UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called on Tuesday for sensitivity towards religious beliefs and sacred symbols, warning that mistakes – intentional or not – could trigger a global war of religion. He said the international migration movement, which brought millions of people of different creed and culture to live together, has not united them.
“The misconceptions and stereotypes underlying the idea of a clash of civilisation have come to be more and more widely shared. Insensitivity towards other people’s beliefs or sacred symbols – intentional or otherwise – is seized on by those who seem eager to foment a new war of religion, this time on a global scale,” Annan said in an address opening the political debate in the UN general assembly.