Praise for God, and compassion for all of His creatures

Almost two years before the fight for independence in Mexico began, a man named Abd al-Qādir al-Jazā'irī was born on September 6th,1808 in the land of Algeria. Like Miguel Hidalgo, the first hero of Mexican independence from Spain, Abd al-Qādir (or Abd el Kader as he is also known) became the first hero of Algerian independence from France. He became very famous during his lifetime and gained the respect of many world leaders including Abraham Lincoln. In fact, a group of farmers in Iowa named their town "Elkader" Iowa, a name which it still proudly bears today. Abd el Kader was a conciliator and earned the name "Prince of Brotherhood" for his efforts in bringing Christians and Muslims together in peace and understanding. He said that all religions brought to us by the prophets from Adam until Muhammad rest on two principles, praise for God, and compassion for all His creatures. He discovered that as human beings there are more things that unite us than divide us and a mutual understanding of each others religion and culture is essential for universal peace on Earth. I believe that many of the problems between Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Christianity (not to mention the sects that divide each religion) are born out of ignorance and fear and not actual fact and the solution is education and dialog. President Barack Obama put it this way. He said "All of us must remember that the world we want to build and the changes that we want to make begin in our own hearts and in our own communities". It is worth noting that each of these religions have cultural traditions that are part of their "natural order of things" that are dear to their hearts and we should be aware of that and respectful. The more that we know about what other people believe the more we will be contributing to world peace. Everyone should have the right to worship freely. In the famous words of Mexican President Benito Juárez: "Entre los individuos, como entre las Naciones, el respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz". (Among individuals as among nations, peace is the respect for the rights of others.)