Editorial: Building bridges between faiths
THE interfaith dialogue, which starts tomorrow in Madrid, is of the greatest importance. We say that not because it is very much the idea of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah or because he will address it. The fact is that dialogue between faiths has to occur if the world is to be a safer place. Dialogue is the foundation for respect between peoples. If people do not respect each other, how can they live with each other?
At the very heart of respect for each other has to be respect for each other’s faiths. In the past that mattered less. Cultures and faiths lived side by side, but it was just that — side by side. They were geographically separated; they did not come into daily contact with each other. The segregated world no longer exists. We now live in a global village. Thanks to emigration and work in far-flung corners of the globe, thousands of kilometers away from home, people from different cultures and faiths now live in the house next door, work at the next desk, run the corner store.
Go to the United States, to Britain, to France; there are Americans, Frenchmen, Britons who are Muslims, who are Jews, who are Hindus, living and working side by side with the majority Christian communities. Go to almost any major city in the world; none of them are any longer single-faith societies. Work, economic development, investment, and education: All have drawn in peoples from different races, cultures and faiths. Mass tourism, cheap flights, the Internet and satellite TV have further undermined the dividing walls and exposed us to other cultures and ways of life.
But just as divisions fade away, new ones are created. Awareness of each other has not kept pace with these changes in society. We may live in a global village, but when it comes to faith, it is a very ignorant and divided village. That is seen is the increasing Islamophobia, in mosques fire-bombed, in innocent young Muslims of Pakistani origin in Britain attacked by ignorant, hate-filled local youths, in equally innocent Muslims being murdered in India.
Muslims are not the only victims of this ignorance. Christians, Jews and others are also targeted by hate-filled thugs and brutes; innocent Christians murdered and churches destroyed in Pakistan, Jewish cemeteries attacked in France. Bigotry and intolerance are not the private preserve of any one group — but they are on the increase, stoked up by populists out to build power bases for themselves.
The Madrid conference has a different idea in mind. It is about building bridges between faiths so that mutual respect can take root. Without respect, there is only ignorance, fear, suspicion and ultimately, hate. It is a path to certain violence and brutality.
Dialogue does not involve any dilution of faith. Just because Muslims, Christians and others talk and learn about each other does not make a Muslim any less a Muslim or a Christian any less a Christian. Dialogue is about breaking down bigotry, the opposite of respect, and thus helping weaken Islamophobia and all the other religious phobias that so endanger international relations. Not that anyone should imagine that the Madrid meeting would come up with instant solutions. It is the start of a process of interfaith dialogue, not the end. It will take a long time.
But in this necessary task, there is one great assurance of ultimate success. It is the God-given humanity of each and every one of us. Who among us, seeing someone drowning, would ask about their religion or nationality before trying to rescue them? No one. The reaction to save and nurture life is instinctive. Our humanity provides the foundation on which interfaith dialogue and respect can be built.
Arab News
July 16th, 2008 | Category: Anti-Islamophobia
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