ROME – “The best people are those who bring the greatest benefit to the rest of humanity”. Quoting the words of the Prophet Muhammad, the Secretary General of the Muslim World League, Mohammed Bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa, addressing pilgrims and Muslims from all over the world, thus opened the sermon from the top of Arafah Hill (Mount of Misericordia, 20 km east of Makkah), where a few months before his death, in 632 AD the seal of the prophets delivered his last speech to the community of the faithful.

“The principles of Islam are stable and do not contemplate double measures. Islam only wanted the good for the whole of humanity and united hearts ”, continued Al-Issa. “Thanks to these values, the light of Islam has shone throughout the world and its message has been transmitted by men who have always been faithful to what they promised Allah. This wise guide has attracted men who have embarked on the Right Path of Islam. Scholars have played a fundamental role in this and have taken on the responsibility of debunking misconceptions about Islam. Muslims should become ambassadors of Peace always following the precepts of good conduct “, continued Sheikh Al-Issa, member of the Council of Senior Scholars,” O you pilgrims, today you are in one of the places where prayers are answered ” .

Four years ago, Arafah’s Sermon was issued in only two languages. This year there were 15 languages ​​(including Italian): to spread a message of universal peace, against divisions, hatred, religious extremisms. In the spirit of the Prophet’s last public speech: which announced the completion of the Muslim religion, with the declaration of human and women’s rights, the final teachings of Islam and the adherence of the faithful to the Sunnah (the rules of conduct derived from the Koran and from the life of the Prophet).

“One of the values ​​of Islam”, said the Sheikh, Al Issa, in his sermon, “is to avoid any conduct that could cause disharmony between peoples, or incite hatred and division. Affection and compassion must prevail and govern our interactions… Union, brotherhood and collaboration – he continued – are the sure safeguard of the unity and solidarity of our nation and show us how to relate to others. This testifies to the fact that Islam is universal and its principles unite all humanity… Islam therefore puts humanity above everything else ”.

A universalistic message, therefore, of peace: in line with the orientation proclaimed in the “Forum for the promotion of common values ​​among the followers of religions”, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was a series of meetings to explore shared values ​​and define a common global vision for inter-religious cooperation: all organized by the Muslim World League (MWL). Among the participants and speakers present in Riyadh, also HE Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, and Riccardo Di Segni, Chief Rabbi of Rome. Together with Rav Di Segni, a delegation of 14 Jewish leaders, including 10 Orthodox rabbis, participated in these meetings – wrote Luca Spizzichino in the monthly magazine of the Jewish community in Rome “Shalom” kasherut. Among the rabbanim present, also the American Rabbi David Rosen, very active in interreligious dialogue.

“I have been taking part in interfaith meetings for decades. But this event is definitely new, for the city where it took place, for those who promoted it, and for the speeches heard from the mouth of Muslim leaders. Something new is happening, hopefully positive, and it is important to follow and interpret it, ”Chief Rabbi Di Segni explained to“ Shalom ”.

While Rosen, through a note from the American Jewish Committee, said that “it is a turning point to be here for the first time. Saudi Arabia is the foundation of Islam and has always tried to withdraw into the purity of faith, so the proposal for a pluralistic approach is surprising and shows how the country has changed. This is truly an epochal event, ”she stressed. “We hope this is only the beginning of further commitment and involvement”.

Ministers of Religious Affairs and representatives of civil society from 88 countries attended the Riyadh forum. For the first time in Saudi Arabia, the event brought together representatives of Christian, Jewish, Hindu and Buddhist religious traditions together with Muslim leaders: for a common research on ethical-religious values ​​and a common global approach to inter-religious cooperation. Extensive reports on the Riyadh debate can be found in the July-August issue of “Kalima”, a printed bimonthly magazine on the themes of dialogue between Islam and other religions.

Nizar Ramadan, the Editor of Kalima, states that: “Al-Issa is a man of dialogue and an authentic builder of bridges, – explains the publisher Ramadan -” communication cannot be separated from ethics, and both represent a heritage of humanity that is valid for all times and in all places “. He then emphasizes that “the Secretary General of the Muslim World League has ethically filled a gap in the system of dialogue between peoples, which was often proposed by the West, and opened it from the East by involving religious communities in the world, putting , mutual knowledge, ethics and justice ”. It could not have been otherwise, with this pluralistic approach it is surprising: given that Dr. Al-Issa has long been the Minister of Justice of his country. “Ethical values”, continues the Italian-Lebanese publisher, “transcend any abstract theoretical scheme that preserves us from dangers and errors, thus facilitating free and open confrontation between different cultures in an attitude of mutual respect, in search for shared values ​​and, at the same time, in the protection of the different identities existing in the world, which no one is called to renounce, nor of which is enabled to impose the various specific contents on others. In my opinion, in religion, philosophy, culture and politics, therefore, what matters for each of us is the ‘ability to understand and choose’, since where there is compulsion there is no morally appreciable option.

Therefore, returning to ethics, it is a founding value for all civil societies, and does not coincide at all with the communis opinio, which instead makes it a superfluous element. Opinio, which in history has supported many dictatorships, and which today, as we often see, is unfortunately formed on social networks, which involve more imagination, emotions, fantasy, but certainly not rationality, which requires, vice versa: reflection, weighting, non-impromptu reasoning and a non-superficial cultural background “.

While small groups stirred souls on social media against the great conference opened precisely by Al-Issa, the theses of the clash of civilizations and the attempts to impose a religious, cultural, political and economic hegemony “without merit or moral” were denounced in Riyadh , condemning hatred and racism as the major instigators of violence, terrorism and division. Participants asked responsible national and international institutions to work hard on everything that can guarantee freedoms within the framework of respecting relevant international and national laws, maintaining family cohesion, which represents the core of society, and caring for quality. education. Those present invited the various influential platforms, in particular the media, to perceive the moral honesty entrusted to them as the most important element in orienting public opinion; as well as appealing to nation states and the international community to make all possible efforts to provide adequate protection to places of worship, guarantee free access to them, preserve their spiritual role and distance them from political conflicts and sectarian struggles.

But who is Mohammed Bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa? With a degree and a doctorate in Islamic Law from the University “Imam Muhammad bin Saud” in Riyadh, a trusted man and advisor to Saudi King Salman, Al-‘Issa has assumed international stature after being appointed Secretary General in 2016 of the League. Under his leadership, the MWL has taken on a new role, precisely that of building bridges. Founded in 1962 by King Faisal, since 2016, with the arrival of Al-issa, the Muslim League is experiencing a moment of strong visibility, as one of the main vectors of a new approach, which focuses on common values ​​among men and aims to prevent conflicts by promoting interreligious dialogue. The absolute protagonist of this new orientation has become precisely Al – Issa, who in 2017 met in the Vatican Pope Francis and Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, at the time president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (the following year the Cardinal reciprocated the visit and was received by King Salman himself in Riyadh). In 2018 he was awarded the Galileo prize in Florence for the promotion of interreligious and intercultural dialogue, participating in the Meeting of Friendship among the Peoples of Rimini (he will also participate in that of next August). While in 2021 he received the Norwegian “Bridge Builders” award, for his commitment as a man of peace and in building bridges between different religions and cultures (on this occasion, the MWL was defined, by American evangelical leaders, “our strongest and most reliable Islamic ally “). In recent years, the number 1 of the MWL, has also opened a channel of communication with the Russian, Ukrainian and Constantinople Orthodox Churches; and above all he has cultivated relations with various Jewish institutions in the USA and in the rest of the world. Finally, in 2020, al-‘Issa led a delegation of over 60 Muslims – 25 of them religious leaders – on their visit to Auschwitz, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the liberation from Nazism (an act that earned him a shower of criticism from the front and a great appreciation from the Jewish world, especially the American). Finally, the commitment of the Office of the World Muslim League in Rome, led by HE Dr. Abdul Aziz Al Sarhan, is also important, whose work in Italy has also been highly appreciated by the Italian and Vatican institutions.