Speech of His Excellency Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu at the Copenhagen Meeting

Date: 22/10/2008

Your Excellency Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller of Denmark, Your Excellency Jorge Sampaio, UN High Representative of the Alliance on Civilizations, Distinguished Heads or Representatives of Partner Organizations, Excellencies, Distinguished participants, Ladies and Gentlemen. Allow me at the outset to express the appreciation of the Organization of the Islamic Conference to the Government of Denmark for hosting the Rabat Follow-up Conference in Copenhagen with a view to fostering dialogue among cultures and civilizations. Rabat Conference was a very timely and pertinent conference vis-à-vis the global political and socio-cultural developments following the trying times of post cold war and aftermath of 9/11 tragedy. However, I believe that since then, due to many developments, the subject matter of this Conference has gained even more importance and relevance with its notable implications on international peace and security. The initiative taken by the Danish Government to host this Conference in Copenhagen is a constructive and visionary step. It is more so in the backdrop of the ramifications of the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by a Danish newspaper in 2005. I believe that the holding of this conference in Copenhagen will serve as an effort of confidence building on the part of the Danish government and Danish people towards dispelling the tension and mutual misunderstandings that were unfortunately created and since then snowballed into an amalgam of intractable divisions and diplomatic confrontations in various international fora particularly between the European Union and OIC member states. On its part, the OIC General Secretariat, by actively participating in the preparation process and supporting the organization of this conference, has aimed to emphasize its dedication to foster dialogue and political engagement in order to create much-needed grounds to strengthen the efforts to advocate peace and moderation. We certainly expect that the Copenhagen Conference would help in ushering a new phase in our collective efforts to promote intercultural and inter-religious understanding and constructive dialogue. The OIC's decision to be a partner in this conference was largely influenced and envisioned by this expectation. It is our sincere hope that the deliberations and contributions of the reputed and distinguished scholars, politicians and professionals assembled here from Muslim and Western countries will contribute positively towards realizing this objective. In practical terms, as was the case in Rabat Conference, our participation in this initiative as a co organizer is in line with the mandate given to the OIC General Secretariat by the leaders of the OIC member states with a view to countering the increasing trend of prejudice, misinformation, misrepresentation, stereotyping, discrimination and intolerance targeting Muslims and their religions through diminishing or eliminating sources of confrontation between the Western world and the Muslim world and through supporting intercultural and interfaith dialogue projects in cooperation with the international and regional organizations and Western countries. Taking this opportunity, I would like to underline a fact which probably is the factor to render this conference for us a unique and crucial one among a host of other international gatherings. This conference has brought together the most important and relevant international entities who have the real potential to make effective contribution to foster a sustainable peace of culture among world civilizations. Therefore, we regard each and every one of the supporters of this gathering as our real partners for concrete projects and we have high esteem and respect for their efforts. Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, The selection on the theme of this conference: “Education for Intercultural Understanding and Dialogue” fully conforms to the aims and objectives of the OIC. The OIC has pioneered the concept of Dialogue among Civilizations since the early 1990s. It was at our behest that the year 2001 was declared by the UN as the Year for dialogue among civilizations. The most and, if I may add, the better part of my career has been in the field of education. Since my early years as a student and the later part of being an academic and a scholar devoted to inter-cultural research, I have learned the true meaning and value of education. Education brings enlightenment out of the darkness of ignorance and helps to create awareness of rights and responsibilities. It serves as a vehicle to accomplish our aspirations through the exercise of the most wonderful gift bestowed on us by divinity : the human intellect. Education empowers us to decide on the right and to reject the wrong; to correctly interpret the phenomena and concepts of intercultural diversity and the ability to seek out answers to the issues and challenges that we are faced with. A significant aspect of education is the fact that we are born with the learning process and that the process remains with us throughout our entire life. We know that education is not just confined to text books, class rooms, libraries or institutions. Its sphere is widespread as our learning process is shaped by our surroundings and environment including the family, educational institutions and the society. The breakthroughs in present day communication technology, in particular the internet, has overtaken many of the traditional actors in imparting education. The hallmark of the education process however, has always been and continues to be so, its contents and quality. Good quality education has brought blessings and rewards while bad and poor quality has taken people wayward on the path of degeneration and hazards. Education is the major source which cultivates values and attitudes that shape the perceptions of individuals, communities, nations and the world. It also informs and translates understanding into action and thus has a vital role in any cultural international dialogue, and in the management of cultural diversity. Another means leading to realizing a successful international dialogue is the promotion of active harmony between culture groups within nations and between nations. Education and intercultural dialogue holds deep implications for the well-being of all humanity and our planet. Hence there is an urgent need to coordinate cross cultural understanding and multi-cultural education policies emphasizing diversity, while being conscious of the gaps between theory and practice. In this regard, we have to affirm the vital need for all peoples, communities, institutions, governments, to uphold and practice local and global responsibilities to promote cultural diversity while nurturing a common humanity and peaceful world, clear from discrimination, racism, stereotypes, and prejudice. In this endeavor, inter-cultural dialogue needs to involve not only the leaders and politicians but also ordinary people, NGO’s and civil-society and other stakeholders. Moreover, it is vital for education to promote universally shared values for the development of peaceful, democratic and pluralistic societies based on values such as human rights, democracy, tolerance, non-violence, inter-cultural understanding and dialogue among cultures and civilizations. A permanent responsibility for education is the building of culture of peace through emphasizing the crucial role of values. In this respect, education should also aim at reducing tensions and eliminate the culture of antagonism and wars, as the world today is experiencing tragic symptoms of a culture of war yielding untold suffering, hardship, pain and even death. Consequently, there is an urgent need for peace education that focuses on non-violent resolution of armed conflicts and disputes. Upholding human rights should be one of the most important aims of education. Many efforts were done to integrate human right education into teaching and learning, and various curricula. In this context, one must recognize the indivisibility and inter-relatedness of all rights. In today’s globalized world there is an urgent need to shun misperceptions and incitement of hatred and intolerance among peoples of diverse religious and cultural beliefs and background. In this regard, we should emphasize that in exercising the fundamental right of freedom of expression, one should act within the responsibility inherent in this freedom, through showing respect to the rights of others, and refraining from incitement for hatred, causing hurt to others or eroding their basic human right. Ladies and Gentlemen, This Conference presents a unique opportunity to come up with concrete proposals and a road map for future action at the international level. In this framework, developing an internationally accepted code of ethics within UNESCO, reflecting a broad-based consensus and common understanding on the importance of responsibility in the exercise of the freedom of expression should be one of the important targets as to the concrete conclusions and recommendations of this gathering. It would certainly be a welcome step in the enhancement of inter-civilizational harmony and peace. As for the OIC, in our efforts in this regard, we are guided by the international human rights documents including the 1966 International Covenant on the Civil and Political Rights making it incumbent upon all governments to take action to take measures against incitement to religious hatred at the national level. I believe that taking this provision and other international legal instruments into consideration will help us in better understanding freedom of expression. Let me clarify once more that the OIC has never had any problem with the freedom of expression, on the contrary we regard it as a fundamental value and advocate it in the Muslim World within our new vision. The point we have been making is that the abuse of this right, in a way to contradict and violate the international human rights documents, should not be allowed. We have deep respect for the Danish society for being one of the forerunners in the defense of fundamental freedoms. We also acknowledge the capacity of this nation to contribute positively to the efforts to foster dialogue, tolerance and mutual understanding. We believe that we should not allow the extremists and opponents of diversity in both the Muslim world and the western societies to derail our joint endeavors and manipulate and exploit the interaction between the ones who are yearning for respect to their ethnic, racial and religious identities and values and the others who are misled to misperceive that their fundamental human rights of freedom of expression are challenged or under attack by the Islamic world. I believe that when we all strive for and cooperate to reach a consensus on this issue, the key words should be empathy, compassion, understanding, respect, human rights and international law. Ladies and Gentlemen, Ecology and environment’s protection should also be one of the prime responsibilities of education. Environmental destruction is being increasingly felt from the pollution of land, air, water, soil degradation, exhaustion of fishery, deforestation and global warming. This deepening ecological crisis reflects the violence that humanity is inflicting on earth, and the urgent need to stop such destructive practices, which could jeopardize the very life of our planet. Ladies and Gentlemen, Our approach of trying to inject all the above notions into the current discourse on education and inter-cultural dialogue should be done in a holistic framework which takes into consideration all possible inter-relationships between different factors. At the level of the Organization of the Islamic Conference we have specialized institutions like Islamic Education, Science and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), and subsidiary organs like Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) which are focusing their activities on the concerns we are debating today. We are particularly pleased with and supportive of comprehensive cooperation of ISESCO particularly with UNESCO in a variety of issues related to education. We are equally very optimistic and supportive of IRCICA`s cooperation with the Council of Europe in a crucial matter, teaching of history. I certainly hope that all these praiseworthy efforts will help us all move from misperceptions about the `other`. I am particularly interested in the projects which will lead to the correct depiction of our common past in a way to clarify that Islam is not alien but an integral part of the past, present and future of Europe in all fields of human endeavor and how Islamic civilization and culture has contributed to the creation of modern Europe. Ladies and Gentlemen, As the Secretary General of the second largest intergovernmental international diplomatic organization after the UN, I should also touch upon the need of efforts at the level of United Nations General Assembly and Human Rights Council to reach common understanding and consensus related to the agenda of our gathering today. Our aim should not be recording diplomatic gains but to open the way for a real and common understanding on all aspects, including the balance between freedom of expression and avoidance of incitement to racial and religious hatred. My sincere call for consensus is not only directed at the EU members but also member states of the OIC. Without this complementary action on the level of governments, our valuable efforts within the framework of Rabat Commitments and Alliance of Civilizations would be incomplete. Ladies and Gentlemen, Taking this opportunity, I would like to note that one of the recent major reforms the Muslim World has undertaken is the overhauling of the Organization’s Charter based on a new vision, objectives and principles which go in line with the prevailing universal contemporary realities and values. The Charter also gives prominence to democracy by prioritizing good governance. In this context, it asserts the rule of law, upholds and safeguards fundamental freedoms including freedom of expression and accountability. The vision of the new Charter gives due importance to, and acknowledges the universality of human rights. Not only does it ‘sanctify’ these rights, but it also establishes a Permanent and Independent Commission of Human Rights to monitor, document and deal with any violation of these rights by Member States. It advocates and totally endorses diversity. In the same vein, it exalts tolerance, compassion, equality, and actively promotes dialogue among civilizations to ensure the prevalence of peace, security and concord among all nations. New vision of the OIC while strongly advocates moderation and modernization versus extremism and backwardness, also calls for strong joint action against international terrorism from which the OIC countries and their peoples have suffered a lot. As a matter of fact, the sanctity of human life is strongly stressed in Islam. Any violation of this assertion should be vehemently condemned. Our rejection and condemnation is absolute and determined. On every occasion I have been reiterating the steady position of the OIC, in condemning terrorism in all its manifestations, including hideous suicide attacks, irrespective of their motivations or justifications. We do not speak up against only terrorism but also resorting to violence under any pretext. Our position against violence has always been unequivocal. OIC Summits and Ministerial Conferences condemned terrorism in the strongest possible terms. We believe that no effort should be spared to bring the perpetrators of terrorist acts to face justice within an unyielding determination to combat this scourge. Some of the perpetrators of the terrorist acts might claim to commit these sinful crimes in the name of Islam. This pretension should not be validated as they have nothing to do with Islam, a religion of peace, compassion and tolerance. Last but not least, based on the new Charter and vision of the OIC, I would like to express our readiness to take part in all efforts to lead the humanity towards more peaceful, harmonious and prosperous world and reiterate our thanks and appreciation to those who have cooperated for and contributed to the successful organization of this event. Thank you for your attention. Copenhagen, Denmark October 21-22, 2008

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