Introduction:
After the whole world was devastated by the recent unfortunate events caused by the transgression on the religious symbols of the Muslim peoples, this calls us all strongly against ignoring any encroaches on the religious sanctities of peoples. It also leaves bad after-taste on the international relations and fuels the sectarian strife and the growing hatred which threaten our plans for cooperation and development as well as our world peace efforts. While the freedom of opinion has to be guaranteed we emphasize that the use of this freedom for degrading the other is unacceptable, and while we believe in the right of peaceful protest, we reject violence and affirm the sanctity of human life.
From here, we call upon a number of local and international symbols from different countries and cultures to join together in a global initiative to protect the religious sanctities of the peoples to prevent this tragic disaster from occurring again. This initiative is hinged on five axes:
First axis:
Political and community pressure on all the countries to comply with the international conventions in the field of banning defamation of religions and adopting domestic legislation. The third paragraph of Article 19 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights stipulates the necessity of restricting freedom of opinion if it encroaches on the fundamental freedoms of others which guarantee freedom of religious belief and respects public order and public morals of others. Also Article 20 of the same Covenant which prohibits calls for racial or religious hatred, as well as the American Convention on Human Rights (entered into force in 1978) which criminalizes any call for racism or hatred against any person or religion and considers them crimes that are punishable by the law.
Second axis:
Forming a team of Goodwill Ambassadors from the religious scholars, intellectuals and political figures of the local and international symbols to make introductory tours for the religious sanctities and clarify their role in the formation of human consciousness and the importance of preserving and protecting them within the framework of peaceful coexistence and mutual respect between peoples and civilizations. The international universities and cultural dialogue forums can host these activities under the auspices of the United Nations Civilizations Alliance and they can conduct activities to bridge the gaps that are exploited by extremists in fueling seditions, and reducing prejudices and misconceptions while addressing any threats emerging from the lack of understanding others to combine all the efforts in eliminating such rifts.
The third axis:
Forming executive community teams to integrate the religious minorities in community dialogues, in political decision-making, and in the development of projects. This will reduce their sense of exclusion and marginalization that, in turn, keeps them vulnerable to drifting to extremism and opens the doors for violence and counter-violence. By doing this we treat the causes of the problem rather than deal with the consequences.
The fourth axis:
Guiding and supporting the religious and cultural institutions to produce a high quality multilingual footage explaining in a catchy way the real principles advocated by religions as well as the true stories of the pioneers of enlightenment in the human history. As well as supporting the accessibility of this material through cultural and art festivals and in digital forms on the Internet.
The fifth axis:
Forming a network of civil society organizations from all over the world to work on raising awareness among the youth about the principles of peaceful and constructive dialogue, accepting the other, presenting ways for peaceful expression of opinion without resorting to violence or vandalism, respecting the beliefs of peoples, and integrating these principles in the basic educational systems in all countries.
Finally we believe that we are facing a real opportunity that may never materialize again for an international movement to defuse the roots of global strife. Everyone now understands the amount of risk that can arise from leaving things as they are without effective action and for this reason I invite all those interested to quickly participate in the initiative and start their own activities.
Mohamed Anwar El-Sadat
President of the Reform & Development Party
Chairman of the Human Rights Committee - People's Assembly
