Good afternoon. The first item of business is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader is Imam Habibur Rahman of the Dunfermline central mosque and Islamic centre.
It is with great honour that I stand before you at the Scottish Parliament, as I see our Parliament as a progressive one that listens to its people and delivers policies that foster equality and equity for all.
We live in a world that has transformed so much in the past 30 years, with technology pushing us further in our ability to develop as a human species. As humans embrace this new age of modernity, we face the paradox of man: fixated on the world of tomorrow, yet forgetting the lessons of yesterday, which leads to the state we find ourselves in today.
With the advancement of our civilisation through technological innovation and the fruition of futuristic concepts, it is necessary to reflect and understand the identity of who we indeed are and what we represent. It is paramount that we should often pause and take time to reflect on what we can be and where we are going, as it is one’s reflection that illustrates the vision for excellence.
The question is, how often do we reflect? Moreover, even upon that reflection, how often are we asking ourselves the right questions?
God has blessed us with the power of intellect to reflect on the connection and values that we share with our fellow human beings. We still see the greed of personal gain and hateful rhetoric against one another. We make these intellectual advancements, yet we struggle and fail to fathom the understanding of what humanity is—a shared reality despite our external and internal differences.
We develop advanced weapons to protect ourselves and to maintain order, supposedly, yet they are used to destroy the lives of communities. The recent horrific attack on the Tree of Life synagogue is one such example among many other ills still taking place in society. To those affected, we offer our sincere condolences and support as one human race.
We live in this bubble as the superior creation of God, yet we still cannot solve the on-going problems of war, greed, corruption, extremism, poverty, discrimination and neglect. However, the answer to those problems has been there all along in the form of humanity. We see the very best and worst of who we are in times of crisis and how we come together as communities and take care of one another.
I ask you this: have we progressed? Let us reflect.
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