Tolerance, an intricate Emirati value
By HE Sheikh Nahayan bin Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Tolerance (United Arab Emirates)
The Ministry of Tolerance was initiated merely in the year 2016 yet its roots go back generations, in an effort to continue the support and celebration of our diverse country.
In a time of on-going political tensions, regionally and globally, it is imperative that we encourage individuals in the UAE and from across the world to respect one another. To be able to look beyond our differences, in order to emphasise the common traits of humanity that we all share.
We aim at guiding our nation forward through education, knowledge, new technologies, and openness for the world. Already in the times before the federation, the then sheikhdoms were at the crossroads between Europe, Africa and Asia. Nowadays we remain thus and much more, as our population is a melting pot that by far supersedes multiculturalism in any Western capital. We manage to succeed, not simply get along, by our innate make-up for tolerance towards others.
Over the last two decades the UAE has been one of the most socially progressive nations in the Gulf region; we have strived to attract talent from across the globe to collectively work with our citizens to improve the lives of Emiratis and foreigners alike. For our focus is not only on ourselves, as our country has significantly increased its share of humanitarian and development aid to other nations. At home, we endeavour to ensure high-quality lives for expatriates in the UAE, that they feel at home as our guests.
We live in a world made up of many different cultures and opinions, if we are to proactively collaborate and solve problems regionally and globally, we must always aspire to better understand each other’s perspectives. For, if we better understand each other, we can work more effectively as a whole.
Through technology and connectivity, the youth of our nation and the world are now more connected than ever before. Having access to information and knowledge instantly through social networks is a first in the history of humankind. Naturally we understand the advantages; however, we must likewise face the challenges linked to these possibilities. For misinformation is also more easily spread than ever before, our liberalised societies must be able to tackle this challenge in order to maintain social order as well as an atmosphere of tolerance and unity.
As our dear founding father, the late President, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, once uttered “To treat every person, no matter what his creed or race, as a special soul, is a mark of Islam”.
The UAE shall remain a dynamic and forward-thinking country. Not least, for we are the first country in setting up a ministry dedicated exclusively to artificial intelligence. It is the customary kind-nature of Emiratis, the fact that we accept and respect people from all over the world, which is indeed one of the fundamental pillars to our success.
