Sheikh Dr Ahmad Badr Al-Din Hassoun, has spoken extensively on universal peace and solidarity.
The nation that is established on the collectivity of races and religions is destined to succeed in the future. And when cultural diversity is embraced, the strength of humanity shines through.
That is the message of the Grand Mufti of Syria, Sheikh Dr Ahmad Badr Al-Din Hassoun, who calls on mankind to disregard their differences and work together.
“The Arabs, Europeans, Africans, Americans and Indians — they all come from one father and mother, establishing a new knowledge and affirming that humans did not come from apes like Charles Darwin said.
“A man, therefore, is the brother of another man, whoever they are.
“It is not permitted for any of us to do an injustice to the other or to kill the other, even if the brother was of a different faith or a different race — my point is that all humans are one.”
Ahmad Badr Al-Din, 61, is in town for a series of talks, one of them being at the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies on Friday.
He has spoken extensively on universal peace and solidarity in various venues, including in the United States and the European Parliament.
In an interview with Malaysian journalists recently, Ahmad Badr Al-Din said all humans, whatever their faith, were objects of holiness.
“We can build a mosque but a human is God’s building or work. Which is more holy, our making of a mosque or God’s creation of a human being?
“Prophet Muhammad said demolishing the Kaabah stone by stone was less important or less of a problem for God than the killing of one human. A human is more sacred and respected than the Kaabah (the structure that shows the direction for Muslims to pray).”
He also denied that there was such a thing as clash of civilisations, as claimed by the Western world.
“There are Islamic, Jewish, Christian, Buddhist and Hindu cultures for instance, all of which pour into and mingle in a single human civilisation, giving spiritual values to human civilisation.
“Here, there is the Malaysian culture, composed largely of Malay, Chinese and Indian cultures, which add their strengths and values.”
Ahmad Badr Al-Din, who spoke through his interpreter Dr Karim Crow, said he viewed Malaysia as a model for development in a pluralistic society of different races and religions.
Malaysia, he said, could become an example of “human oneness”.
He said the nation’s political leaders were at the forefront of its progress, but that the people were the “wings”.
“A leader without the people cannot achieve anything and the people without leaders would be wandering lost in the desert,” he added, referring to former prime ministers Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak by name.
“This is my first visit here and I pray that Malaysian Muslims with their light, the Christians with their love, the Buddhists with their wisdom and wise philosophies and the Hindus with their patience and strength will preserve and protect Malaysia.
On Islamophobia and the west, Ahmad Badr Al-Din said it was incumbent upon Muslims not to wait for the world to act justly towards them but to reach out and approach the world.
Ahmad Badr Al-Din will be delivering his lecture, “Islam and the Challenges of the 21st Century”, at the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies, Kuala Lumpur at 3pm on Friday.
Admission is free. Call 03-79569188, fax 03-79562188 or email [email protected] This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to reserve seats. – Anis Ibrahim – NST Online
