Fraternity alone isn’t enough, we need a moral architecture of global harmony

JAKARTA: Secretary General of Religions for Peace, Professor Azza Karam urged global leaders to move beyond rhetoric and build a moral architecture for global harmony, grounded in social justice and shared responsibility.

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Azza calls for a Multireligious Humanitarian Fund to institutionalise compassion and support all people regardless of faith.
Religious and cultural diversity should be a source of unity, not division, amid rising global polarisation.
The Jakarta conference gathers global leaders to promote human fraternity, peace, and shared values across faiths and cultures.

“Fraternity alone is not enough, unless it is fueled with social justice.

“The real litmus test of our humanity is in how we treat the other, those of different race, religion and background,” Azza said during International Conference on Human Fraternity.

She emphasized the urgent need to institutionalize compassion by proposing the establishment of a Multireligious Humanitarian Fund, a global mechanism to invest in one another and serve all regardless of creed.

“In a world where conscience alone has not prevented genocide and trust remains an unknown commodity, we must create new systems of solidarity,” she said.

Highlighting the erosion of collective moral responsibility amid rising global polarization, she also stressed on religious and cultural diversity must be leveraged not as a dividing line but as a source of shared strength and mutual service.

She also spotlighted the role of religious leadership in transforming values into concrete and collective action.

The International Conference on Human Fraternity opened on Tuesday (29th July) in Jakarta, bringing together global leaders, religious figures, and academics to promote peaceful coexistence and mutual understanding in an increasingly divided world.

Co-organised by the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity (HCHF) and the Indonesian International Islamic University (UIII), the conference carries the timely theme: “Advancing Human Fraternity Amid Global Uncertainty: Towards a More Peaceful and Prosperous Civilization.”

The gathering aims to reinvigorate global dialogue on the shared values of compassion, respect, and human dignity across cultures and beliefs.