19 MARCH 2006

ISFAHAN, IRAN ? Swami Agnivesh the President of the World Council of Arya Samaj here Sunday called for total nuclear disarmament at world level, saying that it is should start from the US, for the US is the only country that has used it against the innocent people.

He made the remark at the international conference on "Constructive Interaction among Divine Religions: A Way to Global Order" held here for the exchange of views among the religious leaders and scholar for a stronger role of religion in the world order.

The conference is held in the aftermath of the blasphemous cartoons of the holy Prophet of Islam published in some Western newspapers and also the demolition of holy Shia Shrines in Samarra, Iraq.

Referring to the Unity of God, the Swami said according the religious teachings there is absolutely no room for discrimination between white and black, men and women, the high caste and the low caste and also between the children born to the rich or the poor.

Scholars and religious leaders ? Christian, Hindus, Jews, Zoroastrians, Armenians and Muslims - from 38 countries participated in conference.

The first of its kind organized in the world in the aftermath of the recent sacrilegious events, the conference provided an avenue for the religious leaders to pave the way for multilateral understanding as prelude to peaceful coexistence among the followers of religions.

Referring to uniqueness of the Creator and the Creation, Swami Agnivesh said, "We human beings in our ignorance, pride, prejudice, jealousy, hatred and sense of violence create and organize caste system, gender inequalities, racial divide, and the most glaring and unacceptable disparity between the rich and the poor."

Referring to the blasphemous cartoons published in some Western papers against the Prophet of Islam, the Swami said blasphemy of one religion is blasphemy of all the religions. He called for protest against sacrilege of all divine religions, including Hinduism. He lambasted the Western manufacturers for painting the Hindu gods on the sleepers and toilet papers which is a blatant affront to sanctities of about a billion Hindus.

Emphasizing on the fact that there is only One God Who is worshipped by the believers of all religions, he said: "we should refuse to (in the name of secularism) create a new God of Glorified Greed with MNSc and TNCs (Multinational and Transnational Corporations) as alters and crass consumerism as obeisance. This will be like throwing the baby with the bath water.

Lauding Imam Khomeini as founder of new non-alignment in the world, he said Imam Khomeini like Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, Jemal Abdul Nasser and other founders of the Non-Aligned Movement neither aligned himself with the Western nor with the Eastern blocs.

Referring to the Western cultural onslaught against the Third World countries, he said all free-spirited people of the world should stand against the degenerated Western cultural invasion.

He announced the solidarity of the Indian nation with the Iranian nation and government in their struggle to have peaceful nuclear technology.