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M. Diouf: Address to Summit 2022, Session I
Written by Sheikh Mansour Diouf, representative of Murid Brotherhood, Senegal
Thursday, August 11, 2022
Address to Summit 2022 and Leadership Conference,
Seoul, Korea, August 11-15, 2022
Good evening, everyone. Salaam alaikum as we say. It means “Peace be with you.” The Koran teaches that you greet one another in peace. We cannot speak of Islam without speaking of peace. When a neighbor greets you, you also have to say, “Peace be with you too.” I pray that peace be with you. One of my grandfathers was the founder of Muridism. He said that the only thing that the human being cannot go without is peace. Let’s work for peace today.
We talk about conflict in the world. I believe these wars are not worth it. We are supposed to be brothers and sisters. We are supposed to be parents and lovers. In the true sense of the term, the true wars that you should be dealing with are the scourges like pandemics, the coronavirus which shook the world with devastating effects on the economy and hospitals. These are scourges that we need to fight. There’s also the problem of climate change. There are floods everywhere. To end these scourges takes much time and money. If we fight these wars, if we make this effort, we will come closer to true peace.
We have people who think like this, for example, Mandela. He fought during 30 years in a peaceful way and was victorious when he forgave his enemies. I’m thinking of the president of Senegal, Macky Sall. who is a humble man. I think of my grandfather who was deprived of his freedom for 32 years, from 1895 until 1927. He was deported and exiled. When he came back, he said, “I forgive. I forgive everyone but I answer to God.” Today he is among the leading figures inspiring the Senegalese people.
I’m thinking of a contemporary person who brings us together—True Mother, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon. She has dedicated her life to peace and put forth so much effort, money, love and warmth. Despite all the setbacks, she is holding strong and she’s heading boldly towards peace. I think that the world should be inspired by the value that she’s embodying. Think of her late husband, Dr. Sun Myung Moon. They believe that to be a human being is a blessing of God. Thank God, I was not made a fish! He made me a human being. The Quran says that everything was created for men. Everything on the planet earth is for the disposal of men and women. Human beings should spend time thinking about God and be grateful to God. We have to contribute in our life through putting all our efforts to go toward this ideal. We want to reach peace.
True peace is more than the absence of war; it’s to be able to eat when we are hungry, to be cured when we are sick. I observe that Dr. Moon is one of the rare people dedicated to seeking this ideal against all odds. She is a holy person. She’s a woman of God. I call upon the heads of state to support this movement.
It’s necessary to educate the young people. We have to educate souls. We instruct but we don’t educate anymore. We forget the young people. Our ancestors helped us to reach this level. They gave us values so that we can be the mirror of the world. The participants here belong to the elites of the world—the United States, South Africa, Nigeria, South Korea, Japan, China. We don’t have the right not to bequeath something great to our children. We have to inculcate in them the religious life. All the revealed religions, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, have a common denominator which is peace. These are values we have to teach to our children. Young people have the strength. We have to give them the right spirit. We have to educate them. We have to keep them from going the wrong way. This event gives us the occasion to unite and to launch a great project of making peace with the young people. We want to reach the highest level so that they understand who Mother Moon is and what her vision is.
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