Pakistan has called for the global promotion of inter-religious dialogue to fight the menace of extremism and hate perpetrated in the name of religion.
Specifically, Pakistan urged countries globally to emulate the Marburg society for religious dialogue, an initiative in Germany that brought people of different faiths together to promote religious understanding and overcome conflict between religions.
Pakistan, in a statement by it’s high Commission in Abuja, advocated that such forums could be used to build an environment of tolerance and peace among all faiths at global level.
It said, “Although anti-Muslim sentiments in the west are not new but after 9/11 attacks followed by US Global War on Terror (GWOT) not only intensified hatred against Muslim but turned into a nightmare for Muslims living all over the world.
“Terrorism has not religion, language or ethnicity. It holds no bounds and single ideology (as it is committed against Muslims, Jews, Christian, Hindus alike).
“All religions have extremists embedded within, although they may be small in number. Therefore, no single religion/community should be made to bear the brunt of terrorism. Equating Islam with terrorism/extremism is nothing but a political narrative to manage local masses and to justify the military deployments abroad.
“The need of the day is that all the communities should join hands together against the menace of extremism.
“The initiative taken by a group of Christians, Jews and Muslims in Germany is a welcoming step in this regards more such initiatives be promoted globally.”
