In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Peace be upon you, and the Mercy of Allah and His Blessings,,,
I would like to start be welcoming you all to the thirteenth session of the U.S.-Islamic World Forum. Holding the Forum at this time is particularly important because of the intensification of conflicts and political and ideological divisions that have led to instability in many regions of the world, and some just causes of peoples are still unresolved despite the issuance of several UN resolutions on them, a matter which requires directing international efforts towards implementing resolutions, enforcing international legitimacy, eliminating double standards, as well as spreading a culture of understanding and coexistence, despite the differences after achieving justice, even relatively, as we cannot call the reality of occupation and tyranny coexistence. I call upon the countries of the Islamic world and the United States of America to work to protect and strengthen relations based on continued and open dialogue based on principles of respect and mutual understanding, that must be established as principles for dealing among all states.
Based on our firm belief in the importance of dialogue in building a world of tolerance, cooperation, peace and trust among nations; the State of Qatar has made continuous efforts to establish dialogue among civilizations, and coexistence between different religions and cultures. For that purpose several national institutions were established, such as the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue and the annual Doha Forum, and many conferences and meetings have been held to promote this trend and the continuation of this forum is the best example of that. This forum was established in 2002 and was titled the Doha Conference on American Relations with the Arab and Islamic World, as part of the global efforts to address the consequences of the events of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States, on relations between America and the Islamic world. In addition, it was established to build bridges of understanding and rapprochement between cultures, nations, and people in the face of extremism.
Distinguished guests,
Recently we have witnessed an increase in manifestations of intolerance and misunderstanding of religion, and selective use of religious texts to serve political agendas. There is no doubt that spreading the values of understanding others, respecting their cultures and beliefs, and rejecting extremism, hatred, malice and racism, is one of the urgent tasks that sits on the shoulders of the those who are strong rationally. It is there mission to face those who incite violence and terror against innocents using fanatical ideologies, or religion by turning it into an ideology in service of their goals. We affirm that religions are innocent of terrorism. However, extremists who spread fanaticism and alienation, exist in all societies and countries and belong to different religions. The majority of religious people in the world see religion as faith, worship, devotion and duties towards God and other human beings. It goes without saying that the majority of religious people renounce terrorism. In the midst of our struggle with terrorism, we must remember that terrorism is not a popular phenomenon or trend. There are social, political and ideological factors for the emergence of terrorism. Relations between the United States and the Islamic world can affect terrorism and are affected by terrorism. The international community needs many channels of communication and platforms for dialogue, such as this forum, to build bridges and strengthen cooperation between people and nations, as well as tolerance between believers and followers of different faith and sects. These channels can help work to address the distortion caused by hypocrites, ignorant people and extremists from East to West, to help correct misconceptions, to confront the currents that promote hatred, terrorism, extremism and violence, and to bridge the prospects for dialogue and rapprochement between people.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The desire for peace is longed for by all the people of the world. In this context, the distinguished relationship between the Islamic world and the United States of America faces a major challenge of settling the Palestinian issue, and ending the conflict in the Middle East. The world is no longer convinced with the continued failure to achieve peace, because of selective policies in implementation of international legitimacy resolutions and double standards. Public opinion favors a de facto policy on the principles of justice and equality to achieve short-term interests. We must pull the rug out from under extremist ideologies, achieve justice and equality, consolidate democracy, prevalence of the rule of law and respect the sovereignty of states. We look to the international community, especially the United States, under the new administration, for peace to be achieved in the Middle East. We value the United States' efforts in this regard to make more efforts to resume the efforts for serious negotiations to settle the Palestinian issue and end the occupation of Arab territories. This should be achieved within a specific timeframe, in accordance with international legitimacy, the principles of Arab peace based on the principle of a two-state solution agreed upon by the international community, and the establishment of the independent State of Palestine on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The phenomenon of terrorism has become an imminent threat to the people of all nations. I am refereeing to how violence and the spread of hate speech in areas of tension and conflict have contributed to the emergence of terrorist organizations, or the provision of an breeding ground for them. Another factor is the international community's failure, particularly the Security Council's, to find a solution to just causes and to settle conflicts in terrorist environments. It is unfortunate to note that the increase in conflicts, strife and people's suffering increases the inability of the international community and its mechanisms to address them. The international community is required to take all measures to combat this phenomenon that causes a threat to individual and collective security, and the destruction of human rights. The State of Qatar has always reiterated its absolute rejection of all forms of intolerance and extremism and the violence and terrorism that results from them. Qatar has called for the need for serious contributions within the framework of international and regional efforts to combat this dangerous phenomenon, which contradicts the values of all religions and human civilizations, and making sure to dismantle factors that could allow it to resurface. These factors include those that lead to frustration and lack of horizons for young people such as poverty, unemployment, exclusion, marginalization and the prevalence of violent environments under regimes of tyranny, ignorance and discrimination based on identity in many parts of the world. There is no doubt that the ideological factor represented in the formulation of religious or secular extremism plays a significant role and it is inevitable to confront it. However, at the same time, it is important to emphasize that extremisms and political movements that adopt violence against civilians or target public facilities for political purposes, are a global phenomenon known to the world since the beginning of the modern era and is not limited to a single religion, people or race. We can build on the existing heritage of all religions when advocating noble values, tolerance, cooperation and constructive dialogue for the benefit of human society. Therefore, it is unreasonable to place the burden on Muslim societies, people and communities because of some misguided members of the religion. The adamancy of a relationship between religions an terrorism, the failure to address the real causes which are political, economic, social, ideological, not defining terrorism as specific concept separate it from other phenomena and controversial issues and isolating the phenomena within societies will create a fertile environment for its production and continued threat to the security and stability of nations and people.
Distinguished guests,
You have an agenda that is full of richness and inclusiveness that shows a concern to meet the challenges of the present and to look into the future.
In conclusion, I hope that the world of this Forum will be successful, and that your valued discussions, views and contributions will be an important factor and great step towards strengthening ties between the Islamic world and America, to serving our common interests and basic issues.
Peace be upon you, and the Mercy of Allah and His Blessings,,,