Jordan celebrates World Interfaith Harmony Week

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Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Mohammad Khalaileh. (Photo: Jordan News)
AMMAN — Deputizing for Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh, Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Mohammad Khalaileh on Tuesday led a ceremony opening the annual World Interfaith Harmony Week, which the ministry held in cooperation with the Chief Islamic Justice Department, the Iftaa Department, and the Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research Center, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. اضافة اعلان

This year’s interfaith harmony week which was titled “Jordan, a model for harmony among followers of sects and religions”, was held at the Islamic Cultural Center of the King Abdullah I Mosque.

Khalaileh said in opening remarks that Islam upholds the message of compassion for the entire humanity, which was manifest in the Prophet Mohammad’s dealings with the followers of the monotheistic religions and others.

Harmony week, he said, was the culmination of pioneering work based on common denominators that provided a solid ground for religions to come together on the basis of mutual respect.

“The four schools of thought (in Islam) were a model for tolerance and acceptance of the others as they advocated for security, peace, and moderation and rejected killing and destruction and the repudiation of the others,” he said.

According to the minister, Islam looks at the right of human beings to live in dignity and humanely.

“The call for harmony is at the core of Islamic Sharia law and guidelines that the Muslim caliphs and imams committed to throughout history,” he said, adding that Sharia (Islamic law) urges upholding the principles of coexistence and tolerance and that harmony grants people of different races and faiths the right to live in peace, safety, and security.

The Kingdom’s Grand Mufti Abdul Karim Khasawneh said at the ceremony that Jordanian Muslims and Christians have set a model for humanity and harmony and cultivated the value of good citizenship under the Hashemite leadership that won the people’s loyalty as it embraced justice, equality, and human dignity.

“The holy Quran addressed non-Muslim people of the book and others with kind words and respect, but had not alienated them,” he said, underlining that Islam is a religion of tolerance that accepts and respects the others and enhances their coexistence with the Muslim community.

Father Nabil Haddad, president of the Jordan Interfaith Coexistence Research Center, said that Jordan’s harmony model emanates from the Hashemite leadership, which advocates that everyone in Jordan lives in peace and security, stressing his pride in the Amman Message that calls for peace and compassion.

Chief Islamic Justice Abdul Hafez Rabtah said that the annual event, which was the fruit of His Majesty King Abdullah’s efforts, had become a UN and global occasion to emphasize harmony between the followers of religions and the importance of constructive interfaith dialogue and rejecting the ideology of extremism and bigotry.


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