The time to fight for tolerance is now

Tolerance is not something that anyone can take for granted. It needs to be defended through thick and thin, and once tolerance is flourishing it has to be actively cherished, said a UAE newspaper today.

In an editorial on Thursday, Gulf News said, "Equally, when intolerance starts creating its foul hatred and suspicion, it has to be resisted as soon as it is found. All this vital social and political activity does not happen by accident, and it has to happen all over the world."

The paper went on to say, "Promoting tolerance needs hard work from dedicated people working at all sorts of levels of society: the lifetime of dedication by a social worker in a slum of mixed ethnic or sectarian demographics is as important as the parliamentarian who works to pass a headline law outlawing some example of intolerance.

"This is why the new International Institute of Tolerance and the new annual award created by Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is so important.

"The institute will work to support those who work to bring all human beings together, and the award will celebrate their work providing valuable encouragement for the teams involved, and role models for others struggling to work to bring people together.

"It is particularly important that the award will look for those who work over a wide range of human endeavour including intellectual, literary and artistic endeavour since often people’s emotions are stirred by those cultural influences rather than well-meant and informed political orations.

"The Arab world is currently riven by discussion and violence but such initiatives give hope that the voice of reason can win and the men of violence and hatred will be defeated," concluded the Dubai-based daily.