Saudi Gazette report

OSLO – The Norwegian Bridge Builder International Prize 2021 was handed out to Secretary General of the Muslim World League (MWL) Sheikh Muhammad Al-Issa, and two other international religious leaders in a colorful ceremony held at the Opera Hall here on Thursday.

This year, the prestigious prize goes to three of the world’s most important religious leaders and heads of the large monotheistic religions and that was in recognition of their outstanding contributions in building bridges across religions. The other recipients are Rev. Dr. Ioan Sauca, acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches, and Michael Melchior, chief rabbi and leader of the Religious Peace Initiative in Israel.

The award distribution ceremony was held in the presence of a large number of eminent international figures, including religious leaders, scholars, heads of major international organizations, and a wide spectrum of Norwegian political, religious and community leaders.

They included former Prime Minister of Norway Kjell Bondevik; President of the Dialogue for Peace Foundation Aamir Sheikh; Director General of the World Health Organization Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, who was the winner of the Bridge Building Award last year, and Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Jagan Chapagain.

During the function, the prize committee noted that Sheikh Al-Issa has done an exceptional job in bridging the relationship between followers of religions and civilizations with a remarkable and tangible contribution. It described Sheikh Al-Issa as a leading global force in moderation and combating extremist ideologies, and a distinguished voice for peace and cooperation between nations and religions.

The committee emphasized that the honor is in recognition and encouragement to continue great efforts to promote tolerance, respect and love.

It is for the first time that the Norwegian capital witnessed a meeting of high-level representatives of Islam, Judaism and Christianity, to highlight respect and tolerance among them, and to express a clear ambition for further cooperation between religions, the committee pointed out.

Al-Issa: love is the greatest peacemaker

In his speech after receiving the award, Sheikh Al-Issa said that the talk about “building bridges” is a talk about active participation in the peacemaking process. “These bridges are the gateway to understanding and cooperation, leading to the peace of our world and the harmony of our societies around the world.”

He said that sincere love in its comprehensive sense is the greatest peacemaker. “We want a sincere and sustainable peace, made by the true will of peace, a peace that embraces history...The world learned how to make weapons of mass destruction but did not learn the values,” he said.

Sheikh Al-Issa warned against the unfair distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. “It is a shame for the rich to monopolize the vaccine and for the poor to face the pain of poverty, the pain of disease, the pain of cruelty of neglect and injustice, and just as disease does not differentiate between anyone, it must not differentiate treatment between the people.” He called for effective dialogue that answers all questions with transparency and clarity.

It is noteworthy that the prize was announced earlier in July this year by Aamir Sheikh, leader of the 14th of August Committee in Oslo, together with the Executive Director of the Nobel Peace Center Kjersti Fløgstad. Bridge Builder Award is instituted by the 14th of August Committee Norway to persons and institutions who have contributed to building bridges across individuals, nations and societies, both in Norway and internationally.

“The time is right for sending a clear message of peace to the world, about the importance of working together with respect, love and tolerance for our differences, the way it is anchored in the three monotheistic religions”, the jury stated while announcing the award.

Each year, the award handed out to personalities who do valuable work in relation to bridge building between people, religions, cultures, and at the same time help to reduce the distance between people from different backgrounds in the world.