Prince of Asturias Awards 1981–2014. Speeches

4 O viedo | C ampoamor T heatre | 27 th O ctober 1995 There are many valuable lessons to be drawn from Spain’s rich history. The seeds of human ingenuity were nurtured by tolerance and peaceful coexistence. This remarkable era produced great men and women who, until this day, remain a source of inspiration and pride to all mankind. Among them are the venerable Jewish mystic Ibn Maymun, known as Maimonedes, physician to Salah al-Din (Saladin) and son of Toledo, and the Christian scholar Ramón Llull, who wrote in the Arabic language. And even our greatest saint, Ibn Arabi of Murcia, a universal man who understood the real unity of all creation. We can thus be proud that in Muslim Spain, the ancient Jewish community of Toledo thrived, and the bells of the churches of Al-Andalus never stopped ringing. Together, the Muslims, Christians and Jews of Spain produced a dynamic intracultural society. But all of this cannot adequately explain the high regard and deep affection that we have for Spain. It is the Spain of today that earns its special place in our hearts. HM King Hussein I of Jordan — Prince of Asturias Award for Concord 1995 HM Hussein I of Jordan was king from 1952 until his death in 1999. — Excerpt from the speech given on the occasion of receiving the Prince of Asturias Award for Concord on 27/10/1995.