In his opening speech at the Burmese Youth Dialogue Forum for Peace, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar declares:

• The crisis in Rakhine poses a serious threat to Myanmar.
• Nothing is more damaging to a nation than killing in the name of religion and on the basis of race.
• It is God's Will for humankind to have variant religions, colors, tongues and races.
• Minority is a negatively wretched concept, usually leading to bloodshed and displacement of the innocent.
• Discrimination in Myanmar will aggravate the tensions and even hold back all ambitions to progress and development.
• Equal citizenship to all citizens of Myanmar, regardless of religion or race, is the only way to defuse the climate of rancor and hatred.
• We hope that Myanmar would avail of the Egyptian Family House experience that succeeded in entrenching the concept of full citizenship and coexistence in a short period of time.

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Myanmar Meeting Speech

Ladies and Gentlemen

As-Salāmu ‛Alaykum wa Raḩmatu Allahi wa Barakatuh

     I would like to initiate my speech with sending my sincere congratulations on the new year with devoted prayers for Allah to bless the world with a new happy year of peace and security for the entire humanity. May Allah make it a time for us to stop bloodshed and put out the fire of wars among the brothers of nations, religions, and the humanity.

     It is a pleasure for the Muslim Council of Elders (MCE) to invite a selected group of the Myanmar youth, males and females, from different religions and races, and welcome them in their second home, Egypt, such a pure country where religions melt into one national fabric forming a solid rock against the plots of malicious criminals and destroyers who espouse evils and aim to devastate nations.

Dear brothers and children of Myanmar,

     You are in no need of further clarification on the gravely immanent threats to your home resulting from the ongoing crisis of Rakhine State. Actually, this crisis finds no justification whatever in religion, humanity or the ethics of civilization. It is really extraneous to the ancient nation of Myanmar endowed with a long history of faith, wisdom and peace, which formed for long a rich source of enlightenment for humankind. Your civilization and religions provided torches of peace for the entire humanity. Indeed, nothing is more damaging to a nation than killing in the name of religion or race; it destroys life and leads to bloodshed. Neither did the Prophets and Messengers come to incite killing, nor did the wise persons and godly people come to provoke persecution or displacement of the innocent.

     Conversely, all Divine religions, scriptures and teachings assert that the Divine Will of the Supreme Lord has willed to create the human beings different in religion, colors, languages and races. Had the Lord so willed to make them all follow the same religion or have the same color, language or race, He would have done that. He is the Omnipotent. However, all religions affirm the central truth of the philosophy of creation and formation: “Among His Wonders is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the diversity of your tongues and colors. For in this there are messages indeed for all who are possessed of [innate] knowledge!” (Qur᾿ān, 30:22). The fraternity of faith teaches us the fraternity of humankind. For a believer, a human fellow is either a brother in faith or a brother in humanity. In the wake of his prayers, the Prophet of Islam (pbuh) frequently addressed His Lord saying, “O Allah, Our Lord and the Lord of everything, I bear witness that Muḩammad is Your Servant and Messenger. O Allah, our Lord and the Lord of everything, I bear witness that all the servants [human beings] are brethren” (Abu Dawud, Kitābu ṣ-Ṣalāh).

     There is no greater evidence than such testimony that opens the gates of human fraternity wide for all people without any reservation based on gender, color, race or religion. Religions teach us that Allah has created all the human beings—the believers and the unbelievers alike. As Muslims, we read in the Qur᾿ān: “He is the One who has created you, then among you there is the unbeliever, and among you there is the believer. Allah is fully Watchful of everything you do.” (Qur᾿ān, 64:2) In their commentary on this verse, the Qur᾿ānic scholars hold the view that the unbeliever comes first in order as an indication that unbelief is more dominant among people. We shall know that the Divine Wisdom is far above creating the unbelievers and then commanding the believers to kill and eradicate them. Clearly, such presumption is meaningless and goes against the Wisdom of the Creator. He is the Creator, the Maker and the Initiator of the whole creation.

     The early Muslim tradition declares, “The creatures are the dependents of God; the most beloved ones to Allah are the most beneficial to His dependents.” The wise call, good advice, and sweet word shall be the only way for human relations between believers and unbelievers. Beyond that, each one shall allow the others full freedom to choose their way of life. In his letter to the people of Yemen, the Prophet (pbuh) said, “Anyone of the Jews or of the Christians who chooses not to accept Islam shall have full freedom of belief and face no compulsion to leave his/her religion.” The Noble Qur᾿ān clearly puts it, “Say: ‘The truth has now come from your Lord;’ let, then, him who wills believe, and let him who wills disbelieve.” (Qur᾿ān, 18:29) If all religions approve of this highly human set of ethics in their building of human relationship, it will be impossible for the teachings of religions to ignore that freedom or confine it to the brethren of a certain religion to the exclusion of others, let alone the confiscation of all other consequent human rights and ethical duties.

     O Burmese young people of all races and religions, the wisdom of Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam, with which your land is deeply rich, call upon you day and night: “Never kill, steal or tell a lie! Preserve your chastity and refrain from drinking alcohols.” During the years of our studies at Al-Azhar College of Uṣūlu d-Dīn (Theology), we have learned from the wisdom of the east that Buddhism is a set of human and moral teachings in the first place, and that the Silent Wise Buddha is one of the greatest figures in the history of humanity. He was exceptionally noted for serenity, rationality, kindness, sympathy and promotion of love. The notable senior historians of religions in the world described his teachings as “an endless source of mercy.” As a source of mercy, Buddha was a peaceful and kind person free from arrogance and vain pride. He was very lenient and gracious to people. His recommendations encourage love and kindness to others. I remind of this figure to stress that the Council of Elders pins great hopes on you— young males and females. We hope that you grow the seeds of peace whose trees shall bless the Rakhine State and all the citizens of Burma with peace. Take the lead and promote the culture of citizenship to overcome the concept of “minorities” and the evil consequences of exclusion and marginalization incurred by this wretched concept, which finally result in bloodshed and displacement of the innocent.

     We shall know that the gruesome images of killings, persecutions and chases aired via media are not befitting a great nation with prestigious civilization like that of Burma. The discrimination in Myanmar will aggravate the tensions and even hold back all national ambitions to progress and development as wished by the Council of Elder and my person, as well as this chosen group of Egyptian scholars, intellectuals, and media men. We hope that this bleak image hurtful to human feelings in the east and the west comes to an end. We—the Council of Elders and Al-Azhar— urge the people of Myanmar to actualize the principle of equal citizenship to all citizens in the community, regardless of religions or races, as the only way to defuse the climate of rancor and hatred. The Council of Elders stands ready to offer all the aspects of cooperation and assistance for the promotion and establishment of these principles. Here, we also introduce the experience of the Egyptian Family House composed of Muslim and Christian Egyptians, which succeeded in entrenching the concept of full citizenship and coexistence in a short period.

     O youth, it is not hidden that the Council of Elders has long been concerned with the issue of peace in Myanmar. After deep contemplation and extensive studies, we found that the shortest way to understanding and dialogue lies in the minds of the young citizens of Burma. They are most capable to overcome this crisis which, if left, will inevitably devastate everything in its path. Truly, the youth are more open-minded, purer in hearts, and watchful in consciences and enthusiastically more ambitious for peace. At last, I hope this meeting marks a first step to hold other meetings on the path of making just and lasting peace for Myanmar. I am hopefully looking forward to the Council of Elders to listen to you and recognize your pains and hopes to do the best we can in relieving your pains and helping your hopes come true. Thank you all. My thanks are also due to all those who have participated for the support of your issue.

As-Salāmu ‛Alaykum wa Raḩmatu Allahi wa Barakatuh