Tolerance is important for our civilisations

Readers write to Gulf News about issues affecting them and their community
Gulf News readers
16:34 June 17, 2016
Tolerance is important for our civilisations

The recent decision of the UAE to approve and implement a national program for tolerance is really worth appreciating, and it speaks a lot of the vision of this peace-loving country (Ramadan reader’s diary: ‘Seeing people fasting has changed my perception of Muslims’, Gulf News, June 13). Tolerance is an environment where people can fully enjoy freedom of religion and are allowed to live by the faith and values they believe in. In a civil society, everyone has the right to live freely by his beliefs, whatever they may be. In fact, tolerance results in humanity, where people respect each other’s beliefs.

Tolerance also aims at protecting and nurturing human values like love, compassion, empathy and kindness. The crux of tolerance lies in the idea of treating all the people equally. As a matter of fact, all human beings under the sun are bound to commit some kind of mistake, but let these issues go.

Intolerance has multifaceted dimensions. It could be racial intolerance, religious intolerance or even gender intolerance. The phenomenon of intolerance has far-reaching implications. Firstly, it arouses cynicism and then eventually gives rise to violence, terrorism and other subversive activities, which hinder human progress around the world.

It is essential to educate the people more, especially the younger generation about the horrific results of intolerance and virtues of tolerance. Inculcate in them the basic values of humanity and fraternity. If these standards and principles are firmly upheld and propagated by the civil society, the dawn of a better future will definitely rise for human civilisation.

From Dr Shiben Krishen Raina

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