Amman, May 11 (Petra) – His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies, sponsored the closing ceremony of a conference titled "Christians in the Arab Levant and the Aspirations for Unity and Enlightenment." The event brought together Christian religious leaders from the Levant, alongside a select group of Muslim and Christian intellectuals.

Reviewing the conference’s final recommendations, Prince El Hassan underscored the importance of renewing the discourse, spirit, and values of the Levantine renaissance. He emphasized the need to build a regional model and mindset rooted in dialogue and stability as foundations for sustainability.

Prince El Hassan further highlighted the necessity of establishing a platform for dialogue and communication across the region, to foster shared understanding and achieve creative common ground. He noted that enlightenment and unity in the Levant require collective will and the development of a roadmap that includes elite and grassroots meetings focused on bridging societal gaps.

The conference concluded by strongly condemning the ongoing Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including the killing of civilians and the systematic destruction of hospitals, schools, universities, and places of worship.

Participants called for an immediate ceasefire and increased support for the Palestinian people. They also condemned the attacks on Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites, stressing that such actions weigh heavily on the conscience of believers across the Arab Levant and the wider world.

The recommendations included a call to build upon Islamic documents issued by Al-Azhar Al-Sharif to reinforce Christian-Muslim relations, and to develop the principles laid out in the Document on Human Fraternity, jointly issued by His Holiness Pope Francis and Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Dr. Ahmed El-Tayeb.

The conference also stressed the need to integrate the values of dialogue and altruism into national education systems by revising school and university curricula to nurture interreligious understanding.

Concluding recommendations highlighted the necessity of promoting citizenship rights and embracing diversity, pluralism, and difference. Participants emphasized the importance of reinforcing the collective presence of all Levantines and recognizing their shared destiny, to strengthen both Islamic and Christian resilience and deepen commitment to their homelands.

Finally, the conference urged all countries in the region to view the Levant’s diversity as a blessing, not a burden, and called for legislation that manages this diversity constructively. It also proposed establishing a "parliament of cultures" to reflect the voice of the people and safeguard the rights of current and future generations.

//Petra// AJ

11/05/2025 20:36:16