OPEN CIVILIZATION THE FOURTH INTERNATIONAL IBN KHALDUN SYMPOSIUM

OPEN CIVILIZATION
Encounters, Differences and Uncertainties
It is not possible for a civilization to live by isolating itself from the influence of other
civilizations in our day. Humanity is living within an integrated “open civilization” with no
borders. Every civilization has become party to obligatory or voluntary interaction with other
civilizations. Similarly, states are also in a relation of high interdependency with each other.
This state of “encounter”, where the relations among “different” cultures and civilizations,
states, social groups and individuals are intensifying, paves the way for civilizations to
intertwine rapidly. When we consider the speed and dynamism with which these interactions
are taking place, we see that this era is different from periods of great interweavings in
history. This atmosphere offers a new basis for coexistence which we can call “multicivilizational
society” or “open civilization”, as people from different civilizations don’t live
in different geographies any longer but they share the same space together. The cities are
getting more cosmopolitan. People from very different religions, civilizations and cultural
spheres are living side by side in the same country, same system, same institution or the same
neighbourhood. Moreover, this state of co-existence is getting reflected on all walks of life
such as education, economy and politics. This state of affairs brings about “encounters,
differences and uncertainties”.
The inevitable question becomes: How are relations among people who are from different
civilizations that encounter and blend into each other going to be regulated within this “state
of open civilization”? While such “encounters and uncertainties” offer new opportunities on
the one hand, they can also be grounds for various conflicts on the other. It is possible to say
that the most important challenge that all civilizations and countries face is reading these
ambiguities and differences correctly, transforming the opportunities into action, and
preventing possible conflicts; in short being able to manage this diversity.
Although we are confronted with a new situation in terms of its scale, speed and dynamism,
different cultures and civilizations co-existing in an intertwined way is not a new
phenomenon. In order to benefit from the opportunities created by ambiguities and differences
and to cope with the threats, it is essential to make recourse to humanity’s heritage of