AMMAN — HRH Prince Hassan, chairperson of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies’ (RIIFS) board of trustees, on Monday stressed the importance of reflecting on vital global issues and the fundamental principles of humanity to achieve a humanitarian global order that preserves dignity and promotes communication.

 

The prince’s remarks were made during a virtual lecture titled “Religion, Man and Internal Peace Building”, organised by the RIIFS in cooperation with the Tunisian Ministry of Religious Affairs and the Tunisian embassy in Amman, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

 

The event saw the participation of Tunisian Minister of Religious Affairs Ibrahim Al Shaibi, as well as a number of officials, scholars and academics from Arab countries.

 

Prince Hassan stressed the need to strengthen the concept of global humanity and build a strong and effective consensus to address the challenges and dangers threatening humanity and its future, reiterating his call for the establishment of a global institution for charitable giving and human solidarity.

 

The prince also pointed to the importance of “renewing the social and moral dimension of religious discourse to achieve the advancement of civilisation”. He also emphasised the need to “find entry points of perception”, resume scientific research and minimise ignorance.

 

His Royal Highness offered to review the vision of Tunisian Islamic jurist and faqih Muhammad Ibn Ashur, which calls for the opening of a wide space for ijtihad — the process of interpretation by religious scholars — as Islam “does not aim to provide all answers in all aspects of life, so that people can be responsible”.

 

Shaibi, who moderated the meeting, highlighted the need to integrate both countries’ efforts, expressing appreciation for the role of Prince Hassan in extending the concepts of rapprochement and mainstreaming human communication around the world.  

 

He highlighted the importance of joint action towards a practical application of all scholarly efforts towards religious discourse in harmony with the times. 

 

Citing scholars, jurists and figures from Al Zaytoona Tunisian University, such as Ibn Ashur, known as a reformer advocating for reason and change, Shaibi stressed the importance of supporting the prince’s efforts, which made “great contributions” to research, writing and Islamic and reform efforts towards a common, participatory and humanitarian Arab consciousness.