“It is a world of increasing dissension and conflict in which a significant contribution is the failure of different ethnic, tribal, religious, or social groups to search for, and agree upon, a common space for harmonious co-existence.”

None of these situations are identical. You cannot take one set of issues from one country and apply it to another.

The search for justice and security, the struggle for equality of opportunity, the quest for tolerance and harmony, the pursuit of human dignity.

If our animosities are born out of fear, then confident generosity is born out of hope.

There is nothing wrong with being well off as long as money has a social and ethical value and is not the object of one’s own greed.

A secure pluralistic society requires communities that are educated and confident both in the identity and depth of their own traditions and in those of their neighbours.

This means trying to bring values into environments, buildings, and contexts that improve the quality of life for future generations.

In Islamic belief, knowledge is two-fold. There is that revealed through the Holy Prophet (s.a.s.) and that which man discovers by virtue of his own intellect.

These are moral imperatives which we must work towards and think about on a daily basis.

Pluralist societies are not accidents of history. They are a product of enlightened education and continuous investment by governments and all of civil society in recognizing and celebrating the diversity of the world’s peoples.

The Pope is only concerned with the spiritual welfare of his flock.

My grandfather was a most gifted person, and amongst his many qualities, one of them had always particularly impressed me.

Innumerable people since his death have told me how he used to read in the future, and this certainly was one of his very great strengths.

Canada is today the most successful pluralist society on the face of our globe, without any doubt in my mind.

Islam is probably the one that places the greatest emphasis on knowledge. The purpose is to understand God’s creation.

Indeed, one strength of Islam has always lain in its belief that creation is not static but continuous, that through scientific and other endeavours.

There are many interpretations of Islam within the wider Islamic community, but generally we are instructed to leave the world a better place than it was when we came into it.

In Thailand’s history there have been dissensions from time to time, but in general, unity has prevailed.

A time will come when a politician who has willfully made war and promoted international dissension will be as sure of the dock and much surer of the noose than a private homicide. It is not reasonable that those who gamble with men’s lives should not stake their own.