Haile Selassie Quotes
Since nobody can interfere in the realm of God we should tolerate and live side by side with those of other faiths.
Haile Selassie, 1891-1975, Ethiopian Emperor, Address to the World Evangelical Congress, Berlin, October 28, 1966
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus. This quote is historically very important as it is one of the first expressions of religious tolerance. Tragically, this principle was ignored by most Christians for over a millennium. Some Christians still ignore it. See {626754} for a modern example.
Benjamin Franklin used almost the exact statement in a dispute of the Catholic Schools in the same year. It was unlikely that Frederick followed American politics so closely that he would have learned of Franklin’s statement, but Franklin was attuned to all the events of Europe, and this official act of the Emperor was big new for religious toleration enthusiasts. Therefore we suspect that Franklin was quoting Frederick without attribution.
al-Mansur Abu Ali. Even though the Caliph was trying to return to Muslim Fundamentalism, there was a general tolerance that was far in advance of Christian societies at the time. It is dramatically at variance with many of the more rigorous Islamic countries today.
New Lanark was a Utopian commune organized by Owen.
Islam was not very strong at this point and the followers of Muhammad were relatively few and the Medina area contained Arab Non-Believers, Jews as well as the new Muslims. Muhammad drew up this document and got the non Muslims to agree to it. Not only were Jews able to practice their religion freely (as were the non-Muslim Arabs) but there was not tax on the non Muslims that was imposed later when the Muslims were much stronger relative to others. Also, which surprises many Jews and Muslims alike, the Community – the Ulma – the People included the Jews and Arab Non Believers. Today it is only the Muslims.
Incredibly enough the same statement was issued as a Cabinet order by Frederick The Great {602503} in June 22 of the same year. It was unlikely that Frederick followed American politics so closely that he would have learned of Franklin’s statement, but Franklin was attuned to all the events of Europe, and this official act of the Emperor was big new for religious toleration enthusiasts. Therefore we suspect that Franklin was quoting Frederick without attribution.
Haile Selassie I was the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. Prior to his coronation, he had been the Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia from 1916. He is a defining figure in modern Ethiopian history. He was a member of the Solomonic dynasty who traced his lineage to Emperor Menelik I.
