Grand Imam congratulates Guterres and Latifah Ibn Ziaten for winning the Zayed Prize for Human Fraternity
The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, congratulated Mr. Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General, and Mrs. Latifa Ibn Ziaten, the French activist, for winning the Zayed Prize for Human Fraternity in its second edition. The Grand Imam posted on his Facebook and Twitter accounts noting, "My sincere congratulations to Mr. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and the courageous sister Latifa Ibn Ziaten, for winning the Zayed Prize for Human Fraternity, which is well-deserved. You are welcome as partners on the path of human fraternity, and I invite all lovers of goodness to move forward together." Antonio Guterres took office as the ninth UN Secretary-General in 2017, and since then began working to find solutions to world problems, especially those related to global peace and security. He developed a series of effective measures that brought peace and stability at the global level, and launched many individual and joint initiatives aimed to eliminate violence practiced against humanity and against nature, and to achieve peace, including the initiatives for nuclear disarmament, for combating hatred and violence, for abandoning plans to annex territories in occupied Palestine, and for protecting the rights and dignity of the elderly during and after the Corona pandemic. Another initiative is Cofax, which aims to raise nearly $4.2 billion to procure COVID-19 vaccine for poor countries in the African continent, in cooperation with the African Unions. Yet, the most important initiative launched by Guterres in March 2020 remains the global ceasefire initiative. On March 23, Guterres, in his capacity as the UN Secretary-General, invited the leaders of countries to support his initiative aimed at a cease-fire around the world and the implementation of what he called stopping all “hot” conflicts to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 24, 2020, 170 United Nations Member States and observers responded to Guterres' call and declared their support for it. Then, on July 1, 2020, the United Nations Security Council issued a resolution requesting an immediate general cessation of conflicts for at least 90 days. This initiative received many positive reactions and wide support from various leaders, including the Pope of the Vatican, the French President, and a number of international organizations. As for Latifa Ibn Ziaten, she is a French mother and activist, of Moroccan origin, who dedicated her life to raising awareness of religious intolerance, following the tragedy of losing her son Imad in a terrorist attack in 2012. Ibn Ziaten has since become a well-known civil rights activist in France and abroad, working with families and communities to protect young people from falling into the trap of extremism, and to spread peace and promote a culture of dialogue and mutual respect. Since her son’s death, Ibn Ziaten has chosen the path of activism, dedicating her efforts to his memory through addressing the root causes of radicalization, and demonstrating a great commitment to defending the core values of justice and human rights through focusing on the fact that exclusion and marginalization considerably impact the youth. Ibn Ziaten chooses to fight these battles armed with only two “weapons”, knowledge and education. Today, as a well-known civil society activist in France and across Europe, Ibn Ziaten works closely with families and communities to prevent youth extremism and spread the message of human fraternity through peaceful means, such as dialogue and mutual respect. Through those efforts, Ibn Ziaten has clearly demonstrated that she is one of the bravest women in the world, and that she is able to contribute powerfully to creating a better future for all and to eliminating the root causes of meaningless violence that took her son's life.