In gesprek met de kalief - Hoofdinhoud

foto: Sheraz Haroon

Zaterdag was ik op bezoek bij de jaarlijkse conferentie van de ahmadi’s in Nederland. De ahmadi-moslims hechten sterk aan tolerantie en vrijheid van religie. De leuze van de gemeenschap is: Liefde voor iedereen, haat voor niemand. De leden van de ahmadiyya gemeenschap geloven dat hun stichter de Messias en de Mahdi is, die door de profeet Mohammed werd voorspeld. Omdat ze ook geloven dat hij een profeet is, worden ze door vele andere moslims beschouwd als kafirs (ongelovigen), wat geleid heeft tot zware vervolgingen van de ahmadi’s en schendingen van hun mensenrechten. Zaterdag was ook de kalief Mirza Masroor Ahmad, leider van de ahmadi’s aanwezig. In Nederland telt de gemeenschap zo’n vijftienhonderd mensen, wereldwijd twintig miljoen. Ik hield er een korte toespraak over tolerantie. Die lees je hieronder.

Your holiness , mayor of Nunspeet, ladies and gentlemen,

Tolerance is the essence of all freedoms. Tolerance is the essence of friendship as well. I stand before you in friendship but also with grave concerns about the lack of tolerance we face in the world of today. Millions of people today are persecuted because of their religious or political convinction.

Intolerance and discrimination is an issue, not only in countries far away but also in the EU, even in the Netherlands. In our beloved country we face intolerance and discrimination based on ethnic, religious, cultural and sexual background. This is something we should not only be aware of. It is something we should fight.

One of the main tools to fight intolerance and discrimination is education. A consistent policy on teaching tolerance throughout all the layers of society, starting from early age, is necessary. If our children were taught to be tolerant to people of different racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, a new tolerant generation would emerge preventing further spread of racism.

Tolerance cannot turn against us as its essence is to treat everyone equal. So if we treat others as equals, they will treat us just the same. The Socialist Party, for which I am a Member of Parliament, has based its program on three central values: human dignity, equal worthyness and solidarity. It is our strong belief that basic freedoms such as the freedom of religion and the freedom of speech should be considered of universal importance and be respected throughout the world. Unfortunately this is not the case in today’s world.

Christians in some islamic countries cannot practise their faith in freedom. Muslims are sometimes discriminated in Europe, also in the Netherlands. And your own Ahmadiyya community faces harsh discrimination and persecution in Pakistan. We cannot turn a blind eye to these facts. Politicians should use all the tools they have to fight religious intoleration. Here and abroad. I have raised the issue of persecution of the Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan various times in Dutch parliament and will continue to do so.

Today is a special day because of the presence of your holiness. I feel honoured to be part of this meeting and hope that we can share our ideas on the central theme of tolerance.