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AFTER 9/11 and the hysteria over the “Clash of Civilizations,”
interfaith dialogue has become more and more a viable alternative to
bridge the chasm of misunderstanding and discrimination between the
Muslim communities and the “West.” The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM)
on Interfaith Dialogues is one such bridge. The ASEM is an
interregional forum which consists of the European Commission and
its twenty-seven member countries and the Asean Plus Three. The
latter include Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Burma and Cambodia plus the
People’s Republic of China, Japan and South Korea. ASEM focuses on
three main areas: political dialogue, security and the economy,
education and culture. Interfaith dialogues became a major topic
after 9/11. Through the ASEM, ways of addressing the conflicts that
have created stress in the relationships between Muslim communities
and European states have been discussed.
The 4th ASEM on Interfaith Dialogues was held in
Amsterdam (June 4-5). Prior to the ASEM, the Asia-Europe Foundation
(ASEF) together with the European Journalism Center (EJC) held the
6th ASEF Journalists’ Colloquium. The two-day Colloquium (June 1
and 2) had 14 editors and journalists from Asia and Europe debate on
the subjects of freedom of expression, media’s role in conflict
resolutions and interfaith dialogue especially in the globalized
digital world. Definitely media have a significant role but do media
have responsibility to prevent conflict and facilitate understanding
among faiths and cultures?
We listened to Job Cohen, Mayor of Amsterdam,
share his experience in managing the city’s diverse communities.
In 20 years, half of the city’s population will be ethnic
minorities. Amsterdam has been reeling from confrontations between
its fast-growing Muslim community and the Christian majority. In
2004, Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh was shot and stabbed to death in
Amsterdam after receiving death threats over a movie he had made
which criticized how women were treated in Islam. Last year, Dutch
lawmaker Geert Wilder produced Fitna, a short film which portrayed
Islam as a violent religion. While Fitna has triggered anger in the
Muslim world, the reactions have been muted in comparison to the
Danish cartoons.
Mr. Cohen spoke of Amsterdam as a city of
minorities, where no one culture or faith is dominant. While he sees
himself as a pragmatic politician without religious affiliation, he
has accepted that “religion is a significant factor in the
politics of our times.” He spoke of each community living in
peace, separate but together. He spoke of providing space for each
community to be different from each other.
How do we provide safe spaces which will
intersect on common grounds of peace and justice for all? During the
Colloquium, we acknowledged that the media have a tremendous role to
play, either to divide or unite communities. We had debates on the
impacts of net-based media on shaping the opinion of the
communities. Some believe that there must be regulations to prevent
abuse of the net. After all, if journalists and traditional media
practitioners have to abide by a code of ethics and are subject to
libel laws, why is the net free from any regulation? The Colloquium
wrestled with the need to protect freedom of the press and the right
of individuals to free expression while acknowledging media’s
responsibility in the prevention of conflicts caused by different
faiths. Ambassador Wonil Cho, the indefatigable ASEF Executive
Director, spoke of providing the appropriate “balance.”
The Colloqium concluded with 14 recommendations
on how media could contribute to interfaith dialogue, which were
accepted by the ASEM workshop on media. I am extremely happy to
report that our Moro Times, a monthly supplement of The Manila
Times, was cited as a model which can be replicated. Recommendation
three states: “For print media to make supplements to newspapers
about minorities or smaller religious groups on a regular basis.
Taking example from the existing supplements, such as Moro Times
(monthly supplement to The Manila Times), it may be just four-page
extra published every month or can be of any frequency. Newspapers
can do this in collaboration with the minority groups. The groups
can initiate the process by contacting newspapers themselves with
suggestions or even deliver the supplements as advertisement
supplements.”
Our diverse communities can no longer live in
isolation. Globalization forces us to deal with increased
interaction among different cultures and faiths. The information
highways of the 21st century connect us in the blink of an eye. We
can either use them to link our communities towards common ground or
irresponsibly use modern technology to inflame conflicts over
differences.
aminarasul@yahoo.com
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