Human fraternity: Young people prepare guide to solidarity for universities
By Alessandro Di Bussolo
A new 鈥減ractical guide to solidarity solutions鈥� aims at bringing the values of the , signed five years ago by 杏MAP导航 Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Tayyeb, to young people, starting with university communities and campuses around the world.
The guide is the work of eleven university students selected for the 鈥淗uman Fraternity Fellows program for the promotion of intercultural and interreligious harmony.鈥� The students travelled to Abu Dhabi from 3-10 February for a week of dialogues, lectures and guided tours, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Document.
A guide to help young people experience fraternity
As part of their visit to Abu Dhabi, the fellows took part in the third discussion panel of the 鈥淢ajlis of Human Brotherhood鈥� on the afternoon of 4 February at the Abrahamic Family House. They also participated in the roundtable of the Zayed Prize for Human Brotherhood, on the morning of February 6 in the Emirates Palace Hotel.
Speaking with Vatican Media, Egyptian judge Mohamed Abdelsalam, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Elders and the Zayed Prize, who has worked on this project from the beginning, said the 鈥減ractical guide鈥� being produced by the students aims at 鈥渋llustrating how young people can experience human fraternity in their communities and on college campuses.鈥�
The students will continue to meet online, as they did from October 2023 until the eve of the Abu Dhabi trip, to finalize the guide, which will be published as an e-book.
Online dialogues promoted by Georgetown University.
Joining Judge Abdelsalem, was the representative of Georgetown University in Washington, which is promoting the fellowship program with the High Committee for Human Fraternity. Thomas Banchoff, the director of the Berkley Center and vice president for global engagement at the U.S. university, emphasized that the Human Fraternity Fellowship, 鈥渞ecognizes that universities, as microcosms of larger societies, can be fertile ground for cultivating mutual understanding and respect between different faiths.鈥�
The program鈥檚 first offering was four 鈥淕lobal Dialogues on Human Fraternity,鈥� held online from February to March 2023 and hosted by Georgetown, which for 90 minutes featured more than a hundred young students from 40 countries sharing their impressions of the Human Fraternity Document, discussing its relevance to their local contexts and campus communities, and proposing creative ideas for promoting intercultural and interfaith solidarity in practice.
Sofia: 'We will continue to meet'
From among those taking part in the dialogues, eleven students were selected, who then met in person in Abu Dhabi after having identified, in initial online interviews, some of the obstacles to interfaith dialogue and inclusivity within their university settings and beginning to explore solutions that build on the principles outlined in the Document.
鈥淭oday, after this experience, we have become a group of friends who over the years will continue to share鈥� online and in person, 鈥渨hat we have learned here in Abu Dhabi, including with other students at our universities,鈥� emphasized Sofia Lanza, who is majoring in Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
A practical approach to interreligious dialogue
As secretary and interreligious officer of the Catholic Students鈥� Union at her university, Sofia is committed to promoting understanding and dialogue between different religious communities, especially through communication.
She explains that she wanted to participate in the program because she would like to see 鈥渁 more practical approach to interfaith dialogue,鈥� which she considers 鈥渢oo diplomatic鈥� today. 鈥淪o many times,鈥� she tells Vatican Media, 鈥渃onfrontations and debates between people of different faiths are not understood by young people because they seem so distant from us, almost surreal, whereas this program gives us a chance to actually experience this dialogue as our own, and I want to do my part.鈥�
Sofia says the Document on Human must become 鈥渁 document that we can use every day, in our lives and at university, and that we can refer to when we want to speak and make peace. For the youth of today and for the youth of tomorrow.鈥�
Ishan: 'A text that speaks to us'
Next to her, Ishan Datey, a student at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, nods in agreement. Ishan鈥檚 family is originally from India, and Ishan is in charge of interfaith dialogue for the university鈥檚 Hindu Student Association
As it stands, he says, 鈥淚 don't think [the Document] is 鈥榙igestible鈥� in all its parts for us young people. There is work to be done, but [even] as it is, it speaks to us young people about peace, harmony, and dialogue. We all have one Father, and so human fraternity is a value for all human beings.鈥�
Hindu values in Document
Active in Georgetown鈥檚 Dharmic community, Ishan sees the human fraternity fellowship program as 鈥渁n opportunity to engage with people from around the world about religion and make the Hindu Dharmic tradition known.鈥�
Upon returning to the United States, he says, 鈥淚 will share what we discussed here with my family and our friends, but then also, through social media, with fellow believers in India and South Asia, to explain how people loyal to our tradition can interact with human fraternity and join this cause.鈥�
Aisha and the 鈥楬ouse of Tolerance'
Also taking part in the program is Aisha Alyassi from Dubai, a graduate student in International Studies from the American University of Sharjah in the UAE, who is attending King's College London in Britain as a postgraduate student.
Passionate about promoting peace and global tolerance, her current research focuses on religious minorities in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly the Iraqi Jewish community. In February 2022, she launched the "House of Tolerance" project on Instagram, documenting her visits to various places of worship around the world.
In her speech at the February 4 discussion panel, she reiterated her interest in studying not only her own religion, Islam, 鈥渂ut also the other Abrahamic religions, Christianity and Judaism.鈥�
Respect for everyone鈥檚 religious beliefs
Aisha stresses that for her, the Human Brotherhood Document is 鈥渁 guiding text, but it is also the responsibility of us young people to make it concrete, working for peaceful coexistence among us.鈥�
She is convinced that it is very important that the document 鈥渆mphasizes equality between men and women.鈥� She was especially impressed by the part of the text that insists on 鈥渞espect for everyone鈥檚 religious convictions, among the faithful of different religions.鈥� Because in the end, she tells us, 鈥淲e are all believers one God, even if we interpret Him differently. So why argue about this anymore?鈥�
Shaddy: celebrating together
For Shaddy Makhlouf, born in Pennsylvania to a Catholic family of Palestinian (Nazareth) and Lebanese descent, a student at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, coexistence was never just theoretical.
鈥淚 grew up with Christian, Muslim and even Jewish friends,鈥� he says. 鈥淔or us there has never been a difference: my best friends celebrate Ramadan with me, and I celebrate Christmas with them. It is part of my life to be surrounded by people of different faiths and traditions.鈥�
That鈥檚 why the Human Brotherhood Document is so important to Shaddy, who was very happy 鈥渢o see the 杏MAP导航 and the Grand Imam sign with the same conviction,鈥� because he believes 鈥渢hat all people are equal and should work together, be supportive, support each other, and respect each other's beliefs.鈥�
鈥榃e will send our guide to all universities鈥�
Shaddy has worked in Haifa and Amman, and in the U.S. Senate. He organized an interfaith trip for 15 Georgetown students to Jerusalem, led by an imam, a priest, and a Jewish university lecturer. He is co-captain of Georgetown鈥檚 Arabic debate team and is active in Georgetown鈥檚 Catholic community.
Looking at what is happening in Gaza in the aftermath of Hamas鈥� attack on Israel, Shaddy emphasizes that the Document 鈥渁dvocates dialogue and tolerance in peace, but also calls for justice.鈥� He calls for using the Document to build peace 鈥渘ot only in words, but also in deeds.鈥�
He says the solidarity solutions guide being produced by the Human Fraternity Fellows Program will be sent to universities around the world. 鈥淚t will highlight the problems college students face in interfaith dialogue,鈥� he tells Vatican Media, 鈥渁nd propose solutions to overcome these obstacles.鈥�
Plans to take human brotherhood to social media
The Human Brotherhood Fellows group, Sofia adds, will also use social media to share experiences and ideas with the international university world.
Ishan plans to leverage his knowledge in student organizations at other U.S. universities, but also to fill social media such as Instagram, Snapchat, X and YouTube videos with content that promotes the value of being human. He will first take the Document 鈥渢o the different religious clubs on campus,鈥� as well as to platforms such as the International Relations Club, which could open 鈥渁 discussion on global human brotherhood as an issue of international relations, deepening the diplomacy aspect of faith.鈥�
Finally, Aisha wants to boost her 鈥淗ouse of Tolerance鈥� Instagram project, where she documents her visits to different places of worship. 鈥淔or example, if I go to a church in Australia, I take pictures, post them on social media and interact with people. I also visit different places of worship, take pictures of them and add them to this little project I started. Because I think we can use social media to our advantage and spread peace and harmony among all people.鈥�
Vatican Media English Section staff contributed to this report
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