Bishop Mouneer and the Diocese of Egypt recently hosted a remarkable inter-faith dialogue event in our All Saints Garden Conference Center.
The Roundtable, with Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Prime Minister of the UK’ Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion, was focused on the topic of Citizenship, and how we can promote citizenship here in Egypt. They acknowledged that discrimination is not something unique to Egypt, as many other countries have councils and commissions to combat discrimination and intolerance.
It was an amazing event with participants from many sectors of life: politicians, religious leaders, and academics. They gathered to discuss how we can work together to promote tolerance and acceptance. Some of the participants were: Lord Ahmad, Bishop Mouneer, Dr. Mustafa El-Feki (director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina), Sheikh Abu-Zeid Al-Amir (“Family House” Coordinator), Counsellor Adli Hussein (former governor of Qalyubia governorate and President of the EU’s inter-faith dialogue committee), Dr. Zaid Bahaa Al-Din (former Deputy Prime Minister) and Bishop Angaelos (Coptic Orthodox Bishop in the UK).
Here are some quotes from the event:
“Achieving this future vision has to start from a recognition of where we are, of the types of challenges that we face, and also of the good faith behind meeting those challenges and facing them head on.”- Dr. Zaid Bahaa Al-Din
Bishop Angaelos said that this search for citizenship is about reclaiming something that was there and has been lost. We have to figure out why it was lost, and how to get it back.
Bishop Mouneer said, “Citizenship is a dream for every nation” and he affirmed President Sisi’s opening words at the recent World Youth Forum which promoted the elimination of discrimination within Egypt and affirmed the freedom of belief and worship here in Egypt. He also said that the burden of achieving this great vision falls on everyone.
Sheikh Abu-Zeid Al-Amir said that Family House is making huge efforts to train Imams and Priest to work together toward developmental work here in Egypt.
Adli Hussein said that the Egyptian constitution affirms citizen’s rights.
At the conclusion of the event, the Roundtable participants proposed the development of an independent commission to combat discrimination and intolerance here in Egypt, according to Article 53 of the Egyptian Constitution.
We are grateful to all of the Roundtable participants!
