JEDDAH: The sixth annual forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies, hosted by Abu Dhabi, has honored Muslim World League (MWL) Secretary-General Sheikh Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, in recognition of his outstanding efforts in promoting peace and tolerance around the world. Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al-Nahyan, the UAE’s minister of tolerance, delivered the 2019 Imam Al-Hassan bin Ali Award to Al-Issa. He received the award in the presence of Algeria’s Vice President Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah, the president of the UAE Ifta Council and president of the Forum for Promoting Peace.FASTFACT Forum organizers said Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa is a key international figure seeking to spread peace and tolerance around the world. Organizers of the forum said Al-Issa is a key international figures seeking to spread peace and tolerance around the world. They added that due to his prominent academic place, Al-Issa has led fruitful dialogues with different religious, political, intellectual and rights-based authorities around the world. In a speech, Al-Issa praised the organizers’ choice to focus on the role of religions in promoting tolerance, thus sending religious leaderships around the world an important message to assume their responsibilities and promote values and ethics. Al-Issa shed light on the issue of misunderstanding religious texts, and assuming they go against tolerance. “Texts should be well understood in order to understand their truth and people should not select one paragraph and interpret it as they like. Ideas in religious texts are often explained in other texts,” he said, adding: “It is very positive that scholars from different religions are attending the forum, as they are the most responsible for instilling peace and tolerance.” Al-Issa said he was proud to receive the award, as it carries an important message encouraging more efforts to serve the Islamic and humanitarian values related to peace and tolerance.