"People living with HIV/AIDS and their families are worthy of care, support, treatment and education whether they are responsible for their illness or not. We call for our religious institutions in cooperation with other institutions to provide spiritual, psychological and economic support to these people," says the Cairo Declaration, which was signed by 80 top religious leaders, Muslims and Christians, from 19 different Arab countries. These leaders met in a historic colloquium organised by UNDP's HIV/AIDS Regional Programme in the Arab States (HARPAS) in December 2004. Since then, the Declaration has been endorsed by thousands of Muslim imams and Christian ministers in the region. It has been described as "revolutionary" in the media. The Cairo Declaration emphasises the urgency of responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, calling for awareness campaigns, outreach to vulnerable groups, treatment and care for those infected and affected by the virus. It also explicitly supports "women's rights not to be infected", implying a review of the age-old power imbalance of gendered sexual relations in the region. Punitive prejudice explaining the epidemic as expression of "God's wrath upon the unrighteous" is readily subscribed to in this region and elsewhere. Yet after the courageous stance of Sheikh Al-Azhar, the Coptic pope, the grand mufti of Egypt, the minister of religious endowments ( awqaf ) and their counterparts in other parts of the Arab region (such as the leadership from the University of Zeitouna in Tunisia, the Ministry of Religious Endowments in Morocco, Syria and many others), such conclusions are not so condonable. The two HIV/AIDS manuals written by and for Muslim and Christian religious leaders have been well received by mid-level and grassroots leaders all over the Arab world. They contain suggested material for sermons and religious lessons on HIV/AIDS-related issues, integrating fact-based messages from not only the medical but also the broader developmental perspective, along with human rights based approaches in tune with the Quran and hadith, or the Bible and its scriptures. Five sub-regional training workshops to promote the manuals are currently being organised by UNDP's HARPAS, with national initiatives mushrooming in almost every Arab country, creating a regional transformation. The change of heart individually among religious leaders takes place not only through sharing accurate information but also through religious leaders meeting face-to-face with people living with HIV and AIDS. Participants also benefit from a package of leadership development exercises that encourage them to go beyond statistics and intellectual arguments, in order to develop an empathetic understanding of the issues that surround HIV/AIDS. A remarkable moment came during a recent HARPAS sub-regional religious leaders workshop in Rabat, July 2005. A former sex worker who came from a background of poverty and struggle for survival shared her testimony about living with HIV/AIDS. Following this woman's moving story, a hard-line imam from Morocco tried to comment but his words were broken by an onset of tears. Other imams asked this woman to forgive them and to pray for them. In another UNDP workshop, in Damascus, August 2005, a prominent imam from Syria volunteered to undergo the HIV test following a doctor's explanation of the importance of getting tested to know one's HIV status. At the same workshop, tens of Christian and Muslim leaders entered the large Caftaro Mosque in Syria. The group included a Lebanese Shia imam, a Palestinian orthodox priest and a first rank Al-Azhar scholar. All shared compassionate messages in front of 4,000 people about HIV/AIDS in a remarkable, united stand. The night before, Muslim and Christian leadership joined in a major church meeting in the village of Sahnaya to discuss HIV/AIDS. The leaders shared laughter and sincere words as they enjoyed the magic of this Syrian village's hospitality after services attended by the area's bishop. These workshops go beyond tears and laughter -- they incite action, transformation and commitment. A dynamic imam from one of the biggest mosques in Cairo went home from the workshop to deliver a Friday sermon dedicated to HIV/AIDS in front of 6,000 worshipers. He then proposed a plan to the minister of religious endowments to share the training he received with hundreds of his peers. A prominent imam from Morocco started, without any funding, a training scheme aiming at training ten imams from each of 14 governorates. His superiors developed this into an ambitious plan to train all 30,000 Moroccan imams. They secured funding and expertise for this enormous task from the Global Fund. All leaders understand the role of specialists in providing tried and tested methods of HIV prevention; some even agree to endorse the use of condoms while others are still reluctant and prefer to speak of abstinence and faithfulness. The issue has certainly been recognised. High-risk behaviours, including unprotected sex and intravenous drug use, are frankly discussed. Effective methods to deal with these categories of behaviour are being suggested. More than 20 years of experience has taught UNDP experts that AIDS cannot be stopped without asserting the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS, and people engaged in high-risk behaviour. Among these is the right not to be discriminated against and stigmatised because of one's health. One of the best ways to spread this message to the community at large is through religious leaders. The UNDP does not "tell" the leaders what to do; rather it provides the platform for them to explore the issues in a safe and nurturing environment, trusting that they will find wise answers. Facing up to HIV/AIDS reveals either rigidity or open mindedness and compassion. Religious leaders in our region are moving in the right direction. This may have long-term repercussions in relation to many developmental issues, including women's rights, governance issues, and access to knowledge. All of these aspects are essential components in any effective response to HIV/AIDS.
