Juan David Latorre
Yesterday a Memorandum of Collaboration was signed between the Universidad Católica of Murcia (UCAM) and the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace (GCTP), represented by the Foundation for Islamic Culture & Religious Tolerance (FICRT) in Spain.
The Memorandum was signed by Ahmed bin Muhammad Al Jarwan, President of the GCTP, and José Luis Mendoza, Director of Institutional Relations at UCAM. In accordance with the terms of the agreement, UCAM is launching a Master’s programme in Tolerance and World Peace Studies, in Spanish language and in face-to-face mode – due to the fact that most of the students come from Latin American countries – and in English, in online mode. The students of this programme will receive a scholarship to take this master’s degree, subsidised by the FICRT.
This programme is one of the most important activities aimed at expanding culture in general and that of tolerance in particular, in an academic and institutional framework, of which university students and postgraduate students can take advantage. This project is a new beginning of the activities of the Foundation for Islamic Culture & Religious Tolerance (FICRT) in Spain.
During the meeting, Ahmed bin Muhammad Al Jarwan said he hoped “to be able to sign more agreements with other academic institutions and Spanish universities in the future”. But referring to the Memorandum signed with the Catholic University of Murcia, he stressed that “it is a very important agreement for us. And our Spanish friends are also in the same direction to spread the culture of understanding and peace and tolerance.”
The GCTP President remarked that “we are going to work together to instil values in our new generation. That is why we are going to work together to update this agreement and extend it to Europe or to Latin America.” Referring to the institutional relationship that begins with the signing of this agreement, Ahmed bin Muhammad Al Jarwan indicated the need to “live them together, learn them together and work for each other.”
For his part, José Luis Mendoza, Director of Institutional Relations at UCAM, pointed out that “not everyone focuses, academically and internationally, on peace and tolerance, as there is a lot of conflict of interest in the world. It is part of our mission as a Catholic university to support, welcome and promote the culture of peace.”
The director ended his words by pointing out that “we are preparing the opening of a new campus in Madrid, in Torrejón de Ardoz, in 2024, and that will also be very useful as both institutions will be in Madrid, and the development of part of the programme in Madrid will be very useful for Latin American students because of the technological and land connections.”
In the words of President Ahmed bin Muhammad Al Jarwan, “the Foundation for Islamic Culture and Religious Tolerance (FICRT), through its diverse and varied activities, is committed to supporting the promotion of the values of human brotherhood. Achieving global coexistence and peace is the objective of our Foundation, which is committed to its role as a cultural institution, in line with the contents of the Document on Human Fraternity, supporting scientific research related to our aims and seeking to spread its message through the organisation of scientific and cultural meetings, congresses and seminars, in addition to interfaith dialogue sessions, and debates that seek to materialise the message of peace, mutual understanding and acceptance of the other.”
“This, continues President Al Jarwan, can only be achieved through constructive cooperation between universities, religious and cultural entities, and collaboration with all religions, establishing channels of dialogue between them, analysing all issues relating to tolerance and coexistence, both in the past, present and future, through the study of history and contemporary reality, examining the demands of the future at the Spanish, European and international levels. The noble objective of these debates is to lay solid cultural foundations around the meaning of tolerance, coexistence and the values of human fraternity.”
