NYU Convocation in honor of His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar
On September 13, 2005 the NYU community gathered to honor His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar. NYU President John Sexton and Chairman of NYU's Board of Trustees Martin Lipton presented the Emir with the University's Presidential Medal for his significant contribution to strengthening the dialogue between the Islamic world and the United States. The Emir spoke on the importance of dialogue based on mutual respect as a key to improving Muslim-Western understanding.
Dialogues' Founder and Director Mustapha Tlili hailed the Emir in his greeting "as an exemplary modern Arab and Muslim leader... [who] symbolize[s] renewal, progress, outreach to the rest of the world and dialogue with all, the quest for knowledge, education, and science, and the triumph of reason."
President John Sexton praised the Emir for "pressing the agenda of discourse in a world deeply divided and in urgent need of informed dialogue and unfettered debate."
In his remarks the Emir emphasized respect and tolerance as key tenets for better dialogue between the Islamic world and the West. "Dialogue cannot occur without, firstly, a communication climate of mutual respect of all parties including a respect for each other's differences," the Emir said. "Moreover," he added, "disagreements cannot result in using differences as a weapon against others. Disagreements must be understood as a fundamental and essential part of the process and valued because they provide insight into the participants' principles. When dialogue is abandoned, other alternatives can occur. And, we see this in extremism, acts of terror, and war."
The Emir was joined at NYU by his wife, Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned. As Chairperson of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, HH Sheikha Mozah has been influential in the development of Education City, an ambitious project to bring American-style higher education to Qatar that now includes five branch campuses of American universities.
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