“We have indeed honoured the Children of Adam, and provided for them means of transportation on land and sea, and given them wholesome food and exalted them high above the greater part of Our creation.” (THE QURAN 17: 70)

The above verse shows that man by his very creation deserves regard and respect.

This respect is man’s natural birthright.

There are a number of such commands to the believers in the Quran and the Hadith which lay great stress on showing due respect to the servants of God.

Respect for mankind is one of the basic teachings of Islam. Everyone, whether of one’s own religion or of any other religious tradition, whether belonging to one community or another to a friendly group or a group of strangers, is worthy of respect.

According to the teachings of Islam human beings are to be respected despite their differences. Even where antagonism is displayed, we have to adopt the way of avoidance of conflict and continue to show respectful behaviour. In the eyes of Islam, all human beings are equal and deserve our respect.

I am sure the same message applies to other religious faiths as well and hence it is so sad to see the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and the sad part about is that the world is not taking any affirmative action to stop this.

I pray to the Almighty to protect all those who are affected by conflict, provide food to those who are starving, shelter to those who have no roof over the head and finally to leaders of countries to act to protect humanity.