Religions for Peace in “Signes dels Temps”
During the At a Crossroads: A Multireligious Intergenerational Response to the Social and Environmental Crises forum in November 2022, Religions for Peace‘s Secretary General, Professor Azza Karam was interviewed by Signes del Temps. Below is the English translation of the interview. The original, Catalan interview can be found here or watch the video interview.
Religions for Peace, in “Signs of the times”
“Signes dels temps”, presented and directed by Montserrat Esteve, interviewed Professor Azza Karam, Secretary General of Religions for Peace. The interview was carried out as part of the forum that the multi-religious platform and the Manresa City Council have organised on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Saint Ignatius of Loyola in the city.
“Signes dels temps” interviewed Professor Azza Karam, Secretary General of Religions for Peace, the largest multi-religious platform in the world, which brings together 92 national and 6 regional Interreligious Councils and is based in New York. Well versed in the encyclicals of Pope Francis, Karam is committed to defending peace and human rights through the joint work of religions. She says that religions are the “first responders in humanitarian crises.”
About 50 leaders from 30 countries met at the Cruïlla de Camins International Multireligious Forum, in Manresa. Recently, the programme aired the testimony of the Nigerian religious leader, Sister Agatha Chikelue, who participated in this forum and is also part of Religions for Peace. This time, “Signes dels temps” wants to talk about the work of religions in the face of the challenges facing humanity.
Azza Karam’s leadership
Since 2019, the Secretary General of this organisation is Professor Azza Karam, who in the last two decades worked at the United Nations. She is the first woman and the first Muslim to lead this multi-religious platform, since its creation in 1970. Born in Egypt, she lives in the United States, and has a great sensitivity for interreligious work. She is a professor of Religion and Development at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam.
The commitment of religions
Of the multi-religious forum on the social and environmental crisis held in the capital of Bages, Karam says that it was “intergenerational, interreligious, sensitive on gender issues and committed to the environment.” On the contrary, she is disappointed with the fragile agreement that was reached at the COP27 summit, the Conference on Climate Change that took place in Egypt last November.
The humanitarian role of religions
Karam defends the humanitarian role of religions. There are many places where “people go to churches, mosques and synagogues for protection. And to find medicine and food. And hospitals and schools were created in churches, synagogues and mosques,” she says. Believers not only pray there, but also gather there for social and humanitarian purposes. In fact, during the peak period of the COVID-19 crisis, in several countries, “many religious institutions were the place where people went to find information, get tested for COVID-19 and get vaccinated.”
The encyclicals of Francis
During the interview, reference is made to Pope Francis, who said that “climate change, pollution, food insecurity, the loss of biodiversity and wars are a threat to the planet.” Azza Karam speaks of two encyclicals of Francis, “Laudato Si” and “Fratelli Tutti,” as “very important documents, not only for the Catholic Church, but also for the rest of the religions of the world.” Francis also spoke about the construction of a new international order, which promotes peace, human rights and a sustainable planet. In this sense, and in accordance with the words of the pope, Karam believes that “if we behave in a different way, we will change the current order of the world, which is very selfish, self-centered and greedy for power. We will change to work on a more service-oriented paradigm, and much more loving and humble for religions.”
“Who marries the girls?”
Azza Karam says religions must work together to tackle such serious problems as child marriage, which UNICEF says has increased in the wake of the pandemic. Forced marriages that generate violence and erase the childhood of millions of girls in the world. “Who marries the girls? Generally, it’s leaders, religious, in their institutions. It’s very important to work with these particular leaders, and make them aware of the harm that is done to girls by marrying them off so early, and that they don’t allow let that happen more,” says Karam.
The excursion to Montserrat
During their stay in Manresa, the religious leaders had the opportunity to go up to the Benedictine monastery of Montserrat. For Azza Karam it was magnificent to see Moreneta and one of the most emotional moments “was when we saw and touched the ball she is holding in her hand. The walls of this monastery and its history preserve many memories and teachings. It was a blessing to visit with people of different faiths and feel the wisdom of this place, its people and its architecture. It was very powerful.”