Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates -Friday 15 May 2020 [ AETOS Wire ]
The world has witnessed what is described as an unprecedented historic scene on Thursday, 14th
May, when millions of people around the world united in prayer to
supplicate to God for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic and to help
scientists and researchers find a vaccine against the disease as quickly
as possible.
This came in response to the Higher
Committee of Human Fraternity (HCHF) humanitarian call, which was
blessed and supported by His Eminence Dr. Ahmed El-Tayeb, Grand Imam of
Al Azhar, and His Holiness Pope Francis, Head of the Catholic Church,
and received the support of a number of kings, presidents, leaders, and
leading political, religious, and media figures from all over the world.
The HCHF’s call to pray for humanity,
which was announced in a statement issued in 14 languages, gained
momentum on social media platforms, as the initiative recorded 36
billion cumulative digital media interactions, engagement and potential
reach as estimated by Talkwalker analytics report, since it was launched
on 2nd May till 15th May. The initiative’s official website
(pray.forhumanfraternity.org) and social media accounts have hosted a
24-hour livestream for the global prayers.
#PrayForHumanity hashtag trended on
social media in many countries, including France, Germany, India, KSA,
UAE, Spain, Egypt, and Italy, reflecting the great success of the
initiative which also attracted the attention of global media.
The HCHF extended thanks to all leaders,
religious, political, and popular institutions, and all those who
participated in the global prayer day.
Judge Mohamed Abdel Salam, HCHF
Secretary-General, praised the unexpected successes of the initiative,
stressing that such successes will contribute to achieving a true global
unity.
He said: “The voices of supplications to
God that were made in an unprecedented humanitarian scene in all
continents of the world to end this pandemic are reasons for us to feel
optimistic and give us confidence that our unity will help the world
overcome this crisis.”
Monsignor Yoannis Lahzi Gaid, Personal
Secretary to His Holiness Pope Francis, stated that the participation of
different religions and beliefs in this initiative also the global
response paves a way forward to continue working for humanity,
especially in facing this pandemic. He said: “We will keep supplicating
to God and work with our brothers from different religions and beliefs
to transform this suffering to an opportunity for more solidarity and
fraternity.”
The HCHF is an independent international
committee that includes a group of experts and leaders in inter-culture
communication and interfaith dialogue. It aims to achieve the higher
goals for human fraternity signed by His Eminence Dr. Ahmed El-Tayeb,
Grand Imam of Al Azhar, and His Holiness Pope Francis, Head of the
Catholic Church, in Abu Dhabi in February 2019, under the patronage of
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, the
patron of the Document on Human Fraternity.
Contacts
Abeer Mahmoud
