A royal fillip to global peace

Manama : In a truly historic move boosting global efforts to promote peace and harmony, His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa yesterday announced the establishment of the King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Co-existence. 

Official inauguration of the centre, affiliated with the Royal Court, will take place in Bahrain on March 14 at the Isa Cultural Centre which will also act as the temporary headquarters for the Centre.

The newly-established board of the Global Centre, chaired by  Shaikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, will have ten members who will serve for a four-year renewable term, according to a Royal Order. 

Members of the Board of trustees are Betsy Bennett Mathieson Abdulrahman, Salah Youssef Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al-Jowder, Ibrahim Dawood Ibrahim Nonoo, Samir Sadoq Mohammed Al-Baharna, Shahnaz Jaber Hajji Jamal, Christopher Martin Bott, Camillo Ballin and Majeed Mohsen Al-Asfoor, in addition to two other members.

HM, the King also appointed Dr Mohammed Taher Al-Qattan as secretary-general of King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Co-existence, in addition to his current position. The Royal orders will take effect as of the date of their publication in the Official Gazette. 

Meanwhile, congratulations poured in for HM the King from around the World applauding HM the King’s decision to establish a global centre for peaceful coexistence. 

His Eminence Niphon Metropolitan of Philippopolis, Representative of the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, termed the decision as “an addition to the many civilisational and humanitarian initiatives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.”

“The world is in dire need for such projects and establishments which would contribute to rapprochement among peoples and faiths and to the dissemination of the peaceful coexistence spirit in the human community,” the Niphon Metropolitan of Philippopolis told Bahrain’s Ambassador to Russia Ahmed Abdul Rahman Al Saati. 

Centre has boosted the status of Bahrain

“HM, the King’s works in this field meet the appreciation and respect of all religious institutions across the world and reinforce the Kingdom’s reputation as a home for peaceful co-existence.”

While receiving Bahrain’s Ambassador to Russia, His Eminence affirmed support of All-East Roman Orthodox Church to King Hamad Centre to help it achieve its noble goals. 

Isa Cultural Centre Deputy Chairman, Dr Shaikh Khalid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, said King Hamad’s Global Centre has “boosted the prestigious status of Bahrainis as ambassadors of religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence across the world.”

Speaking during a seminar hosted by “This is Bahrain Society” in collaboration with Isa Cultural Centre to introduce the King Hamad’s Global Centre for Interfaith Dialogue and Peaceful Coexistence, Shaikh Khalid hailed the move as indicative of the “outstanding religious liberties” in the Kingdom. 

The seminar was attended by more than 300 diplomats, Shura members, academicians, media figures, and representatives of the various religious and expatriate communities.

The King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Coexistence will be a purpose-built facility on a land gifted by His Majesty the King, and will also house a museum that will feature Bahrain’s rich history of religious freedom and peaceful coexistence, going back many hundreds of years.

The Centre aims at promoting peaceful coexistence through inter-faith dialogue and hold international conferences, seminars and dialogues and will act as a mediation centre for ethnic issues. The centre will host academics for research programmes, offer internships and exchange programmes for students of The King Hamad Chair at Sapienza University in Rome and allow students to experience, learn and share their thoughts regarding various houses of worship. 

In her speech, on the occasion, Betsy Mathieson, Secretary General of the Bahrain Federation of Expatriate Associations (BFEA), highlighted His Majesty the King’s project as the first of its kind in the world. 

“Interest in the King Hamad Global Centre has been truly overwhelming,” Mathieson said highlighting the inquiries received from organisations around the world. She added: “This is very exciting news, which shows that His Majesty’s initiative has struck a chord with major decision makers and influencers around the world.”