I have lately received a message from Prof. Dr. Karl-Josef Kuschel, professor of theology and interfaith studies at the University of Tübingen in Germany. Professor Kuschel published a number of books and research papers in his field. Professor Kuschel wrote me inquiring whether Egypt has an intent and an actual plan to celebrate the 100 anniversary of the late President Mohamed Anwar El Sadat, born on the 25th of December in 1918. El Sadat’s centennial coincides with the former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt’s hundredth anniversary since he was born on the 23rd of December 1918. Former leaders shared a solid relationship, mutual respect and a common vision particularly regarding issues of peace, coexistence and freedom of faith.
I hereby urge the Egyptian state to revive President Sadat’s call to establish a religious complex in St. Catherine in Sinai encompassing a mosque, a church and a synagogue. I address in particular the following Egyptian national bodies; Al Azhar, the Church, the Jewish community, the Ministry of Culture and the library of Alexandria. The presence of a religious complex at this holy site will be considered as an ideal, a center for enlightenment, a beacon of knowledge, and a venue for the next generations. Such a religious complex will send the entire world a genuine message of all Abrahamic religions for tolerance. It will reinforce our faith that we all have one God and we are all sons of Abraham.
The current state of regional and international affairs necessitates creating an atmosphere of tolerance, coexistence, anti-violence and anti-hatred. These are essential principles of all religions. There is an opportune time to instate such an intellectual and civilizational beacon and we are in dire need of it.
I am inviting governments of other countries, organizations concerned with interreligious dialogue and all advocates for peaceful values to contact us in order to form a task force to work on this proposal which can be best harnessed and embodied by founding a religious complex in Sinai, the cradle of civilization and the land of messengers. This religious complex will be a nucleus of a new society based on respecting diversity and freedom of faith as well as denouncing violence and extremism. Let us stand together in reviving such grand values which are very quickly fading away in our societies. We are looking forward to your participation in any capacity so that we can offer one exemplary and beneficial contribution to the coming generations.
Mohamed Anwar El Sadat
Chairman of El Sadat Association for Social Development
Cairo - Egypt
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