Sharjah, Thursday, April 5, 2010-- His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qassimi, Member of the Supreme Council, Ruler of Sharjah and President of American University of Sharjah (AUS) attended here today a lecture delivered by renowned British writer and scholar of religion Karen Armstrong. Delivered as part of the Chancellor's Distinguished Lecture Series, the lecture, entitled "The Role of Compassion in the Major World Faiths: The Story of the Charter For Compassion, Its Aims, Goals and Relevance in Our Polarized World," emphasized the true significance and need for compassion in today's world.

Armstrong called upon those present as well as those in the wider community to sign the Charter of Compassion launched in November last year. The charter calls upon people to treat others as they wish to be treated with justice, equality and respect. "This charter lies in the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions," said Armstrong. "What compassion tells us to do is to de-throne ourselves from the center of the world and to care for the other. What keeps us away from God is out selfishness," she added.

She revealed to the audience that His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah was the first Arab leader to sign the charter.

Armstrong explained that having compassion for others should not be seen as a sign of weakness. "We need to educate ourselves about the meaning of compassion. It is not sentimental good will. The golden rule is that you don't do unto others what you don't want them to do to you," she said. "This is what all religions emphasize. The Holy Qur'an says that humans were created as different nations so that we may know one another and not to fight, occupy or kill one another. Jesus urged us to love one another by supporting each other, and to be loyal and respectful. Confucius tells us that we must not inflict pain on one another...We have to work at it. It is hard work and requires daily effort," she said

Armstrong's interest in studying religions began during a trip she made to Jerusalem as part of her work in television. She learned about Judaism and Islam, after which she embarked on a journey to learn about various eastern world religions. She said that the world is living through difficult times where Islam in the West is perceived to be a violent religion. "It is my form of jihad to tell people that this is not the case. Wars are not started because of religion but because of egos and greed and religion gets sucked into it. We need compassion to become the voice of religion in this polarized world. If we do not implement the golden rule, we won't have a viable world," she said.

She argued that the Charter of Compassion aims to do that by giving voice to religion and face the voices of exclusion and extremism. She added that there is a need for people to learn to listen to one another. "We are very good at talking but not good at listening. We need to start listening to people's pain and distress," she said.

The charter, which is the result of Armstrong's 2008 TED Prize wish, is essentially a summons to dedicated, practical action. It is a cooperative effort to restore not only compassionate thinking but, more importantly, compassionate action to the center of religious, moral and political life. Crafted by people all over the world and drafted by a multi-faith, multi-national council of thinkers and leaders, the charter has been supported by Nelson Mandela, Sheikh Ali Goma, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Queen Rania of Jordan, The Dalai Lama, Dr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, and over 50,000 others.

Welcoming her to the university, Dr. Peter Heath, Chancellor of AUS, said that Armstrong was a rare individual who displays the components necessary to do justice both to one's own religious stance and those of other religions. "This requires the qualities of empathy, curiosity, engagement, objectivity and of course deep knowledge," he added.

Armstrong is a former Roman Catholic nun who left a British convent to pursue a degree in modern literature at University of Oxford.  She has written more than 20 books on varied theological subjects - especially what Islam, Judaism and Christianity have in common - and around the monotheisms' effect on world events, including A History of God and Holy War: The Crusades and Their Impact on Today's World. Her latest book is The Case for God.

Also present at the event were Dr. Amr Abdel-Hamid, Advisor To His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah on Higher Education; Noura Al Noman, Director of the Office of Her Highness Wife of the Ruler of Sharjah; Hamid Jafar, Chairman and CEO of Crescent Petroleum Co., and member of the AUS board of Trustees; Riad T. Sadek, Chairman of Al Habtoor Leighton Group and member of the AUS board of Trustees; Dr. Thomas Hochstettler, AUS Provost; AUS vice chancellors, deans, faculty members, students, and members of the public.

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© Press Release 2010