By NNN-KUNA
Brussels : The Grand Mufti of Syria, Ahmad Badr Al-Din Hassoun, has stressed the value of culture as a unifying rather than a dividing force.
Speaking at a formal sitting of the European Parliament (EP) in Strasbourg Tuesday, he said that “there is one single culture” in the world, the culture of humankind. Indeed, he said, “we are all building one culture, so I do not believe in the conflict of cultures”.
Hassoun was the first speaker in the EP in a series of visits by eminent religious and cultural leaders in 2008, which has been designated European Year of Intercultural Dialogue.
The Syrian Mufti said that there is no Islamic, Christian or Jewish civilisation. “Religion does give culture its moral values but it is we who build civilisation,” he said. “Religion is from God, culture is from humankind.”
“In my region, we do not believe in the multiplicity of religions,” he said. “Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad all came with one religion.” Therefore, “there is no such thing as a holy war, there can never be a holy war. Only peace can be holy.”
“If we want peace, starting for example with Palestine and Israel,” he suggested that rather than building walls, “let us build bridges of peace.”
He also argued that “we must create states on a civil basis, not a religious basis,” adding, “I don’t impose my religion on you, nor do you impose your religion on me.”
As Damascus is this year the Cultural Capital of the Arab World, he asked the EP to hold a meeting there “to show that the world is one”.
In his introductory speech, EP President Hans-Gert Pottering said “peaceful coexistence between cultures and religions, both in the European Union and in relations with peoples in all parts of the world, in particular on the other side of the Mediterranean, in the Middle East, is both possible and essential”.