Hate speech threatens culture of coexistence, Prince Hassan warns

AMMAN — It is important for public discourse to shun hate speech and any rhetoric that could threaten the culture of coexistence prevalent in Jordan, HRH Prince Hassan said on Tuesday.

In an opinion piece written in Arabic, the prince, who is president of the Arab Thought Forum, said the culture of coexistence and respecting differences represents the solid human base on “which we all stand together” to arrive at good citizenship that embraces religious and cultural diversity.

The identity challenges prevalent today reflect a crisis of ideology, which is mainly characterised by the failure to overcome ideological disputes that exacerbate political, economic and humanitarian crises, he wrote, urging a return to reason and common sense to reach a vision that responds to reality.

There is no escape from these crises in the Arab world without real media and education reforms, stressed the prince, who is also chairman of the board of trustees of the Royal Institute of Inter-Faith Studies.

Managing religious and cultural diversity is a pressing challenge facing the region and the entire world, he added, which can be addressed through guaranteeing freedom of religion and beliefs, and adopting educational and behavioural policies that ensure harmony among the various components of society.

The prince called for a transformation from a rentier approach to a state of institutions, under a unified national discourse that embraces all the components of the “rich national identity” and serves public interest.

Serving public interest is connected to ensuring the rule of law and maintaining a state of institutions, he concluded.