Intercultural and Interfaith Dialogue: Building Bridges towards Peace

Embassy of Pakistan, today, attended and participated in a conference convened by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic in collaboration with the Prague-based Ambassadors of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation member states on interfaith dialogue and developing interfaith harmony. The conference was inaugurated by a key note address by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Czech Republic, Jan Lipavsky.

The Conference, titled “Building Bridges towards Peace” was held at the historical Czernin Palace, home to Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was a one-day event comprising of panel discussions and free flowing discussions. Panelists included renowned academics & scholars, diplomats and students. The conference has been convened annually since its inception in 2015. It was preceded by a welcome reception for the participants hosted at the Pakistan House, Prague.

Delivering the opening remarks of the Conference, the Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic Mr. Jan Lipavsky highlighted the importance of diplomats and scholars working in tandem with political leaders to prevent the misuse of religion and to respect diversity. He emphasized the commitment of the Czech Republic to open and candid discussions on these delicate issues and reiterated the EU motto “United in Diversity”.

The Chairperson of the “OIC Ambassadors in Prague”, Turkish Ambassador stressed the importance of holding an interfaith dialogue at a time when the world has still not recovered from Covid-19 and is facing the challenges of the Ukraine conflict and unprecedented rise of energy prices. Statistics revealed that hate crimes against Muslims were on the rise, despite the fact that many incidents go unreported for fear of backlash or red-tapism. The Chair concluded his remarks with a request to the Czech authorities to dedicate a cemetery for Muslims in Prague.

The Conference was concluded by the remarks of the Pakistan Ambassador. While congratulating the Czech Foreign Ministry and the rest of the organizers for holding a successful conference, Ambassador Jamali stressed that the interfaith dialogue was only the first step in the journey to interfaith harmony. The contemporary digital age was witness to an unparalleled rise in hate crimes against all faiths. All human-kind is sacred; human right violations whether in Kashmir or Palestine are equally deplorable and therefore cherry-picking of human rights as a whole must be discouraged.

In honour of the conference, Pakistan had hosted a dinner for the OIC Ambassadors and event participants and organizers at the Ambassador’s residence. The evening had provided an additional opportunity for a free exchange of ideas in a convivial environment surrounded by sumptuous Pakistani cuisine and hospitality.

Prague

15 December 2022