Former US Congressman Michael Flanagan underlined that His Majesty King Mohammed VI’s Leadership in support of interfaith dialogue and respect for pluralism and cultural diversity is “more essential than ever”, especially in a world plagued by divisions and crises.
Flanagan stated that “what makes the world so complex today is that we spend so much time focusing on our differences rather than our similarities, which are far more important,” underlining that the recommendations and observations in His Majesty the King’s message to the participants in the Parliamentary Conference on Interfaith Dialogue in Marrakech are extremely pertinent.
Flanagan stressed the importance of His Majesty the King’s message in support of coexistence, noting that, in a context marked by a tension that is tearing the world apart, the Sovereign’s humane and moral commitment grants the Sovereign an important “global role” in the service of conflict resolution and the promotion of dialogue, tolerance, and coexistence.
In this regard, Flanagan praised His Majesty the King’s proposal to create a mechanism, under the aegis of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), to promote interfaith dialogue between different parties of the international community.
Recalling his experience in the legislative field, the former representative of the fifth district of Illinois emphasized the significant role that parliamentarians play in promoting the democratic practice and defending pluralism and diversity, underlining that compromise and acceptance of others and their rights are, as the Sovereign reminded us, the bulwarks against “discourses of introversion and fanaticism.”
Organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) with the Moroccan Parliament, in partnership with “Religions for Peace” and with the support of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the Mohammedia League of Ulema, this conference was attended by parliamentarians, religious leaders, and representatives of civil society, who engaged in constructive dialogue and exchanged knowledge in an attempt to resolve the main problems preventing sustainable coexistence.
