UNESCO International Congress on
Interreligious Dialogue and Culture of Peace
United Nations for Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization
Organisation des Nations Unies pour l'éducation, la science
et la culture
Spiritual Convergences and Intercultural Dialogue
Convergences spirituelles et dialogue intercultural
CLT/ICP/ID/00/672
UNESCO INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON INTERRELIGIOUS
DIALOGUE AND CULTURE OF PEACE
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 14-16 September 2000
1. General Background of UNESCO's Interreligious Dialogue Programme:
UNESCO's Interreligious Dialogue Programme " Spiritual Convergence and Intercultural Dialogue " aims to bring to light the dynamics of interaction between spiritual traditions and their specific cultures by underlining the contributions and the borrowings that have taken place between them. The programme also seeks to promote reciprocal knowledge and the discovery of a common heritage and shared values. Thus, Interreligious dialogue is conceived as a paramount dimension of Intercultural dialogue. Since the launching of this Programme in 1995, UNESCO has brought together personalities from different religions, spiritual traditions and cultures, so they could acknowledge, through formal Declarations, the proximity of their spiritual values as well as their commitment to interreligious dialogue.
These texts adopted in previous
Interreligious Dialogue Meetings, organized by UNESCO in Barcelona
(1994), Rabat I (1995), Malta (1997), Rabat II (1998) and Bishkek
(1999), recommend the Organization to give priority to intercultural
and interreligious dialogue in education and training, with the
objective to further reciprocal knowledge of shared spiritual
and ethical values and highlight interactions between religions
and spiritual traditions. To this end a questionnaire was sent
to 4000 major educational institutions worldwide, in order to
identify, on one hand, ongoing experiences being set up in the
countries and, on the other hand, current needs, in terms of adequate
pedagogical tools and specialized teaching. The results, drawn
from the collected answers and the elaboration of future programmes,
will be examined in workshops on a regional level, those in Central
Asia (Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan) are already scheduled to take
place in 2001.
Likewise, the UNESCO Chairs on
"Scriptures, Spiritual Traditions and their Specific Cultures"
are being created in academic centres of acknowledged experience
in this field, bringing together teachers and researchers specialized
in multidisciplinary aspects of Religious Studies and
committed to the promotion of Interreligious Dialogue. The UNESCO
Chairs network aims
to encourage international cooperation and exchange in the field
of interreligious and intercultural dialogue.
The following Chairs have been established (in chronological order) :
2. The International Congress on Interreligious Dialogue in Tashkent (14-16 September 2000)
The International Forum "
Culture and Religion in Central Asia ", held in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan)
in September 1999, was the first step towards establishing an
in-depth dialogue in the region. The Forum strongly recommended
in its Declaration to continue the joint efforts of reflection
concerning efficient activities in the field of Interreligious
dialogue. One of these was the organization of a Conference in
Tashkent in 2000, to highlight the cultural, spiritual and ethnic
pluralism in Central Asia.
The General Conference of UNESCO,
in November 1999, in its 30th Session, approved the proposal of
Uzbekistan to host an International Congress on Interreligious
Dialogue, organized by UNESCO in the framework of the projects
" Spiritual Convergence and Intercultural Dialogue "
and East-West: Intercultural Dialogue in Central Asia ",
in Tashkent from 14 to 16 September 2000. The Congress was opened
by the Director General of UNESCO, Mr Koichiro Matsuura, by H.R.H.
Prince Hassan Bin Talal of Jordan and by the Deputy Prime Minister
of Uzbekistan, Mr Hamidulla Karomatov who read a message from
President Islam Karimov (Annex II). 80 participants and observers
from most of the Religious and Spiritual traditions of the world,
coming from 40 countries (Annex I), took part in the debates introduced
by keynote speakers on four topics: 1) Reciprocal Knowledge and
Interactions between Religions and Spiritual Traditions; 2) Education
on Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue; 3) Interreligious
Dialogue in Central Asia; 4) Joint Actions for Peace and Conflict
Prevention. This Congress was followed by a Symposium on "
Sufism and Interreligious Dialogue " in Bukhara, on September
18th, as a contribution to laying the foundations of an open and
tolerant society by highlighting the revival of Sufism, the mystical
and tolerant stream of Central Asian Islam, a spiritual dimension
which is
shared with other regions of the Muslim world from China to the
Maghreb.
Final Report
Summary of Discussion
1. Reciprocal Knowledge and Interactions Between Religions and Spiritual Traditions
Six keynote addresses and eight
interventions confirmed the basic premise that misunderstandings
and misinterpretations arise between one religion, spiritual tradition
or culture, and another, from the mutual lack of knowledge and
the resulting inability to appreciate differences and divergences.
Reciprocal knowledge and closer interaction were identified
as the primary solutions.
As regards the three monotheistic religions, the emerging situation is assessed to be satisfactory. They have already much in common. They trace their origin to a common pair of ancestors. They also trace the foundation of their ethical values to the Ten Commandments.
Several speakers examined other
obstacles in the way of promoting reciprocal knowledge and closer
interaction among Abrahamic traditions. The most important among
them, it was stated, was to forget disconcerting events and incidents
in their shared history. A debate on this point resulted in a
clarification by one speaker that the acts of remembering and
forgetting
together have to be a deliberate initiative in which all parties
involved participated. Remembering and forgetting have to be done
together, he underscored. This presumes that each accepts to change
its own affirmations and fears of the past in order to overcome
them. Other speakers
suggested that asking for pardon by perpetrators of religious
discrimination, persecution and such other hostilities, and forgiveness
by the victims had to be a prerequisite to closer and beneficial
interaction between them. The recent asking for pardon by the
Catholic Church was acknowledged as a step in the correct direction.
Several speakers protested on the basis that a
pardon should be demanded and it might even be given but the obligation
to remember prohibited forgetting. Memory lends specificity to
dialogue and to friendly relations among religions.
Several speakers underscored the positive trends of dialogue and cooperation among the three monotheistic religions. While satisfaction was expressed on the progress currently being made in Christian-Muslim dialogue and cooperation, the inadequacy of knowledge and understanding of Islam was emphasized as an urgent matter to be remedied. The moderator urged that a study be made of the "anthropology of anguish and suffering".
Two speakers, representing Buddhism
reminded that interreligious dialogue was not an issue confined
to the three monotheistic religions. The involvement of eastern
religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism had
to go beyond their being lumped together as "oriental wisdom".
One speaker spelled out how the new World Buddhist University,
established
by the World Fellowship of Buddhists, planned to promote reciprocal
knowledge and cooperation.
An alternative to forgetting history
and to improving relations among religions was proposed in terms
of dealing with history objectively. The discussion concluded
with a reference to the third century before Christ decree of
the Indian Buddhist Emperor Asoka in which the two directives
were: a) each religion should study other religions and doctrines;
b) all religions should come together and maintain contact to
develop their inner essence.
2. Education on Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue
The religions of the world preach
peace but have often been mobilized for conflict. Religions have
sometimes become tools of oppression or have been oppressed. In
recent years such conflicts have ranged from the Balkans to South
East Asia, and despite UN declarations religious freedom is often
violated today as it was a generation ago. Among the various measures
that can contribute to improving this situation is the expansion
of mutual understanding. This requires strategic changes in attitudes,
knowledge in attitudes, knowledge and learning in recognition
that our world is now thoroughly pluralist. Fundamentally, there
must be recognition that living in dialogue with the other is
essential. This does not mean the end of traditional academic
study of subjects. On the contrary, study of the texts, of history,
of the interaction between religion and socio-economic processes,
as well as the role of religion in private life and public space
must be strengthened and expanded. However, scholars from inside
a religion must also be involved in the critical academic project.
In this way both the scholarly community and the religious community
benefit, and traditional antagonisms may be deconstructed.
The experience of such scholarship
both in its substance and its process of dialogue, must then be
transferred into education and teaching. The formal education
of children in primary and secondary schools is crucial. Many
countries have developed new approaches to teaching religion,
history, literature, geography, etc, with the aim of encouraging
tolerance and respect for other religions and cultures. Such innovation
requires critical reviews and new developments in curriculum design,
textbook production, use of multimedia resource and above all,
new patterns of teacher training. Many more countries have hardly
started such a process of renewal, and until
they do differences of religion and culture will remain a threat
to peace.
It is of fundamental importance that the person who is responsible for the education of children is trained for such a dialogical approach. The product of the scholarship being called for must therefore be transmitted into university and college teaching where new generations of teachers and opinion formers are trained. But education also takes place informally in the family and in the community, where the religious leaders (priests, ulama, Buddhist monks, rabbis, etc.) often have the greatest impact. So the colleges and seminaries which train them should also be encouraged to participate in this project.
It is essential that while we
think of this in general terms, consideration must always be given
to local circumstances, without which failure is guaranteed. Just
as a dialogue between religions and cultures is central, so it
must be accompanied by a dialogue between the universal and the
local. It was noted that the project of UNESCO Chairs being established
by UNESCO
Department of Intercultural Dialogue and Pluralism can become
a key player towards the strategic goal of creating a culture
of peace. The network has the potential of developing and disseminating
the related scholarship while effectively linking local perspectives
to the general philosophy. It also has significant role to play
in impacting on teaching and training in
both the academic university sector and in the training of religious
professionals.
3. Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue in Central Asia
Several speakers of the panel
indicated that in Central Asia there is a diverse population,
with much experience of harmony among its diverse cultures and
religions. Yet, the risk of conflict in the form of militant extremists
conducting armed struggles against the governments in the
region was noted as a reality. The strength of militancy, as several
speakers noted, is bolstered by the financial support that militants
derive from involvement in the drug trade, and also from the moral
and other support they receive from organizations and governments
outside the region which are antagonistic to the post-Soviet Central
Asian governments. One speaker also argued that the West wishes
to divide and weaken the Islamic world in order to dominate it.
Another noted the world now recognizes the risk of instability
in the region, but the international community has also so far
taken very little action to address this problem.
Several speakers emphasized that
religious leaders and organizations have an important role to
play in achieving social harmony in the region. Outside organizations
also have a role to play in improving peoples lives and strengthening
security, such as the UN (supporting coordination of
anti-terrorist efforts as well as economic development) and others
(supporting education and meeting basic needs). Also noted was
the need for more information and education about Islam and other
religions in order to ensure that the message of moderation which
religions teach reaches those who might otherwise turn to violence.
Another speaker referred to the tensions in the region.
Two speakers emphasized the value
of convening meetings of respected religious and cultural figures
in the region to use their moral authority to foster discussion
on the pressing moral and social issues facing the region. Another
stressed that the most difficult issue in Central Asia is the
different visions regarding the role that Islam and other religions
should play in society, and the importance of recognizing that
real and legitimate differences exist between the values of conservative
Muslims and those with a secular orientation. These must be reconciled
in order to achieve harmony in the region. Several speakers indicated
that dialogue and understanding
between all different positions are critical, and that concrete
measures must be taken to achieve this.
4. Joint Actions for Peace and Conflict Prevention
Most early steps in interreligious dialogue focused on the importance of establishing contact and trust between community leaders and scholars. Subsequent initiatives concentrated more on building a broader framework for dialogue, particularly through education. The emphasis of the Tashkent meeting, however, shifted attention much more towards the basis for collaboration between religions and the possibility of engaging in action to resolve conflict and address wider social concerns.
Setting the background for potential activities, the comprehensive assets of religious communities were widely acknowledged as unparalleled in civil society. Reaching into every town and village, they were seen to represent a rich and culturally highly important resource, particularly in the areas of education, health, welfare and social development. Their well-developed communications and dissemination networks were also mentioned, especially in the context of mobilizing civil society towards practical outcomes.
But beyond the assets of individual
religions alone, the benefits of multireligious collaboration
gained particular emphasis. The powerful symbolism, for example,
of leaders meeting and acting together in situations of conflict
can provide an important testimony to the ability of people
to reconcile and live together in harmony. There are also significant
benefits to be gained through sharing resources and pooling efforts,
not least in reducing conflict for scarce assets. This kind of
collaboration, it was thought, could potentially be highly significant
for remedying endemic
social problems in many contexts.
Yet, if this potential is to be realized, it was suggested that a number of factors - economic, social, cultural, and political - needed to be considered.
Particular emphasis should be
given to existing national commitments to religious freedom and
to providing a supportive legislative framework upholding religious
rights. Such actions by the State, it was suggested, were of critical
importance in ensuring a climate of respect and tolerance
for religious diversity.
Secondly, stress was also given to shifting away from a culture of conflict resolution towards a culture of conflict prevention.
As example of how this might be
done, experiences from various local communities and organizations
undertaking multireligious collaboration were also presented,
providing a highly encouraging picture of wider activities internationally.
This included important advocacy and negotiation work in Mindanao
and Sierra Leone, as well as more focused work on developing a
legal framework for religious communities in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
One speaker also stressed the importance of broadening dialogue to include those sometimes labeled as "extremists" or "fundamentalists", together with the need to be far less pejorative in using such terms. In the same light, it was acknowledged that conflict tends to polarize groups and amplify problems, so that special attention must also be given to drawing in isolated groups. Another speaker stated that extremists might not come to dialogue by definition, and therefore all types of extremism and terrorism should be prevented. The role of the media in this regard was strongly emphasized, with encouragement being given to engage the media as partners in the process of resolving religious conflict.
Recommendations
1. As misunderstandings and misinterpretations
between a religion, a spiritual tradition or a culture, and another,
arise from ignorance and mutual lack of knowledge, priority should
be given to promoting the study and appreciation of all religions
at all levels through informal, formal
and non-formal education.
2. As memories of past experiences
would not be obstacles to mutual recognition and esteem between
religions when they are viewed from neither a desire for revenge
nor a sentiment of hate, interreligious dialogue should, where
applicable, be directed to facing the past so that memories of
past discrimination, persecution and hostilities could be overcome
and
fraternal solidarity could be developed between the religious
groups for the future.
3. Since all religions uphold peace and harmony as an objective of supreme importance and the ethical mission of UNESCO is to promote peace for fraternity and solidarity among nations, all forms of extremism and terrorism should be condemned
4. To support Interreligious Dialogue, UNESCO should:
5. UNESCO and other related institutions should explore ways and means to:
6. For the purpose of conflict prevention and resolution, the religious leaders and institutions with the support of UNESCO, the international institutions, UNESCO's goodwill ambassadors and authoritative figures where possible, should:
7. Furthermore, for the prevention of outbreak of violent conflict, UNESCO and international institutions should:
8. Religious leaders are requested to build solidarity for the well being of all people, paying special attention to the forgotten poor and exploring imaginative ways and means of ensuring a happy life for all.
Declaration
We, the participants to the UNESCO Congress on Interreligious Dialogue, convened jointly by UNESCO and the Government of Uzbekistan in Tashkent from 14 to 16 September 2000, do hereby:
Bureau of the Congress:
President : Mr Hamidulla Karomatov
Vice - Presidents : Reverend Junsei Terasawa, Monsignor Lorenzo Frana, Mr Abdelwahab Tazi Saoud.
General Rapporteur : Mr Ananda Guruge
Rapporteurs (in order of sessions) : Reverend Jacky Argaud, Mr Joergen Nielsen, Mr John Schoeberlein, Mr John Baldock
Moderators (in order of sessions) : Prince Hassan Bin Talal, Mr André Chouraqui, Grand Rabbin René Samuel Sirat, Mrs Anara Tabyshalieva, Mrs Aziza Bennani, Mr Doudou Diène