Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 28/05/2010
Rio de Janeiro, 28 May 2010 Cultural Diversity as the Path to Peace Diversity and plurality are important facts of today’s global village. They represent an integral part of this century’s prevalent core value that we all must recognize, appreciate and celebrate. In today world of fast communications and incredible mobility, everything is interconnected. Diversity and plurality are becoming the dominant factors in all aspects of life and in all societies, no matter how remote or isolated. Dialogue and cultural diversity holds deep implications for the well being of humanity, as well for also our planet. It is evident that a peaceful society is not feasible without the ability and willingness of all groups to live together, non-violently, in unity but with diversity. One of the means to build a culture of peace in a given society is promoting active harmony between cultural groups within nations and among nations. Societies can only be built on mutual respect, tolerance, compassion and generosity. They should be based on the premise of being proud of what you have, without any prejudice or denigration of what the others have. Most of the contemporary societies have witnessed profound transformations over the past several decades, as a result of an imperative and real necessity of change, brought about by the new global dynamics that move and govern the world in the twenty first century. The extent and scope of this unavoidable and irreversible historic shift is destined to grow and increase, resulting in a new landscape of world’s population. The future world will be more diversified and more complex. Our main goals and objectives are the prevalence of peace, security and harmony among states and nations of the world. To achieve this goal, we need to take issues of contention one by one, discuss them amply, and propose practical means to realistic solutions. To do so we have to build a culture of peace through inter-cultural dialogue, in which people, communities, institutions, governments, intergovernmental agencies and civil society participate. They should decide to uphold and practice both our local and global responsibilities to promote cultural diversity, while nurturing a common humanity and a peaceful world. They should also promote understanding, respect and reconciliation, as well as join hands, minds, hearts and spirits in overcoming societal, international and global problems and combat racism and inequality, while upholding human rights. Diversity, to be fruitful and authentic, would rest on several assumptions: openness to learn about each other’s wisdom or knowledge and willingness to be self-critical and acknowledging contradiction between theory and practice. Another openness within each culture is to be able to challenge tendencies towards extremism and intolerance. Such efforts must involve not only the leaders or the elite, but also the grass roots, ordinary citizens from all walks of life and sectors, including professionals, civil servants, the media and the academia. In real life, conflicts between peoples of different cultures on ethnic identities, while not new in human history, are still posing major problems and even violence in the context of a polarized world. Regrettably, human spirit remains undiminished in the face of multiple conflicts and challenges steeped in all forms of provocation, violence and peacelessness. Despite the end of the “cold war” and the opportunities provided by the so-called “peace dividends”, there is a widespread consensus that we are still living within a deep-rooted culture of violence. Much more should to be done to fulfill the vision and the goals of the prevalence of a culture of peace. What makes this situation worse is the thesis being promulgated by some thinkers and political leaders to the effect that the world security is being threatened by a clash of civilizations. This kind of prophecy needs demystification. This simplistic argument overlooks the complexity of civilizations and also dangerously pits one civilization or culture against another, despite the historic evidence of cooperation even when conflicts or even wars have occurred between different cultures. In societies which have traditionally been culturally diverse, or have become more multicultural through immigration, there is an urgent need to promote values and attitudes, as well cultural policies based on mutual respect, understanding, non-discrimination and non-racism on the basis of respect to ethnicity, religion or other cultural characteristics of everybody. In recent decades, the growth of ethnic or religious intolerance and prejudices has led to tragic conflicts, including physical violence in different parts of the world. Since 9/11 and the subsequent so-called “war on terrorism” people of Muslim heritage have suffered racist attacks and profiling which need to be challenged and overcome. Malicious generalizations about Islam have become the latest form of denigration of foreign cultures in the West. What is said about Muslim ideology, Muslim mind or culture cannot now be said in mainstream discussions about Jews, Africans, and Asians or for people from other cultures. The striking example of anti-diversity is clearly manifest in the practices reserved to Muslims, in the context of what is termed Islamophobia. Such practices are hidden under the garb of freedom of expression, without any responsibility. Islamophobia is a modern epidemic of an age-old prejudice towards Islam and fear of Islam. According to the Islamophobes, Islamic civilizations that lit the skies of knowledge and tolerance for more than 14 centuries ago is erroneously regarded as backward and chauvinistic, compared to the “enlightened” modern Western values. This racist attitude is equal to xenophobia, focusing on hatred and dreadfulness of Islam and Muslims. Islamophobia is also regarded as a racial discrimination and an implicit religious and racial prejudice. But religious discrimination is more prevalent than discrimination on racial grounds. The majority of Muslims in the West experience unfair treatment in many fields, including education, employment, housing, law and order and in respect of local government services. This kind of treatment indicates that essential human rights of Muslims in the West are being dangerously eroded, and that the principle of celebrating diversity in the West stands remote or neglected. Despite this gloomy picture, there are some inspiring demonstrations of how a culture of peace can be weaved slowly but surely in some parts of the world. Numerous efforts, activities, forums, conferences and initiatives all over the world are geared towards making diversity a real path to peace and harmony. The thrust of these activities resides in raising awareness toward the urgent need to acknowledge diversity as a major tool toward peace and security in societies. This thrust also puts the emphasis on disseminating the shared common values and principles, which are vital for building of peaceful individuals, communities, societies and eventually the world. In this context, education plays a vital role in intercultural dialogue, based on a holistic understanding of the culture of peace. In a holistic framework of peace education, it is important to tolerate the principle of justice with the ethics of compassion. Since announcing the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, and numerous successive covenants, conventions, treaties and other international instruments, much effort has been undertaken to realize the vision embodied in these declarations and subsequent instruments, whether in civil, political, economic, social or cultural focus and application. On the other hand, human rights legislation, policies and practices have reminded us that all people have inalienable rights that must be promoted at individual, community, national and international levels. It is essential also to be reminded that a wide gab still exists between theory and practice. In so many societies, human rights violations continue to cause great suffering, pain and indignity to countless men, women and children. Take the tragedy of the Palestinian people as an example. Take the countless Muslims living in Western countries who are victims of practices of Islamophobia, where their human rights are ignored and neglected under the guise of freedom of expression. As we recognize the indivisibility and inter-relatedness of all these rights, we should emphasize that in promoting human rights we must also promote human responsibilities. Through education one can cultivate values and attitudes that moves individuals, families, communities and nations to translate their critical understanding into personal and social action for building peaceful persons, families, communities and nations. Many organizations, forums and meetings are initiating projects and programmes that seek to address the root causes of violence, conflicts and discrimination, and to build societies based on principles and values of non-violence, justice, human rights, inter-cultural respect and reconciliation, ecological sustainability and inner peace. The UNESCO Medium Team Strategy (2002-2007) affirms the vital need of education “to promote universally shared values for the development of peaceful, democratic and pluralistic societies, including values such as human rights, democracy, tolerance, non-violence, solidarity, inter-cultural understanding and dialogue among civilizations”. Media is supposed to play a primordial role in disseminating values of tolerance and peaceful co-existence. Regrettably, I do not see the media playing this role honestly. As a matter of fact, I see its role as rather negative, as it has furthered the culture of conflict and controversy, which fuel hate and prejudice. In the midst of these agitated activities, the end result of most of the initiatives aiming at encouraging diversity and restoring peace and security, mainly between Western and Muslim societies, remain very limited. Islam and the West are at a crossroad. Misunderstanding between them is dangerously high, while the distrust between them matters to the rest of the world. Conceiving this state of affair, I have called for a historic reconciliation between Islam and Christianity, as this was done successfully between Christianity and Judaism. I intend to preserve and press my call with the hope to be able to achieve the goal. I firmly believe that if reconciliation between these two major civilizations can be achieved, many dangerous feuds and conflicts will be settled, a fact that will help humanity to live in a more peaceful and harmonious future. Finally, I believe that we have to learn to understand each other and to educate our children, the new generation, so that they understand also. We can do that only through trust building, mutual respect and tolerance. We should open our hearts and unlock our hearts to each other, to allow the world to usher in an era of peace tolerance, compassion and prosperity to all.
