Prince Charles is proving to be more outspoken than his mother, Queen Elizabeth, who is the longest-serving monarch in Britain. The Queen has never granted any interview and not much is known about her personal stance on certain world issues. But her son, Charles is proving to be her opposite as he had just warned against the rise of populist extremism in BBC Radio 4's "Thought for the Day."
The next in line to the monarchy said that the religious persecution all over the world continues to rise, and it is not just persecution against Christians in the Middle East.
"The scale of religious persecution around the world is not widely appreciated, nor is it limited to Christians in the troubled regions of the Middle East. A recent report suggests that attacks are increasing on Yazidis, Jews, Ahmadis, Baha'is and many other minority faiths, and in some countries even more insidious forms of religious extremism have recently surfaced which aim to eliminate all types of religious diversity," stated Prince Charles.
He further expressed his concern about the effect of religious persecution - people abandoning their homes and seeking refuge in other countries. He cited statistics by the United Nations, that more than 65.3 million people have left their homes in 2015, almost the entire population of the United Kingdom. He then went on to state his observation that the suffering for the refugees continues as more and more people are becoming aggressive toward the religious minority,
He then compared what is happening now to what happened in the 1930's, saying it was eerily similar, "All of this has deeply disturbing echoes of the dark days of the 1930s. I was born in 1948, just after the end of World War II, in which my parents' generation had fought, and died, in a battle against intolerance, monstrous extremism and an inhuman attempt to exterminate the Jewish population of Europe. That nearly 70 years later we should still be seeing such evil persecution is to me beyond all belief. We owe it to those who suffered and died so horribly not to repeat the horrors of the past.
He then encouraged the listeners to remember the story of the birth of Jesus Christ, of how Joseph and Mary were also escaping violent persecution. Prince Charles said that regardless of everyone's faith and beliefs, there should be respect for everyone, letting everyone live out their faith.
"Whichever religious path we follow, the destination is the same: to value and respect the other person" - The Prince of Wales' TFTD pic.twitter.com/qUIeWar7cC
— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) December 22, 2016
