Islam and the West: Annual Report on the State of Dialogue

<strong>Islam</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>West</strong>: <strong>Annual</strong> <strong>Report</strong> on <strong>the</strong> State of Dialogue
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Religion, Ethics <strong>and</strong> Ideology
While interfaith dialogue at a global level has
thus far centred on <strong>the</strong> Abrahamic faiths, o<strong>the</strong>r
traditions are increasingly being drawn into
conversation. A second Congress of World <strong>and</strong>
Traditional Religions held in Astana, Kazakhstan
in September 2006 included a broad range of
participants from across <strong>the</strong> region <strong>and</strong> around
<strong>the</strong> world. The congress culminated in a
declaration that underlined <strong>the</strong> enhanced
responsibility of religious leaders to foster a
spirit of trust <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> recognition <strong>and</strong> respect
of cultural <strong>and</strong> religious diversity. The participants
also warned against <strong>the</strong> exploitation of religious
<strong>and</strong> national differences as a justification for
violence, <strong>and</strong> stressed that extremism <strong>and</strong>
fanaticism find no justification in a genuine
underst<strong>and</strong>ing of religion.
“ It is time for moderate <strong>and</strong>
progressive religious leaders
to join in boldly combating
fundamentalist extremism, <strong>and</strong>
to jointly teach <strong>the</strong> role of
religion in promoting tolerance
<strong>and</strong> pluralism over sectarianism.”
Jim Wallis
Gr<strong>and</strong> global meetings tend to overshadow
wide-ranging dialogue efforts at <strong>the</strong> local <strong>and</strong>
national levels designed to foster conversations
among moderate voices within <strong>and</strong> across
traditions. For example, Alif Aleph UK, an
organization based in London, has sponsored
aseriesofmeetingsunder<strong>the</strong>rubric,Working
Toge<strong>the</strong>r: A Muslim-Jewish Dialogue.The
meetings bring imams <strong>and</strong> rabbis toge<strong>the</strong>r
with Jewish <strong>and</strong> Muslim educators <strong>and</strong>
community leaders to learn from one ano<strong>the</strong>r,
to diminish fear <strong>and</strong> apprehension of <strong>the</strong>
“o<strong>the</strong>r”, <strong>and</strong> to create a platform for open <strong>and</strong>
honest dialogue. Following a March 2007 Alif
Aleph conference dedicated to women’s
perspectives, British MP Meg Munn called <strong>the</strong>
interfaith dialogue effort <strong>the</strong> “social glue that
joins our differences in culture, faith <strong>and</strong>
ethnicity toge<strong>the</strong>r.”
In November 2006, in Beirut, Lebanon, regional
concerns were joined to global issues at a
meeting organized by <strong>the</strong> New York based
Global Peace Initiative of Women, which
brought toge<strong>the</strong>r widely ranging religious
leaders (including Buddhist <strong>and</strong> Hindu leaders
as well leading figures from <strong>the</strong> Abrahamic
faiths) to explore <strong>the</strong> topic, ARe-Commitment
to Spirituality: Building Mutual Underst<strong>and</strong>ing
<strong>and</strong> Peace. Aram I, <strong>the</strong> head of <strong>the</strong> Armenian
Orthodox Church, summed up <strong>the</strong> impetus for
<strong>the</strong> meeting: “Confronting different religions is
amust,whe<strong>the</strong>rwelikeitornot,inthis
globalized world.”
Proselytism <strong>and</strong> Religious Freedom
Accentuated by new forces linked to globalization,
an age-old problem in Muslim-<strong>West</strong> relations
has gained greater visibility over <strong>the</strong> past two
years – proselytism. The United States has
been <strong>the</strong> leading sender country for missionaries
since <strong>the</strong> 19 th century. Today o<strong>the</strong>r countries
including South Korea have also become more
engaged. At <strong>the</strong> dawn of <strong>the</strong> 21 st century,
Evangelicals <strong>and</strong> Pentecostals in particular
deploy global communications strategies,
including television <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Internet, <strong>and</strong> take
advantage of greater political openness –
most dramatically in Latin America <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>
former Soviet Union.
Missionary inroads in most Middle East countries
remain limited in <strong>the</strong> face of legal strictures in
many countries. Less visible in <strong>the</strong> media is
Christian-Muslim competition in parts of sub-
Saharan Africa, where a complex alchemy of