At the opening of the exhibition of Islam and human rights in Athens, Dr. Al-Marri: The interpretation of religious texts to serve political purposes is a cause of tragedies and wars

The exhibition of Islam and human rights reflects our Islamic civilization away from the long-lasting distortion and blurring of its bright aspects.

All cultures faced practices of intolerance

The universal nature of rights and freedoms is beyond question

Secretary General of the Greek Arab Chamber of Commerce: The exhibition reflects the Islamic civilization’s respect for humanity

Croatian Ambassador to Athens: We did not expect such words to come out in such contemporary form and expression

Kutharis: Qatar seeks to promote and respect the culture of human rights

Athens: 12 December 2018

Dr. Ali bin Samikh Al Marri, Chairman of the National Human Rights Committee, expressed his rejection of all the practices of intolerance from which every culture and creed has suffered or continues to suffer, pointing out all civilizations have went through this point and history has been a witness to that. We also strongly denounce racism and extremism; we also strongly denounce racism and extremism. Al Marri added: God Almighty is not involved with the suffering, tragedies, wars and killings in his name and for his sake, it is of our own making through utilizing and interpreting the texts out of their context to serve political objectives, of which religion is innocent.

This came during the opening speech of the exhibition on the Arabic calligraphy on “Human Rights culture in Islam”, organized by the National Human Rights Committee in cooperation with the Embassy of the State of Qatar in Greece, the Grand Brittan Hotel in the Greek capital of Athens. In the presence of politicians and a number of representatives of diplomatic missions, Minister of Justice Mr. Kaluyero, Mr. Polaris, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, deputies from the Government and the opposition, former Minister for Navigation Panayotis Koroblis, and Director of the Diplomatic Bureau of the Speaker of the Parliament, Mr. Theokharopoulos. The ceremony was also attended by a large number of directors of the departments of the Greek Foreign Ministry. The ceremony was also attended by the three Muslim Muftis representing the western region of Thrace in northern Greece, a representative of the Archbishop of Greece, representatives of the Greek Air Force, and a large number of ambassadors and diplomats in Greece as well as community figures and representatives of civil society.

Dr. Al-Marri stated that The principle of universality of human rights goes beyond political, geographical, linguistic, even religious and cultural boundaries. At the Second World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna in 1993, this principle was affirmed in the second part of paragraph 1 of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action of the Conference which stated: “The universal nature of these rights and freedoms is beyond question.” While we agree with the principle of universality of human rights, we must also emphasize the importance of local cultures and the positive values of a society, whether religious, cultural or legal. The basic aim is to achieve and protect human rights, and address violations both in the name of cultural values and in the name of human rights. Focusing on the human rights-based aspect is not the end of development, and it is not unlikely that human understanding will develop beyond the rights. The United Nations was established in 1945 in the wake of the atrocities of the Second World War, in which more than 60 million people died and the atomic bomb was thrown in which the destruction was massive at all levels.
The principles of justice and international law were laid to achieve the maintenance of international peace and security; this was followed by the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 as the common standard that all peoples and nations should achieve.

Dr. Ali bin Samikh explained that the exhibition on Islam and Human Rights was launched to carry two messages: a local message that there is no contradiction between Islam and human rights, and a message to the world about tolerance, love, mercy, selflessness, equality, freedom and fraternity expressed in the texts of the Holy Quran. If we are serious about our global demand for international peace and security, we should interpret and understand our beliefs and texts from the standpoint of the values that I have mentioned above.

Al-Marri invited all the visitors to visit the exhibition and have a close look on the beauty of the Arabic calligraphy and the profound meaning of the texts, which reflects our Islamic civilization away from the long-lasting distortion and blurring of its bright aspects. For their part, the visitors expressed their admiration for the exhibition and their appreciation for the great effort exerted by its sponsors.

Croatian ambassador to Athens Alexander Sonko expressed his admiration for the idea of the exhibition, saying that he did not expect such words to come out in such contemporary form and expression. While Mr. Rashad Mabjar, Secretary-General of the Arab-Greek Chamber of Commerce and Development said that The exhibition reflects the Islamic civilization’s respect for humanity. Greek journalist Makis Trindevilopoulos has commended Qatar’s efforts in more than one field. He said that he considered it a role model for making decisions for development and construction.

For his part, Mr. Jurists Kuthris said that the blockade of Qatar and the obstacles that had been put in place made the state seek to mainstream and respect the culture of human rights in a turbulent world that did not recognize basic human rights: “As a man of law, I like this connection between Islam and its meaning and human rights in its modern form”.