By Vishnu Makhijani
Astana, July 1 (IANS) Religious leaders are trusted and listened to and should leverage this advantage to change what is wrong with the world, speakers at a global faith meet here maintained Wednesday.

Former Norwegian prime minister Kjell Bondevier summed it up succinctly: “Religious leaders have changed minds, have changed policies and have even changed the world.”

He was speaking at the plenary on ‘The role of religious leaders in building peace based on tolerance, mutual respect and cooperation’ at the third Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions that Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev inaugurated here Wednesday.

“As trusted members of society, religious leaders are in a position to act. Given their unique position, they can make a difference in the areas of climate change and HIV/AIDS,” Bondevier maintained, adding that he was speaking as a preacher and not as a former minister.

“Be it climate change or combating HIV/AIDS, religious leaders can promote action from the grassroots to the very top.”

In this context, he noted that some 450 imams in Uganda were delivering powerful messages against HIV/AIDS after Friday prayers.

Inaugurating the Congress, Nazarbayev said over the past six years, it had played a significant role in promoting harmony and removing distrust among the world’s religions.

“There is much that has been achieved. There is much more that needs to be done. It is up to us and the sincerity we display,” the president maintained.

According to Mehdi Mustafavi, adviser to the Iranian president: “Religious leaders should pay more attention to resolving the world’s problems. This is because people believe religious leaders more (than politicians).”

Noting that there was “much commonality” between religions, Shlomo Amar, Israel’s Sephardic chief rabbi, said: “It lies in our hands to try and understand what creates differences between religions and to try and reduce these to the extent possible.”

Metropolitan Emmannuel of Constantinople said the Congress “provides a golden opportunity to tell the whole world that we are prepared to accept our responsibilities and help in the resolution of critical issues”.

“The Congress provides a platform to discuss global concerns and to establish standards and guidelines (for resolving them),” Emmannuel maintained.

“Take climate change, for instance. It is much more than just being about the weather. It is something profoundly spiritual.”

According to Abdullah bin Abdul Mohsin, Al-Turki, the secretary general of the Muslim World League, the goal of religious leaders should be to protect religious institutions “and preserve them from falling prey or (becoming) tools in the hands of unscrupulous people”.

“The civilisation made by man on earth inhabited by nations in succession with their experiences engraved in the memory of history, are considered today a joint human legacy shared by all people in this modern era (that is) distinguished by fast communication, interactive relationships and the collapse of frontiers dividing cultural groups.

“What is required from the leaders of human thoughts is to provide constructive vision in the light of this interaction and communication,” Abdullah added.