In a message addressed to participants in the Parliamentary Conference on "Interfaith Dialogue: working together for our common future", which being held in Marrakech from June 13 to 15, the Sovereign stressed: "However, that cannot be achieved - and this, by the way, is one of the matters at stake in this conference - unless we put words into action, show a keenness to revisit the concept of interfaith dialogue and achieve a quantum leap in collective awareness of the importance of dialogue and coexistence, and of the perils represented by persistent reclusiveness, fanaticism and introversion.”
HM the King added that this Conference brings together "parliamentarians, in their capacity as legislators and representatives of their fellow citizens, as well as a large number of religious leaders, distinguished scholars, experts and researchers from all corners of the world.”
“I do hope the Marrakesh Conference will come up with a rational and convincing response to the drifts towards intolerance, hatred, contempt for religions, and the treatment of people based on their faith, ethnicity or the color of their skin,” noted the Sovereign in the message read out by speaker of the House of Representatives, Rachid Talbi El Alami, expressing his conviction that the diversity of the participants' respective statuses and the variety of their political, intellectual and religious backgrounds “constitute a key element for the fulfilment of this ambition”.
His Majesty the King said that "whereas the parliamentarians participating in this conference are empowered to pass legislation that facilitates dialogue and staves off discourses of introversion and fanaticism, religious leaders and institutions, for their part, have a mission of guidance and awareness-raising; they can summon their spiritual authority to groom and guide, and to warn against perilous inclinations that ruin coexistence and fruitful interfaith dialogue”.
“We should realize that fearing a given religion – or, to put it more correctly, prompting feelings of fear of that religion – leads to hatred for the manifestations of that faith and for the civilization associated with it,” the Sovereign stressed.
“This, then, leads to incitement against that religion, to discrimination and to acts of violence,” added HM the king, expressing His deep regret that many influential media organizations simply encourage, in their editorial line, a spiral of fanaticism and counter fanaticism.
The Sovereign also expressed his wish to see the Marrakech Conference result in “action plans and that the three components represented here will play decisive roles in their implementation, at the level of each country as well as on a global scale”.
HM the King stressed the need to set a joint mechanism, to be coordinated by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, whose mission would be to make interfaith dialogue a common, lofty goal for the entire international community.
“That goal should be defended in international forums and considered one of the key principles of democratic governance in parliamentary practice, as well as an indicator of respect for pluralism and cultural diversity,” underlined the Sovereign, pointing out that “since the very basis of coexistence is for religion to serve as a bulwark against extremism - and not a vehicle for it - the enforcement of this principle, together with due respect for other faiths, require pedagogical and educational efforts by schools, universities, the media, religious institutions and responsible public debate platforms”.
Referring to a number of challenges and crises that are shaking humanity, as well as a number of very worrying signs concerning the future of relations between different faiths and civilizations, His Majesty the King considered it necessary, in the face of these signs, for the living forces, committed to the equality of religions, civilizations and, beyond that, of all human beings, to mobilize to reverse the current trend and adopt policies that would stem this perilous decline in human consciousness.
“It goes without saying that the institutions represented in this conference are at the heart of the lofty battle for the promotion of understanding, tolerance and coexistence through institutional action, awareness-raising and education,” added the Sovereign, noting that institutional action and awareness-raising and educational work are also necessary.
“The bleak picture reflected by the conflict of beliefs in the world today should not obscure the positive and bright aspects, nor the bold initiatives launched to strengthen communication and consolidate values rooted in tolerance, understanding and coexistence between the members of the international community, and between followers of different faiths,” said HM the king.
Welcoming the fact that the participants in this Conference “are part of these political elites, religious leaders, intellectuals and thinkers, who believe that mankind's mission on earth, as willed by the Almighty, is for people to get to know and cooperate with one another, and to coexist, regardless of religious or doctrinal differences,” the Sovereign underlined that this “is the responsibility and sacred mission of all humans”.