As the world commemorates World Interfaith Harmony Week, the time is ripe for us all to move from rhetoric to action. The message of the World Interfaith Harmony Week, ‘Love of God, the Love of Good, and Love of Neighbour’ includes everyone, excludes no one and invites all leaders from around the world, irrespective of their religion or faith, to cultivate peace and non-violence, understanding, harmony and cooperation.

As President of Malta, I join these voices to mark the week and invite Maltese society, and that of our Mediterranean region, to step up intercultural and interfaith dialogue. As societies, we need to work together to eliminate all forms of discrimination and intolerance based on religious belief, and search for that which is common and unites us. We need to step up our search for what we can collectively cultivate beyond our specific religious beliefs.

Notwithstanding the suffering the world has experienced, man still seeks to attack life, destroy cultural symbols and collective memories of communities seeking the right to a peaceful existence.

We are constantly confronted by horrific scenes, pools of blood, human slaughter that terrify and sadden all those who believe in human dignity; from Gaza to Syria; from Iran to Afghanistan; from Pakistan to Libya; from Ukraine to Nigeria, and lately in Paris. In the face of this reality, I reiterate, it is immoral to remain silent, and not to act.

Violence should never be tolerated, no matter from where it emanates. There cannot be any compromise where human life is concerned. Violence knows no social class, skin colour, sexuality, age, religion, ability or nationality. When will people who cherish peace speak out on the failures of man, where violence is superseded by kindness and reason?

It is immoral to remain silent, and not to act

Commemorations like this shed more light on the horrors of intolerance and lack of dialogue, especially at a time of rapid change and the swift emergence of extremism in many new forms and attitudes.

Any attack on human life or human dignity, wherever it occurs, is an attack on freedom and on democracy. The aftermath of these horrible events should not be a clash of cultures but the realisation that fundamentalism, no matter where it emanates from, can only destroy what has been gained through so much suffering and endurance by our forefathers and fathers to make democracy our way of life.

Let us then use our freedom to make our voices heard, to spread love instead of hatred, to unite and not destroy, and to celebrate our differences, not let them tear us apart.

I am convinced that, out of terror, we will emerge stronger. Let us stand up and make sure that we will not allow our democracy to be weakened by extremists coming from wherever they come.

We need a strong commitment to establish ongoing peaceful dialogue between peoples of different cultures and achieve wisdom in acknowledging each other’s potential, whoever we might be, to ensure a truly effective co-existence. We need to learn to speak the language of tolerance and respect for one another.

Friendship is another shared principle which all religions, faiths and people of no belief can cultivate and work towards, for the wellbeing of our societies and the entire planet.

At the end of the day, at the heart of all religions and faiths we find that what matters is the disposition of the heart, the ability to grow in love towards God, the good and our neighbour, rather than engaging in violent and murderous acts in the name of religion.

At the heart of all religions we find that God’s desire is for human beings to share life, with each other and all of creation.

Another universal principle which is once again common heritage to all religions and faiths is that of wisdom. When religions and faiths engage with each other in non-violent dialogue, they can only enrich each others’ tradition and societies.

Wisdom can guide religions and faiths into peaceful and fraternal dialogue, while respecting each other’s differences but at the same time enriching one another.

May World Interfaith Harmony Week remind all of humanity that true purification requires renouncing all forms of violence and what is being requested from all of us is to respect one another – emotionally, physically, sexually, intellectually and spiritually.

If all people of goodwill dialogue and work together, then humanity can achieve its goals for peace, prosperity, respect and well-being of every human being.