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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Education <strong>and</strong> Intercultural Underst<strong>and</strong>ing
Visits by political leaders, parliamentary networks,
professional <strong>and</strong> educational exchanges, <strong>and</strong>
youth connections are all important. The Inter-
national Visitor Leadership Program of <strong>the</strong> US
Department of State brings emerging leaders
from areas throughout <strong>the</strong> world to <strong>the</strong> United
States to gain a direct underst<strong>and</strong>ing of US
culture <strong>and</strong> society. Several programmes have
reached out specifically to young Muslim leaders
on topics ranging from religious diversity to
immigration. The Department also collaborates
with US universities to support a summer institute
that brings recent high school graduates from
<strong>the</strong> Middle East <strong>and</strong> North Africa to <strong>the</strong> United
States. It seeks to foster better underst<strong>and</strong>ing
<strong>and</strong> appreciation between <strong>the</strong> United States
<strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Middle East, <strong>and</strong> “to develop <strong>the</strong>
leadership skills of <strong>the</strong> region’s future leaders.”
The United States Institute of Peace supports
some of <strong>the</strong> same goals through its Muslim
World Initiative.
Educational exchanges that target religious
leaders are particularly important. Instances
of creative exchange programmes include <strong>the</strong>
Al-Azhar University <strong>and</strong> Anglican Communion’s
mutual training <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> initiative by Morocco’s
Conseil des Ulemas to foster exchanges
both with religious scholars <strong>and</strong> with Christian
evangelical environmental activists in <strong>the</strong> United
States <strong>and</strong> Europe.
High-quality interpersonal exchange can also
be mediated through technology. The Soliya
organization works with state of <strong>the</strong> art,
interactive Internet video to bring young
people toge<strong>the</strong>r to discuss current events <strong>and</strong>
o<strong>the</strong>r topics <strong>and</strong> promote intercultural
underst<strong>and</strong>ing. Soliya also works in
partnership with Arab <strong>and</strong> American
universities which, in some cases, provide
academic credit for participation in <strong>the</strong>
programme <strong>and</strong> engage faculty as discussion
moderators. At <strong>the</strong> end of a given semester,
students write joint-editorials with <strong>the</strong>ir
counterparts abroad on topics of mutual
interest for news service distribution. In fall
2007, for example, three students at <strong>the</strong>
University of Amsterdam, Georgetown
University <strong>and</strong> University of Sharjah – Kim
Brouwers, Caitlin Kelly <strong>and</strong> Sofia Seer –
published an editorial, “Immigration: Societies
in Flux”, in <strong>the</strong> Daily Star in Lebanon <strong>and</strong>
Egypt.
The importance of youth for intercultural <strong>and</strong>
interreligious underst<strong>and</strong>ing was widely
heralded in 2006-2007. In outlining <strong>the</strong> priorities
of <strong>the</strong> Clinton Global Initiative in September
2006, former US president Bill Clinton
commented: “Number one : focus on youth.
There’s a battle going on for <strong>the</strong>ir souls <strong>and</strong>
<strong>the</strong>ir hearts <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir minds, <strong>and</strong> sometimes
we look as if we’re not even in <strong>the</strong> starting
block.”
The World Economic Forum’s Middle East
regional meeting at <strong>the</strong> Dead Sea in May 2007
devoted several sessions to youth <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir
central role in <strong>the</strong> future of Muslim-<strong>West</strong>
dialogue. During <strong>the</strong> meeting One Voice, a
youth led organization dedicated to peace,
brought young Israelis <strong>and</strong> Palestinians
toge<strong>the</strong>r via satellite technology to exchange
ideas <strong>and</strong> convey a message of common
purpose <strong>and</strong> commitment to peace. In
addition, a group of secondary school
students from <strong>West</strong>ern <strong>and</strong> Muslim-majority
countries met with Jordan’s Queen Rania <strong>and</strong>
<strong>the</strong>n Chancellor Gordon Brown. They raised
issues of prejudice, discrimination <strong>and</strong> social
exclusion in modern education systems.
Two of <strong>the</strong> most sustained <strong>and</strong> successful
programmatic efforts in this area are Seeds of
Peace <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Interfaith Youth Core.