NEW YORK, March 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The following
is a statement from Bawa Jain,
Secretary-General, World Council of Religious Leaders and
President, Centre for Responsible Leadership:
Following last week's horrific attacks, New Zealand and the rest of the world remains
in mourning. More than four dozen lives were lost that fateful day
– perhaps most disturbingly, their lives robbed during a time of
prayer.
As in many times of unjust violence and godless cruelties, today
we witness society come together to honor the victims. While
moments of silence and calls to prayer undoubtedly come from a
place of good – and demonstrate to the victims' loved ones a sense
of solidarity and compassion – it is simply not enough.
Yes, there is a symbolic correlation to healing. But neither
silence nor prayer alone can stimulate the change our world needs.
On behalf of the World Council of Religious Leaders, I'm calling
for true, meaningful action as well.
The time is now for responsible leaders across all nations to
come together and set an example. Leadership starts with condemning
acts of intolerance and promoting a broad-minded approach that
embraces our differences. Tolerance, understanding and appreciation
of our diversity is the only way we can create a better tomorrow
for our children – a world in which people, regardless of their
religious affiliation or skin color, respect their neighbors.
As a partner of the Muslim World League, I fully endorse the
statement last week of Sheikh Dr. Mohammad
bin Abdulkarim Alissa, the MWL Secretary-General, in which
he called for leaders of all faiths to respond to the attacks in
New Zealand by combatting
incitement and hatred leveled against any religion or
ethnicity.
Silence is a start. Now, we need to move on to the hard work of
getting people of all faiths – from all ethnic and cultural
backgrounds – to agree that enough is enough and work together to
build and support more tolerant communities worldwide.
To be sure, this will not be easy; however, it is possible. It
is about putting conviction ahead of convenience and patience ahead
of pride.
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SOURCE World Council of Religious Leaders