The Chairman of the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue (DICID), H E Dr. Ibrahim bin Saleh Al Nuaimi, during the interview.
Chairman of the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue (DICID) H E Dr. Ibrahim bin Saleh Al Nuaimi, affirmed that 14th edition of Doha Conference on Interfaith Dialogue will be held next month.
He said that the Conference has achieved over the past years several benefits and contributed to creating a positive image of the State of Qatar as a platform for tolerance and acceptance of the other at the world level.
In an exclusive interview with the Qatar News Agency (QNA), H E Dr. Al Nuaimi said that the conference that will be held in March 2020 under the theme ‘Religions and Hate Speech Scriptures and Practice’, will host more than 500 participants from outside Qatar, representing more than 200 institutions, universities, religious, intellectual and academic center, from about 75 countries around the world, in addition to participants and attendees from within the country.
The conference aims to address the issue of hate speech, its dimensions and the religions’ attitudes towards it, with the participation of religious scholars, former officials, academics, heads of institutions, university professors, university students, charitable institutions and civil society organizations, as well as representatives of the United Nations and countries affected by hate speech around the world, Chairman DICID said.
Dr. Al Nuaimi pointed out that the two conferences will focus on commonalities among the divine religions, to find a basis for mutual coexistence in the interest of humanity in general, away from debating religious thoughts.
“Respecting people of other religions requires us to invite them to dialogue whose results will positively reflect on the reality of Muslims outside Islamic countries, which its results lead to a retreat of hatred against Islam and Muslims, and provides more sympathy for the Ummah’s issues in non-Muslim countries, and these are goals we seek to achieve,” he added.
He stated that DICID has become a source of pride for every Qatari and all Arabs, noting that raising this type of issue for dialogue with other religions followers “reflects what we have achieved in thought and civilization philosophy.”
He also praised both the initiatives of the State of Qatar in the field of interfaith dialogue, and Qatar’s positive role pertaining to dialogue between civilizations and cultures, which made it one of the world’s most influential countries in such issues, adding that Qatar, thanks to its wise leadership, has pioneered in all of these important issues, and it is a country that always searches for peace and harmony.
He said that that the continuation of this conference in Qatar enriching her pioneering role in this field, especially as it is a multicultural country with many nationalities live in its soil, which made Doha Conference on Interfaith Dialogue another great addition to these human dimensions.
On the axes that the conference will address, DICID Chairman Dr. Al Nuaimi noted that three main axes will be discussed, the first of which deals with hate speech in terms of causes, motives, and risks, extremist religious discourse and its role in the spread of hate speech, and the concept of hate speech and misunderstanding of religion and the promotion of hate speech, the extremist discourse of some scholars and political leaders, and its impact on achieving world peace.
He pointed out that the second axis titled “Hate Speech... Types and Forms” will focus on the danger of spreading images of hate speech and incitement to violence and terrorism, the political use of hate speech, the implications of its spread and its impact on peaceful coexistence. It will also address the practices of increasing racism due to hate speeches against refugees and religious minorities, and discrimination against women.
Dr. Al Nuaimi stated that the third axis of the conference comes under the title “The Desired Role of Confronting Hate Speech”, which discusses the role of religious and media leaders and institutions in combating hate speech will address the responsibility of religious scholars and the role of worship in raising awareness of the need to respect religions and the influence of the media in reducing it and respecting cultural and religious diversity.
In response to a question about the ways of transferring fruitful dialogue from religious scholars and thinkers to the common people, Dr. Ibrahim bin Saleh Al Nuaimi said that although the conference is concerned with leaders and thinkers, its fruits already moved from the summit to the base, and is embodied in activities, research, conferences, etc.
He emphasized that among the objectives of the conference is to convey to the speaker the point of view of the Qatari and Muslim citizens towards clearly raised issues by showing a Qatari-Islamic vision without any compromise of principles or loyalty at the expense of religion. In addition, the discussion of the principles of Islam and its call for tolerance, love, and coexistence, rejecting hatred and aggression against non-aggressors.
In a related context, he added that the hate speech developed to the point of violating religious beliefs and symbols. He cautioned that this shift to new media to spread hate speech and concrete reactions led to the killing of people, pointing out the armed attack on the two mosques in New Zealand that included the killing and wounding of dozens of innocent worshipers.
In response to a question about the possibility of expanding the conference with the participation of non-monotheistic religions in it, Dr. Ibrahim bin Saleh Al Nuaimi said that the Doha Conference for Interfaith Dialogue has been devoted since 2003 to the three monotheistic religions, “Islam, Christianity and Judaism”, because of its common connection, but he stated that followers of other religions are invited to participate in other activities organised by the Center, including seminars and lectures that discuss several issues related to dialogue, coexistence, and tolerance.
