Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue receives a delegation of the German Bundestag

04 Nov Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue receives a delegation of the German Bundestag

Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue received a German delegation of members of the German Bundestag at its headquarters in Katara Cultural Village on Monday, October 31, 2022, at 10 am. The delegation was accompanied by the Coordination Office from the German Embassy in Doha – Qatar.

The delegation included HE Members of the German Bundestag, the following names: Mr. Boris Mijatovic, Ms. Lamya Kaddor, Dr. Christoph Johannes Ploss, Dr. Joe Weingarten and Mr. Andre Philip Krämer. The delegation included the following from the office of His Excellency Mr. Mijatovic: Mr. Görisch, and Mr. Bach. The delegation was also accompanied by Embassy staff: Mr. Sönke Lorenz, Deputy Head of Mission, Mr. Jörg Fürstenau, First Secretary and Ms. Farah Majanini, Protocol Team.

The delegation was received by DICID staff led by Dr. Ahmed Abdelreheem, a senior researcher and acting director of DICID, Ms. Nadia Al-Ashqar, the conference coordinator, and Dr. Sekou Toure, a senior researcher at DICID.

Dr. Ahmed Abdel Rahim welcomed the distinguished delegation and conveyed the greetings of the Chairman of the Board of Directors, His Excellency Dr. Ibrahim bin Saleh Al Naimi, who was unable to receive them himself as he was on a trip abroad.

Dr. Ahmed introduced Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue to the delegation by explaining the historical background of its establishment and talking about the main goals, vision and mission of DICID. He also presented the main activities through which DICID aims to realize these noble visions. Ms. Nadia also shed light on Doha International Conference for Interfaith Dialogue, mentioning its objectives and the main issues discussed in previous conferences, pointing out that the last conference was the fourteenth conference on hate speech between practices and sacred texts. The international conference is one of DICID’s largest regular and consistent events.

The delegation praised the importance of such works that instill in society and in the world a culture of peace, coexistence and acceptance of others, and contribute to overcoming the crises in the world.

Answer the delegation’s question about whether you advocate religion to solve humanity’s problems? Dr. Ahmed stated that religion is one of the most important influences on human beings and that there are millions of people who call themselves religious and follow one of the religions, and that there are religious teachings that contribute to solving the current humanitarian crises such as hunger, poverty, unemployment, and terrorism, and that in DICID we strive to activate the teachings of religions – especially Islam, Christianity, and Judaism – to solve or at least reduce these problems.

Dr. Ahmed highlighted the most important relationships that DICID has with Germany. He mentioned that a number of German personalities participate in Doha International Conferences for Interfaith Dialogue, especially in the last conference: (Religions and hate speech between practice and texts ). DICID has also worked to translate some of its publications into German, such as the message (The Unity of Human Values in the Revelatory Religions and the Principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights).
Dr. Ahmed pointed out that Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue works in close partnership with German institutions, including the Supreme Council of Muslims in Germany and the Muwatana Foundation – German Institute for Dialogue and Understanding, which is headed by Ayman Mazyek, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Muslims in Germany, and Abdul Samad Al Yazidi, Secretary General of the Council. DICID would like to conduct a research project on the situation of Arab refugees in the West.

The meeting discussed relevant issues for cultural dialogues, questions about Islam and peace, and the best way to clear up the misunderstandings in some people’s minds about many issues of coexistence, dialogue, pluralism, and the relationship of religions to one another.

Ms. Nadia also pointed out that the Foundation Against Racism, a German institution that was awarded Doha International Award for Interfaith Dialogue 2022, has made “outstanding contributions to spreading a culture of moderate discourse,” one of the unique awards that DICID has launched as an initiative. Promoting institutions and active individuals in the field of religious dialogue, humanitarian work and the dissemination of a culture of peace and coexistence.