World leaders must "prick up their ears"

Professor Mona Siddiqui gives the 2008 Pope Paul VI Lecture [Wilde Fry]

Pope Paul VI Lecture 2008: Leading Muslim lecturer Professor Mona Siddiqui calls on the G20 leadership to stop ignoring the voices of the poor

Speaking at the CAFOD annual Pope Paul VI lecture, Professor Mona Siddiqui called for the G20 to take responsibility for the poor.

As the G20 met in Washington to shore up the world banking system and avert future crises, Professor Siddiqui was asked what they should be focusing on.

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Full transcript of the Pope Paul VI memorial lecture by Professor Mona Siddiqui, November 14, 2008

The world is polarised

She said: “The G20 cannot be about wealthy nations deciding on what to do about poor nations. At the moment the world is polarised, thinking those who are poor have nothing to offer - and that those who are poor are at the mercy of those who are rich.

“We are all connected. If we are not going to use the resources of those who are less well off, have less materially, then we cannot be a just society, there will always remain an imbalance.”

“If globalisation is to succeed in the 21st century, it must have a human face. At the moment globalisation doesn’t have a human face and that is what I think is the biggest challenge for G20 leaders.”

Professor Siddiqui is Professor of Islamic Studies and Public Understanding at the University of Glasgow. Her lecture was on the theme of working towards a just society – whatever our faith.

As the first Muslim speaker to take part in the lecture series, and addressing a predominantly Catholic audience, the central theme of her lecture was exploring ways in which to foster inter-faith understanding.

Using verses from the Qur’an and Christian scripture she spoke about the common humanity between the two faiths, one that called for compassion.

She said: "Compassion for everyone but especially for those who are hungry and thirsty, for those who are cold and lonely, for those who are neither loved nor have anyone to love, for those suffering in distant lands.”

During a question and answer session, Ms Siddiqui told the 500-strong audience that the global political leadership were failing to put the needs of the poor at the top of their political agendas.

She gave as an example their inability to make the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) a reality.

“Many leaders talk in abstracts. Just think about the MDGs. They (political leadership) talk in rhetoric which is far removed from the actual implementation.

"If we are going to implement the eight MDGs, then we need to think about everything, and we are not prepared to do so.”

Ms Siddiqui ended her lecture reminding the audience that “we have to keep alive the desires and hopes of others”.

For further information or a transcript of Ms Siddiqui’s lecture please contact: Nana Anto-Awuakye on: 020 7095-5560 or 07799 477 541 or email: nanto-awuakye@cafod.org.uk

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