Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair,joined by his old friend Bill Clinton,launched his Faith Foundation on Friday with a call for more idealism and less religious extremism.Taking a break from the presidential campaign of his wife, Hillary Clinton,the former U.S. president described Blair as "a good man as well as a great leader" and said the Faith Foundation would build on Clinton's own foundation's work in using religion to bridge divides.
Blair said he was inspired to create the Faith Foundation by the Clinton Global Initiative,which works on issues of poverty,climate change,health and education.Blair,who is an international envoy for Palestinian economic development,said increasing globalization requires peaceful coexistence and cooperation.Blair cited a Gallup Poll showing the percentage of people in most Muslim countries who said religion was an important part of their lives is in the high 80s or 90s; in the United States around 70 percent,and in Europe under 40 percent.Among the foundation's goals will be to counter extremism,which he said was present in all the six leading faiths -- Christian,Muslim,Hindu,Buddhist,Sikh and Jewish.The foundation also will partner with a group called Malaria No More which aims to prevent the 1 million annual deaths from malaria within 10 years -- a goal Blair said was achievable by using bed-nets and medicines.Malaria No More encourages mosques,churches and other religious institutions help distribute those items.
When I heard this news,I was really pleased because I think it is a great idea which I hope could bring the different religion together and also bring peace throughout the world instead of violence caused by the misunderstandings between one religion with another.I know a lot about the Clinton Global Initiative which is a really great foundation and has help a lot of people with pressing issues around the world such as healthcare and poverty and I think the Faith Foundation could just do as well as the Clinton Global Initiative because it will help to complement the effort of the CGI and I hope it will bring the different religion closer and help one another when in need and at the same time,helping to understand the different religion better.I found the statistics by the Gallup Poll very interesting though.As a Muslim myself,I know that many of us treat our religion as a very important issue so that wasnt so surprising but the results for the other parts are.If we could get all of the results in the highs 80s or 90s that would be even better.
Some of you might find it interesting and ironic that a man like Tony Blair,who supported the war in Iraq when he was still the Prime Minister,has decided to start a faith foundation.But I think lets have an open mind because I believe Mr Blair is very sincere in his effort to bring the different religion closer together.For those of you who doesnt know yet,Mr Blair treat religion as a very important thing.He also enjoys enjoys being part of a worldwide community with shared values,traditions and rituals.Currently,we have seen a huge change in how faith based groups and social activists are treating each other.In the past,they used to be two communities that long treated each other with distrust,thinking themselves poles apart politically,but now,they have come together to tackle issues of global poverty and health and the Faith Foundation is set up to help further help the continuation of this noble effort.
Nevertheless,there are still some hurdles that he needs to overcome if he is ever to achieve his goals.Religion is not an uncontroversial matter in the developing world,you just have to witness how the Catholic Church's doctrine on abortion and contraception is or the discrimination that women face in many Islamic societies.Moreover,in many nations,the legacy of the "war on terror" and the invasion of Iraq,both of which Blair is deeply associated with,have affected the way on how Muslims look upon the Westerners and vice versa.But he shouldnt be fault for not trying to change the situation.Blair says his foundation will try to ensure that faiths encounter one another "through action as much as dialogue" which I completely agree is a very important thing if wants to achieve any success.
Anyway,at the end of the day,whatever faith or religion that you belongs to,it is important to keep in mind that we all should share a common goal and that people of different faiths need to learn more about one another and understand where we can work in common if we want to have any possibility of having a world with different people of different religion living together peacefully.Of course,it is much more easier to say than done but we have to try.
The article was taken from REUTERS.
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