4 February 2021- First International Day of Brotherhood
"An invitation to reconciliation and brotherhood among all believers, indeed between believers and non-believers, and among all people of good will"
Two years after the signing of the Abu Dhabi document on the fraternity of human beings, “for peace and common coexistence”, Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, celebrate – in a virtual event organised by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, with the participation of the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres – the First International Day of Human Brotherhood called by the UN. The Resolution of 21 December specifically refers to that event in 2019 as a significant moment in Christian-Muslim relations. Hence the inspiration for the date on which the brotherhood will be celebrated each year.
The Bishop of Rome and the Grand Imam had spent almost a year and a half drafting the “Document on Human Brotherhood”, until they announced it together during their visit to the Emirates in February 2019. A few months later, the High Committee for Human Brotherhood was established, with the aim of translating the aspirations of the Document on Human Brotherhood into concrete commitments and actions, to promote fraternity, solidarity, respect and understanding.
The High Committee plans to establish an “Abrahamic Family House”, with a synagogue, church and mosque, on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi.
The high committee will designate the winners of the “Zayed 2021 Award for Human Brotherhood” which for this year went to Latifa Ibn Ziaten and Antonio Guterres.
The delivery in a “virtual” event organized by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed which will also be attended by the Pope and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar.
Originally from Morocco but resident in France since 1977, 61 years old and mother of five children, Latifa Ibn Ziaten is the founder of the Association “Imad for Youth and Peace”. In 2012, the murder of one of her sons, a paratrooper in the French army, prompted her to seek out the author of the murder to understand the reasons behind his act. That encounter – Vatican News explains – allowed her to enter the world of a boy who had never managed to integrate into society. Since founding the association, Latifa has traveled throughout France to promote social harmony.
Portuguese, born in 1949, secretary general of the UN, Guterres during the last year in which the whole world was engulfed by the pandemic – says the motivation of the award – has repeatedly raised his voice calling for a “global truce around the world to focus together on the real fight: to defeat Covid-19”.
