As an ambassador of the United Arab Emirates in a number of countries, which has contributed to my coexistence and openness to different cultures, I have found myself surprised by the concept of tolerance in these countries, as there are those who claim tolerance and see us as radical Muslims with jihadist ideology, and that Muslim women have no rights and are persecuted, because of their veils and their brutality, and they don't know that Islam honored women and raised their value, as Islam was the first to establish women's material and moral rights. Nor they know that Islam is a religion of tolerance, justice and respect, not a religion of extremism.

Hence, my journey began to change this misconception. At first, I used to talk to the other side to change their beliefs about Islam and try to change the misconception about Islamic values, but the dialogue was always denied, until I began to highlight the concepts of the values of tolerance and the UAE's approach to tolerance and peaceful coexistence, by participating in religious events. So I expanded my agenda to include clergy, undertook churches and organized embassy initiatives that highlight the values of tolerance.

From this step the other party began to change its misconceptions, where he began to accept discussions and dialogue with me on these topics, and became engaged in deeper dialogues to uncover the cover about misconceptions about tolerance in our society, unlike the reaction I was receiving at the beginning. It is worth mentioning that the other party was surprised by the visit of a Muslim ambassador to the church and the provision of assistance to the churches, and how we are open in accepting and respecting other religions. They admire the UAE's policy and approach to tolerance in terms of the existence of more than 7 churches for different religious communities, a Hindu temple, a Sikh temple and a Jewish house of worship.

Unfortunately, I also found the confusion between ISIS and the Islamic religion, as Islam is not ISIS. On this basis, I began by highlighting the role of the UAE in tolerance, peaceful coexistence and combating extremism and the message that the UAE spread throughout the world, which says in its content that the march of tolerance is not newly born, but originated with the emergence of the United Arab Emirates, and the UAE has been fighting extremism and radical thought in all its forms, where the UAE joined the international coalition in 2014, and played a pivotal role in the fight against ISIS. The UAE also established the first centre to fight extremism in 2015, in cooperation with the United States, the Sawab Centre, which works to harness online communication and social media to combat extremist ideologies, correct misconceptions, and put them in perspective.

As for the situation of Muslim women, it is important to change the Western perception of the stereotype of oppressed, submissive and vulnerable Muslim women, since most Western societies view Muslim women as submissive, forced to wear the hijab, prohibited from travelling, from going to school or Enjoy the many "freedoms" that women enjoy in the West. However, the reality is quite different in the Arab world in general and in the UAE in particular, as Emirati women are partners in the development process and who are preaparing the future generations, with Emirati women representing 22% of the members of the Federal National Council and reached its presidency as the first country in the Arab world. The federal government also includes nine ministers by 27% of the total number of ministers, including the youngest minister in the world. We believe in the important role of women in peace-building and peacekeeping, and that more women in leadership and decision-making positions can only protect and build communities.

Finally, the concept of tolerance in some countries is a tool to promote the image of the country, but in the UAE, it is an approach instilled and established by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and the founding fathers, based on a commitment to the authentic morals and customs of the people of the UAE, and it was followed by the wise leadership of the state headed by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

His Excellency Mohammad Mir Abdullah Al Raisi

UAE Ambassador to Athens

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation