From the very first moment the HCHF announced its great initiative, the call gained the blessing and support of the two most prominent religious leaders in the world; His Eminence Dr. Ahmed El-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al Azhar, and His Holiness Pope Francis, Pope of the Catholic Church, and received the support of a number of kings, presidents, leaders, and leading political, religious, and media figures from all the world.

Judge AbdelSalam, Secretary-General of the HCHF, held an online press conference on Monday, attended by Monsignor Yoannis Lahzi Gaid, Personal Secretary of His Holiness Pope Francis, and Irina Bokova, Former Director General of UNESCO during which he announced the details of the initiative in the presence of local and international media outlets.

Judge Mohamed AbdelSalam stated: “This support for the initiative is clear evidence that we can, especially when addressing common challenges, put aside our disagreements under the banner of our human fraternity. Believing that our common human values is the driving force for the HCHF’s members to announce the call to pray, fast and perform charitable work to rid mankind of this pandemic and its consequences.”

Judge AbdelSalam also announced the launch of the official website of the ‘Pray for Humanity’ initiative (pray.forhumanfraternity.org), which will provide live coverage of the day and will serve as a digital archive for this historic day and future events of the HCHF.

The HCHF was established to implement the humanitarian principles advocated by the Document on Human Fraternity and engage all religious and international organisations in this process to achieve peace, coexistence, global citizenship and human fraternity.

The HCHF consists of a group of influential figures of diverse religious and cultural backgrounds and experts in the fields of Inter-culture communication, interfaith dialogue and social coexistence:

• Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue of the Holy See,
• Professor Mohamed Hussein Mahrasawi, President of Al-Azhar University,
• Judge Mohamed Mahmoud AbdelSalam, Former Advisor to the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and the Secretary-General of the Committee,
• Rabbi M. Bruce Lustig, Senior Rabbi at Washington Hebrew Congregation,
• Irina Bokova, Former Director General of UNESCO,
• H.E. Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Department of Culture in Abu Dhabi,
• Monsignor Yoannis Lahzi Gaid, Personal Secretary of His Holiness Pope Francis,
• Dr. Sultan Al Remeithi, Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Elders,
• Leymah Gbowee, a Liberian peace activist and Nobel Peace Laureate,
• Yasser Hareb, Emirati Writer and TV Presenter
• Father Professor Dr. Ioan Sauca, the Secretary-General of the World Council of Churches.
  
  

        Monsignor Yoannis Lahzi Gaid