MARCH 16, 2019
The Grand Sovereign Lodge of Portugal expresses its deep regret and dismay at learning of the horrendous act of violence committed at two mosques in the city of Christchurch in New Zealand, in which dozens of people including children were killed.
Regular Freemasonry, is an institution that lives religious tolerance in its day to day life.
Indeed, on the altar on which regular Masons take their oath, the 3 Books of the 3 main religions are present.
Indeed, the Sovereign’s Quran was a kind offer from the Imam of the Central Mosque of Lisbon, Sheikh David Munir, who we hold dear.
This attack for this reason is not only against one religion in particular, but also against the deepest values that characterize modern societies in the defense of which the Sovereign works every day.
In a phone call made to Imam Sheikh David Munir, our Grand Master, João Pestana Dias, strongly condemned these attacks, an unacceptable and ignoble expression of religious intolerance.
In this sense, the Sovereign firmly declares to continue to fight intolerance, ignorance and fanaticism.