'He had been scrupulous to ensure that he demonstrated a profound respect for all the faiths to be found in our country. After he was elected by Parliament as our first democratically elected President on 9May 1994, on the Friday he went to a mosque and on the following day he attended a synagogue and on the Sunday attended a larger inter-denominational service at the FNB Stadium in Soweto. At his inauguration, prayers were offered by Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and Christian ministers.
'The spirit of tolerance is now enshrined in the custom that Parliament starts each day with a period of quiet to allow each person to use as is consistent with his or her faith, or lack of it. It replaces the way things were done in the old, all-white Parliament when Christian prayers were the order of the day, despite the fact that a few members were Jewish.
'The respect for the things others hold dear is a precious part of the legacy that this great man leaves us and is a tremendous contribution to the kind of future we want to see, particularly at a time when religious fundamentalism of all kinds threatens global peace.'
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