UAE now more vocal about tolerance, says diplomat

The United Arab Emirates has been very vocal about the value of tolerance during the past couple of years because of the realisation that “religion has been hijacked and politicised,” said a top Emirati diplomat.

“We have always been that way [promoting tolerance and related values] but we have never been as vocal as we have been in the last couple of years,” said Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE Ambassador to the United States.

He was speaking in a webinar on July 20, hosted by the Special Olympics, to discuss the global expansion of Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools with the support of US$25 million gift from His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces.

“Hosting the Pope, bringing the Special Olympics, building an Abrahamic House… these all because we feel that religion has been hijacked and politicised; dominated by extremism and radicalism, and basically been misinterpreted by so many people around the world,” the envoy said.

“I think our religion, at least the way I understand my own religion, was never about politics… was never about extremism… was never about violence. I think what we are trying to do here is to take the narrative back and recapture what our religion means, both to us and to the rest of the world,” Al Otaiba said.

“So many people now look at us and look at our part of the world and think this entire region is violent and the religion here is radical, which is not. We are trying to present to the rest of the world that religion has absolutely nothing to do with extremism or politics. It has to do with faith and respect,” the ambassador pointed out.

The UAE has found that the Special Olympics also share certain values the country upholds, he said. Special Olympics will lead the growth of UCS in these countries, empowering young leaders to create lasting social change through inclusion in education for people with and without intellectual disabilities.

Building on over a decade of success of UCS in the US and growing impact in more than 50 other countries around the world, HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed has committed $25 million on behalf of the people of the UAE in order to bring this initiative to six countries – Argentina, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Romania and Rwanda.