Mercy in focus at KAICIID meet

ROME: Faisal bin Muaammar, secretary-general of the King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz International Center for Inter-religious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID), said that mercy overrides justice and falls above laws as a high value that enhances humanity.
He added that mercy is the foundation of religious teaching as God is the most merciful, citing that mercy has been mentioned in the Holy Qur’an as a core Islamic value.
Bin Muaammar’s statements came during the closing ceremony of an international meeting organized by the KAICIID and the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue in Rome, which was attended by the most prominent religious leaders from all around the world.
He said that some international, legal and moral relations in the new world systems have abandoned religious values, particularly mercy, which is the most needed value for the problems facing the world today.
Bin Muaammar said: “We wish to provide witness for the concrete, daily, hard work of countless exemplars for whom mercy is a way of life. Every day they practice inter-religious collaboration and charity.
They support peaceful coexistence, alleviate poverty, and reconcile people separated by conflict. As His Holiness Pope Francis reminds us all, we have a responsibility to make our world more merciful, beginning with ourselves, but extending to our families, communities, societies and countries.”
Bishop Miguel Ayuso, the secretary of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and KAICIID board member, said that everyone has the ability to make belief active by good deeds. “In every religion and every society, we can find role models achieving mercy among all religious people through their words, lives and action.”
The meeting focused on the importance of peace, tolerance and reconciliation by appreciating efforts of those who achieve tolerance in their daily lives.
Several examples were presented from different areas around the world that have been influenced by violence and conflict, and these examples showed how mercy achieved peace.
The KAICIID was established in 2012 by Saudi Arabia, Austria, Spain and the Holy See, which is a founding observer. The board of directors includes representatives from five main world religions — Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism.