His Excellency Prof. Koutoub Moustapha Sano, Secretary General of the Academy, participated on Friday 03 Rajab 1443H, corresponding to 04 February 2022G, in the virtual intellectual symposium organized by the Zayed Center for Studies and Research of the Emirates Heritage Club under the title “Abu Dhabi Document: A Model of Eternal Human Heritage” on the occasion of the international Day of Human Brotherhood, to commemorate the day of the launch of the Document of Human Brotherhood in Abu Dhabi.

In his intervention, His Excellency the Secretary General expressed his sincere thanks to the Emirates Heritage Club for inviting him to participate in this important symposium on one of the most important topics of the time that we must all give the place it deserves for research and study. His Excellency stressed that the document of human brotherhood is one of the most important documents known to humanity, at a time when the whole world urgently needed an initiative that reminded peoples and societies of the importance of human fraternity and represented its principles and values. He added that the document came at a time when the fires of war and conflicts were burning in many places, which necessitated the need to remind humanity that the human brotherhood at its origin is a divine endowment on the basis of which relations are built between human beings everywhere and at all times.

His Excellency added by saying that: “It is an integrated and comprehensive document that answers all the questions that are being raised in the present era and that will be raised in the coming times. Therefore, as we celebrate this World Day of Human Brotherhood, we should all live this brotherhood in our behavior, morals, faith and dealings, and that fraternity be present in everything we do in our daily life. This must be reflected in our actions and on our relationship with those around us who are our brethren in religion or our counterparts in humanity. I call on the world’s educational institutions to register and include World Human Brotherhood Day in the curriculum in order to become known to all, and to promote tolerance, love and peace for the entire universe.”

His Excellency concluded by thanking the United Arab Emirates represented by the Emirates Heritage Club for holding this symposium, and to His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence in the UAE for sponsoring and organizing the Human Brotherhood Festival, the support rendered by the Ministry and its interest in the values of tolerance and love among the people and translating this in practice on the ground by respecting the law and peaceful coexistence in UAE.

It should be noted that the Document of Human Brotherhood was signed by The Grand Imam, Prof. Ahmed al-Tayeb, Sheikh of Al-Azhar Al Sharif, and Pope Francis, Pope of the Catholic Church, in Abu Dhabi in 2019, a great historical and human achievement based on faith that has given a human dimension in terms of foundations, rules, principles and objectives. It is a message to all humanity regardless of background, religion, or race.

Many religious figures, scholars, intellectuals, and academics belonging to the three Abrahamic faiths participated in the symposium for two days, as well as many representatives of different ethnicities, religions and races that have been living in security and peace in the UAE for decades. Among the most prominent participants are Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Aziz al-Haddad, Senior Mufti and Director of the Fatwa Department of the Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities in Dubai, Father Nabil Haddad, CEO of the Center for Religious Coexistence in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Pastor Bishoy Fakhri Amin, Patron of the Anba Antonios Cathedral for Orthodox Copts in Abu Dhabi, and others. Dr. Mohammed Fatih Zaghl, a researcher at Zayed Center for Studies and Research, moderated the Friday session.