fraternity (HCHF) has called for May 14 to become a day dedicated to “fasting, works of mercy, prayers, and supplications for the good of all humanity” so that God ends the pandemic, according to the Emirates News Agency (WAM).

In a statement on Saturday, the HCHF urged people worldwide regardless of language, colour or faith to implore god through acts such as fasting, prayer or charity to ward off the pandemic.

“We implore God to help us overcome this pandemic, to restore security, stability, health, and prosperity so that our world may become, after this pandemic, a better place for humanity and fraternity to live in,” the statement said.

The committee called on religious leaders and people around the world to respond to this call to safeguard humanity.

The HCHF body was established by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and the sponsor of the Human Fraternity Document (HFD).

It was established to apply the principles and values stipulated by the HFD, and now includes eleven members from the UAE, Spain, Italy, Egypt, America, Britain, Bulgaria, and Liberia.

Through the HCHF’s spiritual leadership, the body endeavours to achieve the HFD’s objectives and promote its values through communication between faiths.

The HCHF disseminates the principles of mutual respect, understanding, and communication by urging leaders and renowned figures around the world to achieve these common objectives.

It strives for peaceful coexistence among all nations regardless of nationality or religion.

The HCHF also holds meetings with the religious leaders, the heads of international organizations, and other leaders to adopt the initiatives that are hoped to lead to promoting peace among the world nations.

In 2019 Pope Francis, leader of the world’s Catholics and Sheikh Ahmed Al Tayeb, Head of Islam’s Sunni learning Centre Al Azhar signed the historic Abu Dhabi Declaration on Tuesday during their joint-visit to the UAE.

The document, entitled “Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together”, aims to see the religious leaders work to create stronger bonds between people in the Middle East through fighting extremism brought on by religious conflicts.