The first time I met Prof. Guido de Marco was last January at his office in Ħamrun. I was there to ask him to deliver a speech in the “Peace Conference” which was to be organised by Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Malta. He very kindly accepted and told me that his health was not very good but he would do his best to attend.

In the few minutes we had for the meeting, I also introduced him to Ahmadiyya Jamaat and told him that we were promoting inter-faith dialogue so that people of different faiths could share their teachings and ideas with each other, so that a better atmosphere of love, respect and understanding could be developed.

I told him that we believe every human being has the right to accept and practise the religion of his own choice and there should be no compulsion and force in religion. He replied: “That’s what I believe too.”

When I was preparing his brief introduction to present it before his speech, I found his very detailed biography. It was very difficult for me to summarise it because he had worked so much in very prestigious capacities, nationally and internationally. On February 27 he gave a wonderful speech in the Peace Conference which was liked and very much appreciated by all. In this speech he spoke very beautiful words to describe religion: “Religions are a great weapon for peace”.

During these two meetings with him I found him very humble, sincere, wise, intelligent, courageous, hard working, always ready to face challenges, always ready to contribute and a person of great respect for others. He was always willing to share smiles with others. He had a great love for humanity which was ingrained in him.

Prof. de Marco has contributed so much to this beautiful island and to the world in general which will be remembered for ages. The death of His Excellency is a great loss for the country.

We want to show our sincerest condolences to his wife, his son Mario de Marco, Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, daughters, and his friends and to all his dear ones. May God bless them with the strength to deal with this tragedy. We pray that his soul will rest in peace forever and may God bless him with His everlasting love and pleasure. Amen

Mr Atif is president, Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Malta.

amjmalta@gmail.com