Dr. Arif Abdullah took part in a working meeting at the Complutense University of Madrid  

Complutense University of Madrid, Spain

The lecturer from the High Islamic Institute and Chairman of the research Center at it Dr. Arif Abdullah participated in a working meeting entitled “Coexistence in Spain”, which took place in Madrid within the period May 7 - 9, 2019.

The three-day working meeting took place at the Complutense University of Madrid which is famous for its motto “Libertas Perfundet Omnia Luce" ("Freedom Spreads the Light over Everything).

In the framework of the international event scientists and intellectuals discussed the different aspects of interfaith coexistence in Spain, including the issues of the religious worldview and identity. Identity was addressed as an extremely complex and dynamic notion, which reflects the differences and the similarities between people.

“Identity is a fact, something real, which cannot be ignored. But its use has an important role in human peace and conflict. Using identity for domination, independence, centralization, exploitation and other similar generates conflict between people. And the goal should be harmonization of the various kinds of identity in order to achieve general human peace and welfare.” – said for Grandmufti.bg Dr. Arif Abdullah after the meeting held in Madrid.

Spain has a rich history of the interfaith relationships. This is also preserved in the architecture of a number of Spanish cities and the most notable example for this is the city of Toledo. The mosque of Toledo is also there, one of the oldest in Europe, built in tenth century. A notorious fact is that the religious temples in Toledo are often built with the joint efforts of Christians, Jews and Muslims.

Cristo de la Luz mosquein the city of Toledo, Spain

Within the held working meeting on “Coexistence in Spain” the participants discussed the religious history of Spain as well as scientific studies which show that the country is in an upward process of secularization. And the percentage of those who have identified themselves as atheists is dramatically high. – “The cultural affiliation to the Catholic tradition does not in any way mean conscious affiliation to the practices and the spirituality of Catholicism. New categories such as spirituality without religious affiliation and religious affiliation without spirituality appear.” – Dr. Abdullah further said.     

Muslims in Spain number nearly 2 million people, i.e. they are the second largest religious group in the country after Catholicism. Today`s Constitution of Spain guarantees full religious freedom, justice and equal opportunities for the representatives of the various religions. 

“One of the unique features of our days today is understanding the value of pluralism, i.e. the fact and the power of the diversity at all levels and the quest for harmony in diversity, but not domination, unilateralism and expansion which was typical for the Medieval thinking of mankind.” – concluded Dr. Arif Abdullah after his participation in the meeting at the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain.