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25 Mar 2015
With HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal in attendance, The Jordan Media Institute (JMI) hosted a screening of the Lebanese documentary film “Against the Current”. Organized by The Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies in cooperation with the Italian Embassy, Reset-Dialogues on Civilizations Foundation and UNESCO, the screening was followed by a seminar discussing the themes presented by the film.<br />
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Launched in 2011 in the context of a national campaign titled “Fanaticism Blinds Us; Faith Enlightens Us”, the film highlights the power of faith in the face of extremism and discrimination, and showcases several important religious leaders such as Prince Abdul Kader Al Jazairi, Bishop Salim Ghazal, Imam Moussa Al Sadr and Rev. Fr. Makram Kozah, who collaborated with and defended other, seemingly opposing groups. The film highlights some of principles championed by the leading personalities, namely that love is stronger than death; that there are no winners in wars, only losers and that the peoples of this region share many common values. Directed by Michel Tyan, the film has won multiple awards, most notably the Italian-based Interreligious Jury Prize in Trento Festival and The Golden Hawk Award in Rotterdam Festival for Arab Films in the Netherlands.<br />
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In his introductory remarks, HRH Prince El Hassan noted that we lacked a space of wisdom and information, and stressed the importance of mutually enriching dialogue and debate between different parties, saying it was time to move away from a dialogue of texts towards a dialogue of souls. The Prince called for an Arab media based on statistics and analysis at a time when a great many channels broadcast entertainment and intimidation. His Highness highlighted the importance of curriculum development in fostering tolerance and acceptance of others.<br />
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Founder and Director of Reset-Dialogues on Civilizations Foundation, Giancalor Bosetti, also spoke at the event noting how many people fall into the trap of violence, while in the pursuit of peace. He stressed the importance of solidarity and forgiveness between people, and of replacing hate and discrimination with shared, human values. The Lebanese Ambassador to Jordan, Michelin Paz, added to these remarks by citing examples of tolerance during the Lebanese civil war which saw a Muslim imam defending Christians, and a Christian reverend devoting himself to the service and aid of Muslims.<br />
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The event was attended by JMI Founder, HRH Princess Rym Ali, and a number of religious and academic personalities. Representatives of civil society organizations, research centers, ambassadors and public school students were also in attendance.