Fethullah Gülen’s Message on the World Interfaith Harmony Week and the International Day of Human Fraternity
February 4, 2023– Our world, which is tired of wars and conflicts, on one hand shows the tendency to be the ground for new conflicts in the face of the unsatisfied appetite of the human being, while on the other hand, it is involuntarily entering the process of making the earth a cradle of peace, cohesion and fraternity.
The unsatisfied appetite of human beings has been the source of almost all conflicts throughout history. The dynamic that will satisfy this appetite, by directing it towards higher goals and competition in spiritual advancement, is the same dynamic that will contribute to turning the earth into a “cradle of human fraternity.” That dynamic is faith.
On the occasions of the World Interfaith Harmony Week and the International Day of Human Fraternity, I join the international community with my hope and prayers that the awakening of humanity is accelerated toward the consciousness of seeing each other as members of one big human family.
True faith aims to unite humanity, which is the conscious and willful part of the existence, and to integrate human life on the earth with the rest of the universe where absolute peace and tranquility prevails. The ultimate goal of true faith is the creation of a symphony in which human fraternity, tranquility and fulfillment completes the harmony in the universe. The conflicts that happened among the followers of the different forms that faith took throughout history is only due to people’s misunderstanding of its true nature, misapplication of its principles or a willful abuse of its power.
Against the backdrop of advanced weaponry and destructive technologies of our times, humanity has only two options: raise our collective consciousness to find civilized ways to address our differences and move toward harmony or prepare our collective doom.
Avoiding a catastrophic global conflict is not the only reason why humanity needs fraternity more than ever. Pandemics such as Covid and the alarming signs coming from the earth’s ecosystems are wake-up calls to the modern human. They give us a clear message to transcend self-centered, separative perspectives and recognize our interdependency, both as humans and as members of creation.
I thank everybody who contributed to dedicating these days of the year to interfaith harmony and human fraternity. I pray to God the Most Merciful to carry humanity swiftly to the days when the planted seeds of interfaith harmony and human fraternity around the world fully blossom.