The Islamic Community and Western Culture in Quest of a Peaceful and Just World

A Joint Project of the Interreligious Engagement Project (IEP21) and The World Council of Muslims for Interfaith Relations (WCMIR)

Irfan Ahmad Khan

Dr. Irfan Ahmad Khan is a renowned Islamic scholar and author. He is the founder and president of the World Council of Muslims for Interfaith Relations. He is former Professor of Philosophy at Aligarh Muslim University, India, and former editor of The Journal of Islamic Thought. Currently, Dr. Khan serves as Chair of the Interreligious Engagement Project (IEP21).

THE VISION
In the year 2000, President Mohammad Khatami of Iran called for a global Dialogue of Civilizations.

Believing in dialogue paves the way for vivacious hope; the hope to live in a world permeated by virtue, humility and love, and not merely by the reign of economic indices and destructive weapons.
Mohammad Khatami, President, Islamic Republic of Iran

That call was taken up by Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations and the year 2001 was proclaimed the international Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations.

The United Nations itself was created in the belief that dialogue can triumph over discord, that diversity is a universal value and that the peoples of the world are far more united by their common fate than they are divided by their separate identities. Alongside an infinite diversity of cultures, there does exist one global civilization in which humanity’s ideas and beliefs meet and develop peacefully and productively.
Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General

Recently, Dr. Chandra Muzaffar, President of the International Movement for a Just World – JUST (Malaysia) has suggested a dialogue between Islam and the West as a first step toward a global Dialogue of Civilizations.

Two organizations have come together to take up the challenge. The Interreligious Engagement Project (IEP21) and the World Council of Muslims for Interfaith Relations (WCMIR) will play the principal organizing roles in a new initiative — The Dialogue of Civilizations: The Islamic Community and Western Society – The Quest for a Peaceful and Just World.

INTRODUCTION
Events of the past two years make it clear that inter-civilizational dialogue is both a stark necessity and a path of great promise. Open dialogue, engagement, and cooperation between leaders, activists, educators, and others representing Muslim and western culture is essential for the future of the human community and the earth.

Through the centuries, Islamic religion, philosophy, spirituality, and culture have made profound contributions to western civilization. In turn the western world has touched the Islamic in equally significant ways. Today, the two great cultures – once separate – are becoming steadily more interconnected and engaged. In a world increasingly transformed and challenged by globalization, their interactions cover the spectrum from cooperation to confrontation. Today, Muslims play a significant role in virtually every “western” society; and Europeans and Americans live in and influence traditional Islamic societies. In a very real way, it is no longer possible to speak of a sharp distinction between Islam and the West. Nevertheless, the issue of relations between Islam and the West is for many a central concern in the early 21st century. President Muhammad Khatami’s call for dialogue among civilizations seems a vastly preferable and more productive approach to the all-too-familiar warnings about an impending clash of civilizations.

To be sure, civilizational dialogue must embrace all peoples and cultures. We believe, however, that as an initial effort, this approach to mutual encounter, exchange, and engagement between Muslim cultures and the cultures of the western world offers great promise as a model and a place of beginning.

THE PROJECT
The Dialogue of Civilizations project is designed to engage the global Muslim community and representatives of western cultures in deeper encounter and dialogue in order to promote greater understanding, mutual respect, and cooperative common action. The project will be at least a two-year undertaking, culminating in a several-day Conference convened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2006. The Dialogue Conference will be preceded by a series of Internet Prep-Conferences and two Internet Seminars to refine the themes, format, working sections, agenda, and draft plan for the event.

The Conference will involve a well-prepared dialogue engaging broadly representative group of leaders, scholars, and activists drawn from Muslim and western nations and cultures. In addition, a group of prominent leaders from the world’s religions will play a prominent role in the work of the gathering.

The Interreligious Engagement Project (IEP21) will have the principal organizing role but will work closely with WCMIR, the International Movement for a Just World (JUST), the Institute for Muslim Minority Affairs (IMMA) and many Supporting Organizations in designing and implementing the project. Jim Kenney, Executive Director of IEP21, will serve as Project Director.

PARTICIPATION
The organizers will work to ensure broad and inclusive participation of leaders from key cultural sectors. As we move through three Internet Preparatory Round-tables (2004 and 2005) expert participants will identify and assist in contacting persons and organizations that should join the preparatory stage and / or participate in the two Internet Seminars (2005) and the final Conference in Kuala Lumpur (2006). At this preliminary stage, we can identify the following key sectors that will be emphasized in the outreach process (note that these are the “guiding institutions” identified and addressed in A Call to Our Guiding Institutions, the signature document of the 1999 Parliament of the World’s Religions (Cape Town, South Africa):

• Religion

• Government
• Civil Society (NGOs, etc.)
• Business and Labor
• Education
• Science
• Media
• Intergovernmental Organizations.

POSSIBLE OUTCOMES
The Internet Preparatory Conferences will work to identify the most significant possible outcomes of the Project. Some initial suggestions:

• A visible demonstration of the potential for meaningful and productive inter-cultural, inter-civilizational dialogue at a very high level;

• A global manifestation of the possibility of productive dialogue and engagement between Islam and the West;
• A platform for the identification and exploration of major obstacles to harmonious relations between Islam and the West;
• The West hearing the authentic voices of Islam; Islam hearing the authentic voices of the West;
• Exploration of the deep mutuality and interconnectedness of Muslim and western cultures;
• Open mutual media access;
• The design and implementation of new educational programs to develop greater inter-cultural understanding, including popular educational textbooks and multi-media programs;
• Advances in the global empowerment of women;
• The launching of significant, public, cooperative efforts to build a better world, including joint programs in non-violent conflict resolution, economic and social justice, and ecological sustainability (Design, development, and implementation of a range of pragmatic projects will be a major focus of the internet conferences and of the Dialogue event.).

POSSIBLE THEMES
A number of interconnected themes may be explored in working sections. Some initial suggested organizing themes include:

• Beyond the Clash of Civilizations

• The Future of Civilization
• Globalization and Hegemony in the 21st Century
• Islam in the West and Western Influence in the Muslim World
• Religion and Violence
• Religion and the Sacredness of the Earth and All Life
• Women, Religion, and Culture
• Perspectives on Peace, Justice, and Ecological Sustainability
• Interreligious Dialogue and Engagement in the 21st Century
• Cultural Diversity and Shared Values
• A Way Forward

SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS
Supporting organizations will provide expert guidance, support, outreach assistance, and other help to the project. These organizations (and others not yet identified) will be invited to send participants and / or observers to the Conference. Each of the organizations listed has expressed interest in supporting the project.

International Interreligious Peace Council (US)
Center for Partnership Studies (US)
Islamic Foundation (Leicester, UK)
Islamic Society of North America
Muslim Council of Britain
Academy of Civilisational Studies (Malaysia)
Muslim Youth Council (Malaysia)
International Islamic University (Kuala Lumpur)
An-Nahdha Movement (London)
Forum on Religion and Ecology (US)
World Muslim Congress (Islamabad)
World Congress of Faiths (Oxford)
International Interfaith Centre (Oxford)
Global Ethic Foundation (Germany)
Club of Budapest USA
Spiritual Alliance Against Intimate Violence (SAIV–US)
Interreligious Insight: A Journal of Dialogue and Engagement
Common Ground (US)

ADVISORY GROUP
Advisory Group members will assist in the preparation of the Draft Conference Plan and the revision process. They will advise on most matters, including Conference themes and formats, participants, outreach, promotion / media, and fundraising. A preliminary list of proposed members is below. (Note that most of those listed have been contacted and have expressed their willingness to serve in this capacity.)

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
The Interreligious Engagement Project (IEP21) will take the lead role in the direction of the Project, providing overall coordination, including fundraising oversight. IEP21 will serve as fiscal agent and communications hub for the two-year process.

The World Council of Muslims for Interreligious Relations (WCMIR) and its Australasian chapter will coordinate outreach to the Muslim world and will work with the International Movement for a Just World, IMMA, and IEP21 to secure appropriate Muslim interest, participation, and financial support.

The International Movement for a Just World will work with WCMIR (Australasia) and appropriate Malaysian organizations (e.g., the Academy of Civilisational Studies, IKIM [Insitut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia – the Institute of Islamic Understanding], Sisters in Islam, the Malaysian Muslim Youth Council [MBM], etc.) to coordinate on-site venues and Conference arrangements.

Supporting organizations will be invited to contribute in ways appropriate to their expertise, resources, and interest.

THE PROCESS
The Dialogue of Civilizations: Islam and the West is projected to have at least three major phases:

• 3 Internet Round-table sessions (each one month in duration), involving representatives of supporting organizations as well as experts in key areas. Focus: planning, review, and implementation of the Dialogue.

• Various local, regional, and international preparatory events, including a Symposium (“Dialogue of Civilizations: Islam and the West) at the 2004 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Barcelona, Spain.
• 2 Internet Seminars, engaging supporting organizations, area experts, and 2006 Conference Invitees (major figures, drawn from religion, government, business, education, media, and civil society).
• The 2006 Conference in Kuala Lumpur: delegates gather for several days in working sectors and plenary sessions. Their task: to move from encounter and dialogue to cooperative common action, implementing projects for a better world.

THE HOPE
In the face of worldwide violence – perpetrated by states and by terrorist groups as well – and in an intercultural atmosphere that seems sometimes more inclined to the “clash of civilizations” than to true intercivilizational dialogue, this modest effort represents both a ground of hope and a program of action. We hope that, groups, communities, congregations, and individuals around the world will want to participate. Join us.

The above article appeared in Interreligious Insight: A Journal of dialogue and engagement. Volume 2, Number 3, July 2004.

For information, contact: dialogue@seachanges.net

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