World Interfaith Harmony Week begins

AMMAN — The World Interfaith Harmony Week kicked off in Amman on Wednesday.

The event is being held by the Awqaf Ministry in cooperation with the Chief Islamic Justice Department and the Jordan Interfaith Coexistence Research Centre (JICRC). 

His Majesty King Abdullah’s initiative for World Interfaith Harmony Week, which was endorsed by the UN General Assembly, reflects Jordan as a real model for harmony, Awqaf Minister Abdul Nasser Abul Basal said.

Abul Basal, who inaugurated the event on behalf of Prime Minister Omar Razzaz, said that harmony is the path for coexistence, which allows a nation to realise its goals and potential while keeping fanaticism at bay, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The minister added that harmony is a prerequisite for cultural growth, which has become an important factor for the nation to create its future and overcome problems hindering its development.

World Interfaith Harmony Week was first proposed at the UN General Assembly on September 23, 2010, by King Abdullah. Just under a month later, it was unanimously adopted by the UN and is now observed during the first week of February, according to the programme’s website. 

Chief Islamic Justice Abdul Karim Khasawneh said that Jordanians, Muslims and Christians, live as one family despite the diversity of their cultures and religions, which represents a model others can follow.

The Kingdom’s Grand Mufti Mohammad Khalaileh said that Jordan presents the message of Islam at international events and takes it upon itself to defend the values of Islam.

The JICRC’s founder and director, Father Nabil Haddad, said that “the Kingdom celebrates 52 weeks of harmony a year”, where everyone lives in harmony and fraternity without discrimination.