Prince Hassan highlights negative impact of ‘hate speech’

MANAMA — Hate speech has become an industry that generates income for a small group of people that only brings destruction to humanity at a time when the Arab and Muslim world is going through a difficult period, HRH Prince Hassan said on Monday. 

The prince, who is president of the Arab Thought Forum, made the remarks during the opening ceremony of a conference on inter-civilisation dialogue, which was held in Manama under the patronage of Bahrain’s King Hamad Bin Issa Al Khalifa. 

“Hate speech fuels sedition and leads to dispute and wars that result in division,” the prince said.  

He noted that one of the reasons for rejecting the annexation of Jerusalem is that it kills the spirit of pluralism that was the hallmark of the holy city’s history.

The prince added that the old city of Jerusalem was the home of Jebusites, Canaanites and followers of the Abrahamic religions. 

“Therefore, the systematic response to Zionism’s exclusion, or any other segregation that hails division and justifies aggression with religious pretexts, is moderation and commitment to our Arab and Islamic pluralism that strengthens society and unites it on mutual objectives that respect sectarian, religious and ethnic diversity,” he said.        

Prince Hassan noted that developing dialogue contributes to the creation of a political education enriched with pluralism and based on a humane and ethical system. 

On the other hand, he underlined that inter-cultural dialogue does not mean the annihilation of one culture over the other, or abandoning the specification of identities.

Prince Hassan called for a sound and successful inter-cultural dialogue that is based on believing in the other and respecting differences. 

Around 150 intellectuals and thinkers from more than 15 countries are taking part in the three-day conference along with 350 academic and religious figures.   

At the end of the event, participants will come up with recommendations that will be referred to King Hamad and named “The Bahrain Document”, which will then be submitted to the UN for adoption. 

Later on Monday, King Hamad met with the prince and other participants in the conference and stressed the significance of the event in building an alliance for all civilisations to face terrorism and extremism.