The Chahama network will support people living with AIDS and vulnerable groups CAIRO: The First Network of Arab Religious Leaders Responding to AIDS launched today with the aim of uniting various organizations and religious leaders to raise awareness and support people living with AIDS. Muslim and Christian sects from 20 Arab countries formed the Chahama Network at the end of the Second Regional Religious Leaders Forum in Response to HIV/AIDS Nov. 6-9, 2006, which was organized by UNDP s HIV/AIDS Regional Program in the Arab States (Harpas) under the auspices of the League of Arab States. "The motto for Chahama is 'Religions in the service of humanity,' said Dr. Lina El-Hemsy, lecturer, Kaftaro Islamic Center, Syria. "There is no greater service than our solidarity as religious leaders with Arab HIV positive people working against stigma, discrimination and raising awareness about healthy, value-based behaviors in our congregations among men and women including non-discriminatory behavior. Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawy, grand imam of Al-Azhar Mosque, and Pope Shenouda III, pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church and president of the Middle East Council of Churches, signed onto the historic Cairo Declaration in 2004 and strongly support the formation of the network as stated at the opening ceremony of the forum, held under the auspices of the League of Arab States with special support from its secretary general, Amr Moussa. Amy Kay, UNDP/Harpas regional program officer, noted that this network is a milestone in the region's history of dealing with AIDS. "It's the first of its kind, she told The Daily Star Egypt, ITALICS explaining that it isn't only the first time leaders from different religions meet on this issue but also the first time that leaders of different genders meet. She believes the network will be effective in combating the stigma of AIDS in the Arab world. Religious leaders around the world, not just in the conservative Middle East, have been highly effective in raising awareness and avoiding stigmas, she added. "Now that religious leaders have come together, we must not lose the momentum we have created. We have developed a plan of action to urgently respond to what is amounting to a region living on the brink of an epidemic, said Father Hady Aya, Antonin Maronite religious leader and founder of the Organization for Justice and Mercy in Lebanon. "We created Chahama, understanding the great responsibility that has been placed in our hands to reach out to the communities we serve. We, as women and men religious leaders, not only in the Arab region but in the world have been the most active in the AIDS response. We will not fail our people and we will not leave one person behind regardless of the status of their health, he added.
