HM King receives This is Bahrain’s President, members

Manama, Oct. 21 (BNA): His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa today at the Sakhir Palace received president, members, participants and sponsors of the King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Coexistence and "This is Bahrain", held under the royal patronage in New York, USA, marking the official inauguration of the King Hamad Chair in Interfaith Dialogue and Peaceful Coexistence Studies at the Sapienza University, Rome, Italy, which is new scientific specialization added to the Human Science Faculty at the same university. HM the King gave the following keynote speech addressing the distinguished guests: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammed, his family and companions. Distinguished guests, May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you, and welcome to this meeting. We seize this opportunity to extend our appreciation for your continuous efforts and successful endeavors to spread the noble message of our Global Centre for Peaceful Coexistence, and to work towards achieving its humanitarian goals embodied in the Kingdom of Bahrain Declaration, presenting it as a global reference to promote the values of peace and tolerance and to emphasize freedom of thought and belief within the framework of coexistence, for which there is no substitute for a reconciled and safe world. We were delighted with the success of your program during your last visit to New York City, and the many events you organised to introduce to the international community the civilized face and human diversity of our dear country, with its depth and richness. On this occasion, we also congratulate you on the outcomes of the high-level seminar which discussed the role of religious leaders in creating peaceful societies, affirming the commitment and ability of the Kingdom of Bahrain to support the international development agenda, and to contribute actively to achieving world peace. In this regard, we would like to highlight the leading role of the people of Bahrain in shaping the unique Bahraini example, deriving from their patriotic stances, strong will and enlightened convictions. They always reflect the friendly and tolerant Bahraini spirit, which is at the same time vigilant to protect and safeguard society from manifestations and consequences of extremism. Bahrain will work, with the help of God Almighty, to remain a place of welfare and stability, and we will seek, along with our friends and partners, to bring comprehensive peace to the world, and to make dialogue, rapprochement, respect and love the basis of relations between peoples. As God Almighty said in His book, the Qur'an: "O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you". We express thanks and appreciation to you once more, and in particular to "This Is Bahrain" for its efforts in promoting our national success story in the area of co-existence. We congratulate, as well, Professor Saggioro on his appointment as Professor of the Academic Chair at the Italian University, wishing him success in his new duties to support and develop research in the field of promoting human rapprochement to build bridges of tolerance and harmony among peoples. We also wish everyone every success in their distinguished endeavours to serve Bahrain and carry its message for the good and stability of the world. Peace, mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you. Professor Alessandro Saggioro gave the following speech, Your Majesty, it is a great honour for me to be here in Manama, in front of You. My first word is to present my deep gratitude for inviting me and some of the students from Sapienza to your wonderful country. Some of them are following the courses of the Chair that bears Your Majesty’s precious name and is dedicated to Inter-religious Dialogue and Peaceful Coexistence and I can say, without any doubt, that this wonderful experience will help them to learn more then ever. It is my duty to present greetings from Chiar.mo Prof. Eugenio Gaudio, the Rector of Sapienza, for your decision to create the King Hamad Chair for Inter-religious Dialogue and Peaceful Coexistence in our University. Sapienza has a long and prestigious story in the field of religious studies, but this new Chair is deeply innovative and will help us to promote an eminently relevant aspect of the construction of knowledge about religions. The Magnifico Rettore is sending to Your Majesty a symbolical gift, the Medal of Sapienza, reserved only for the Heads of State, with a special dedication in Your Majesty’s name. It is also another part of my duty to present greetings from Chiar.mo Prof. Biagini, the President of the Fondazione Sapienza, that was supported during the year 2017 by the Royal Charity Organization of Bahrain. In Your Majesty’s prestigious name, the Fondazione Sapienza was able to help students from the areas of central Italy affected by the earthquake and to promote a large number of activities that improved widely the mission of the Fondazione: supporting research, enhancing culture and excellence, expanding the number of events and scholarships awarded. The President Biagini is sending to Your Majesty as a gift the Minerva, the symbol of the Heart of our University. Last but not least, I have to present the greetings of Chiar.ma Prof.ssa Emanuela Prinzivalli, head of the Department in which the Chair was instituted, a very relevant context of studies about Abrahamic religions, Oriental religions, World Religions, Anthropology and History, with a special focus on the History of Christianity. In this context, the Chair will find the perfect humus to grow up and to become, with Your Majesty’s help and support, but also with the help and support of the entire university, a big tree in the heart of Europe, and in the middle of one of the most relevant towns of the world. Rome is the eternal city, and also a symbolic place, unique in its way of being. Thank you, Your Majesty, for your past and ongoing support to our University and to His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, President of The Royal Charity Organisation, especially in regard to our Fondazione Sapienza, that is the centre of our capacity to help students – in particular students with different kinds of difficulties. Of course, we hope also to develop projects that will involve future students and young researchers, in connection with the concrete realization of a large amount of activities related to the King Hamad Chair. In these days I have visited your town and I’ve met many people. I ‘ve been profoundly impressed by the idea of religious freedom that is a deeply entrenched part of the history of Your beautiful country and is a strong project in Your Majesty’s visionary policy. I’ve seen so many religious places around the city, and I’ve met people for which living their religion in your country is a completely normal thing. Thank you again for Your invitation. I would like to invite Your Majesty to honour us with your presence at the Official Inauguration Ceremony of The King Hamad Chair that will be held in Rome on Monday, the 5th of November, at Sapienza University. The King Hamad Chair will play a very important part in the future life of Sapienza, the largest community of Students and Professors in Europe, with more then 100.000 students, 3.500 Academics, 11 Faculties, 63 Departments, 81 PhD Programs. The activities of the Chair will be presented on three different levels: A Bachelor’s degree in History, Anthropology and Religions A Master’s Degree in Religious Studies and a PhD in Religions and Cultural Mediation; Your Majesty as of now my forecast is that during this next year 250 students will be studying The King Hamad Chair in Inter-Religious Dialogue and Peaceful Coexistence. The King Hamad Chair will also lead a group of young researchers, training them in the field of the History and present-day relationships between religions, of Religious pluralism, with a special attention to the history and life of religious minorities. The focus of this teaching, training and research group will be the Peaceful Coexistence, both for the meaning in the past and for the real presence in our lives, in fact Your Majesty, following the example of the normal daily life as you live it here in The Kingdom of Bahrain. Your Majesty, I’ve been reading with the great attention Your Majesty’s bold words in ‘The Kingdom of Bahrain Declaration’ about religious peace as a political project for the future of humanity. I completely agree with Your Majesty’s message and The Declaration will form the foundation for discussions not only with the students of my University but in all the possible situations in which I will act as Professor. I use to say to my students that words are important, that words are heavy, that we need to know and to recognise them, to tell their history and to improve our knowledge. I found in the Declaration so many words that are actually really outstanding, and that speak so clearly to the message of peace from this relevant place, The Kingdom of Bahrain, the heart of the ancient civilizations and the words that Your Majesty, in Your role as the enlightened King of this Country, want to send to the entire world. Some words should be used with due property. As I like to teach to my students, words that describe questions related to religious pluralism can have different meanings: they can have a positive meaning, a negative meaning, and an ambiguous meaning. Take for instance the word "Tolerance". We assume that we need to be tolerant, and we agree about that, but tolerance has a long history: from latin, tollere, it had the meaning, tolerantia, to accept the bad, as a specific capacity of some people related to other, in which someone represent himself as superior to the other. To make a very long story short, this word is ambiguous and we should prefer the words Respect, Friendship, Responsiveness. Another very relevant word in the international politics is "Integration": we should remind that millenary cultures cannot be integrated in other cultures if this means that they will be cancelled: it is a challenge that we speak to the hearts and the minds of everyone without denying their identities. Reading the Kingdom of Bahrain Declaration and visiting your Kingdom, I’ve been thinking about the ideal of Religious Freedom. This is not only a word, but it is a concrete opportunity and a duty for those who lead the world. I’m impressed and excited by the potential global influence of Your Majesty’s noble idea of religious freedom and I really hope that this will provoke a comparison with other countries in this region and also with the idea of religious freedom in other countries, including my country, Italy, and others from Europe, and throughout the whole world, which in turn will improve the construction of a global humanism based on Your Majesty’s compassionate vision. Finally, I will conclude with something very personal. When I was twenty years hold, I was a student, of the age of some of my students here. I was an optimist, and an idealist, and I started studying as an historian of religions, and training as a teacher in this field, because I was convinced that religious illiteracy was one of the major causes of conflictual relations between people and cultures and religions. I’m a very humble person, in a way of humble origins. I’ve never lost my hope to contribute to fight against religious illiteracy, that is – I f I may quote Your Majesty’s words – "ignorance is the enemy of peace". I would have never imagined, as I reach my Fifties to meet such a noble and compassionate King, like Your Majesty, bravely saying those words in such a clear and strong way. I’ve now the honour and the privilege to work for Your Majesty’s global project, and I will do it with all my energies and strengths, thank you. Media figure Soumaya Al-Meer also addressed the ceremony on behalf of the King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Coexistence, hailing the royal keenness on promoting peace and co-existence. "Other people in the world dream of security and peace, but in prosperous Bahrain peace is a tangible reality", she said, thanking HM the King for cultivating peace and human co-existence. She paid homage to HM the King who spearheaded, through his farsighted vision, a unique model of peaceful co-existence and interfaith tolerance.