The current relations, issues and conflicts internationally have all shown that right now mankind is exists in a critical time in our history which will require all nations to work diligently towards creating a more just global society. Recently, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to discuss some of these issues in front of a congregation of members of the United Peace Federation. For those who are unfamiliar with the UPF, the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) is a global network of individuals and organizations dedicated to building a world of peace in which everyone can live in freedom, harmony, cooperation, and prosperity. Additionally, the UPF is a NGO that holds special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Since the organization’s founding in 2005, the UPF has promoted many services and global initiatives for the United Nations and below are some of the objectives which the organization hopes to establish.
· Renewal of the United Nations
· Partnerships among governments, religions, and civil society fostering development grounded in universal values
· A culture of peace through education, sports, arts, media, and service
· A framework for interreligious cooperation
· Conflict prevention and resolution
The organization founded by Rev. Sun Myung Moon also has close ties to the members of his the global Church founded by him called the Unification Church. While I do not necessarily agree with some of the tenets of the church, I nevertheless saw the mission of his global interreligious organization very much in line with what we are promoting through the work of the DRC. Thus, I accepted this invitation hoping that I would be able to share and discuss ideas with people who were doing similar work to foster world peace. When, I arrived at one of the chapter’s centers in Dallas, Texas I was warmly greeted by some of the UPF Ambassadors for Peaces as well as the youth who were active in their service programs for their organization. In the speech that I gave to the members of the congregation, I addressed some of the key issues that we are facing today.
First and foremost as a Muslim I believe that all of mankind belongs to one community, which without a doubt could not be more apparent in the increasing globalized world we live in today. Therefore, the responsibility of creating a more just and peaceful global society relies on all people of different nations worldwide. In this critical moment in our history, as societies are becoming more and more interconnected, there is a growing awareness amongst leaders from nations worldwide that the path to sustainable peace and development of all humanity is no longer based on national interests alone it relies on security, cooperation and collective development of all nations and individuals worldwide. We as species have made tremendous strides to overcome many obstacles to arrive at this phase in our history. What is most important about the time we are living in is that mankind now possesses the sufficient technology, economic resources and ideas to bring about a more peaceful global order.
However, before we reached this stage as a whole we must work to resolve the recurring religious, social, national and ethnic tensions that have undoubtedly hindered humanity’s progresses to reaching this goal. The actualization of this enlightened order will depend on mankind's collective recognition that promotion of human rights, freedom, peace, justice and preservation of our environment are not only vital but reasonable duties. After, my speech I had the chance to speak to a few members of the UPF personally on a few pertinent global issues. Most importantly, we discussed the topic of the spread of global social welfare in different parts of the world most notably here in the U.S where the American government is in the process of trying to pass a bill that would make Universal healthcare available to citizens who are unable to afford coverage from private insurance companies.
Overall, my meeting with the UPF members was a good one, which caused me to not only reflect on some of the critical issues the world is facing today but also where we are going in the future. Some of these issues will be discussed in my upcoming work on mankind’s journey towards the Yaum Ad-Deen. This work will be very extensive and will address topics such as, the fundamental differences between deen and religion, the historical view of global unification from biblical times, Muslim history and western societies before and after the Enlightenment. Additionally, I will include thoughts on clarifiing the contemopary misinterpreted term known as sharia, important Quranic concepts that have been neglected and misinterpreted are a vital for societies, implications for this period in from the Qur’an as well from the viewpoints from scholars, thinkers and intellectuals plus many more topics.
Copyright ©2010 Kamran Cheikh