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While the world is burning due to the atrocities and persistent violations of human values, the people of our time—in spite of their spiritual and moral captivity—find themselves in the process of developing a new conscience for human beings to be able to overcome fear, ignorance, and isolation in the future. The necessary leadership to promote this process ought to consider the growing conscience of reality that men and women are obliged to confront permanently.
All humans born in this world are of identical flesh, blood, bone, and soul. We need this to live, and any diminishment of the first three causes us to physically fade. What differentiates us in this worldly life are our shape, strength, and attitude. The most formidable aspect of our life is our attitude toward others and our actions arising out of that attitude.
The events of 9/11 have had a significant impact on Muslims in Canada, as did the arrest of 18 Muslim youths allegedly involved in a terror training camp in June 2006. The community as a whole saw such incidents as a threat to their acceptance and integration, but they remain confident of security and justice while making Canada as their home. That terrorism was a threat in Canada was a revelation to the whole community. After almost four years of psychological wrangling over the threats and repercussion, today the community is united against any sort of terrorism that makes them and their fellow citizens victims.
Congratulations on the 7th Annual Ambassadors for Peace Banquet. I especially want to commend the recipients of the Excellence in Leadership Award and the newly appointed Ambassadors for Peace. You are members of a distinguished group of people who are seeking to promote a unified world of peace. As Ambassadors for Peace you have joined the world’s largest and most divers network of peace leaders, representing the religious, racial and ethnic diversity of the human family, as well as all disciplines of human endeavor.
It is my fundamental conviction that an ideal world of peace and unity cannot be established by human effort alone. It requires faith. To build a world of peace, we need to elevate our faith to a higher level and learn to see each other with our spiritual eyes, eyes of love and acceptance. Only then can we build One Family under God by receiving the marriage blessing and forming families of peace centered on the true love of God.
The Pakxe Project advocates a culture of peace in South East Asia. It was drafted in 1996 and legitimated by the UNESCO declaration of the period 2001-2010 as the International Decade for a Culture of Peace: in line with the concerns of UNESCO, it offers an alternative model to the clash of civilizations.
Nepal is crying out for leadership with vision, governance, with sensitivity, an environment free of violence and instability. It also needs a minimum of trust between various groups who were until recently fighting each other—principally the Army and the Maoists—but who now simply have to work together in order to create a new Nepal. The UPF must lead international efforts to create that kind of conducive environment through new peace initiatives. The road map must naturally be a combination of idealism and realism.
I am confident that this convocation in Korea on marriage and family will inspire us all to work tirelessly so that the balance of this 21st Century will be characterized by wholesome marriages, loving families, and therefore peace.
Nepal is in the midst of a historic transition of great significance. After the major political parties including the Maoists agreed to sign a Comprehensive Peace Agreement to end a decade-long insurgency and re-establish democracy in the country in 2006, the country has come a long way in its most crucial political transformation in its history.
Can religion and religious leaders contribute to disarmament? You have all heard the quote, “Nations shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.” It can be found in one of the oldest religious books.