RECENTLY, I was honoured to receive an invitation from His Excellency, Mr Sultan Al Ali, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Ireland, to share my thoughts and views for the significance of ‘Tolerance,’ as key to building a peaceful and sustainable world while protecting human integrity and dignity.
 
This took place just a few weeks after the United Nations International Day for Tolerance and I found it significant to speak and reflect not only on the UN call for us all to be a people of Tolerance, but to also pay tribute to the historic meeting that took place three years ago when Pope Francis and His Eminence Ahmed Al-Tayed, Grand Iman of Al-Azhar, issued and signed the document on ‘Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together’.
 
As I spoke to the UAE Ambassador and his audience, I highlighted the staggering fact that 84 per cent of the world’s population identify with a faith.

I believe this shines a spotlight on any of us who are not only faith leaders, but leaders in any arena in our communities. Why? Because we all key stakeholders in achieving what was written into the very identity and fabric of the United Nations over 70 years ago: ‘A CALL TO PRACTICE TOLERANCE’.

 

Tolerance calls us to recognise the ‘other.’ The one from the ‘other’ community, background, faith/no faith, and so on. But Tolerance is more than seeing and recognising the other. In fact, I believe that Tolerance is more than accepting and even seeking to understand the other.  

This is ‘Tolerance in Action’ and we should applaud Pope Francis and the Grand Iman of Al-Azhar for their vision and example of what it means to practice tolerance and living together.

Tolerance calls us to act. Tolerance calls us to be peace witnesses, champions of equality, disruptors of injustice, to be on the side of the oppressed, poor and marginalised. Tolerance seeks to make our communities better, and to play our part in Ireland for world peace.
 
I am looking forward to developing my friendships with our UAE brothers and sisters, and I am also excited that they are planning this year to open an Abrahamic Family House in Dubai, a multi-faith complex which includes a mosque, synagogue and a church. A place where people from all over the world can come together to worship, build friendships and learn/unlearn from each other. For me, this centre takes the words of the pages and our mouths and puts them into action.
 
This is ‘Tolerance in Action’ and we should applaud Pope Francis and the Grand Iman of Al-Azhar for their vision and example of what it means to practice tolerance and living together.