Between Religious Xenophobia, Tolerance and Dialogue

Moderator: Surendra Munshi

Guests: Michael Melchior, José Casanova, Joseph Maïla, Hasan Abu Nimah, Grace Davie

 

 

 

Surendra Munshi discussed the meaning of the title of the Forum 2000 conference this year: “The World We Want to Live In”. He asserted that the title inherently implies what we don't want, what we do want and how to avoid what we don't want. Munshi asked in what ways secularization promotes religious tolerance and how we can peacefully coexist in an interconnected world.

 

Michael Melchior said religion is not necessarily the answer to humanity’s problems and that religion is the main dimension of the conflicts in the world. He went on to say that it is very easy to use the religious card to turn mistrust into hatred, stating "hatred is the cancer of all human relations, and hatred disguised as religious superiority jeopardizes any noble aspect of religion, wiping away the face of God and leading to the alienation of the other.” He said when religion takes over any sense of personal responsibility, it creates a mentality of us against them. "What has happened in recent years is that God has been hijacked." Melchior believes that the delicate balance between the particular and the universal is being broken down, and that when this happens religion becomes an act of egoism and leads to the worst acts of humankind. He urges "We are a global world that doesn't really have any advantages of globalism as a whole. We know less about each other than we did before." He believes that maintaining the balance is possible but stated "we can build something new, without giving up who we are.”

 

José Casanova supported Melchior’s opening remarks by stating religion is the main source of intolerance and xenophobia. He quoted a public opinion poll that shows how a majority of the population believes that religion is intolerant and creates conflict. He stated the totalitarian hijacking of God for our own purpose is a part of hubris. Casanova believed that Europe is just now beginning once again to believe in religious pluralism.

 

Touching on Casanova's point, Munshi said that with globalization, hubris can come to us in different forms, not only Western, but also Eastern civilizations. In order to live in diversity, we should listen to voices from different cultures.

 

Joseph Maila believed there is an increasing trend towards interfaith dialogue, while on the other hand, there is increasing religious tension. He asserted that religion is important in providing a vision of the world and that in order to preserve that, we must avoid the politicization of religion. We must avoid making religion the definer of common loyalty, and we cannot allow it to replace citizenship. "Religion is the identity of the self and one's own beliefs. It has nothing to do with politics."

 

Hasan Abu Nimah discussed the issue of religion and politics and the influence of religion on our lives. After attending hundreds of conferences, he still isn't sure if religion is the problem or the solution. He talked about his childhood spent in a village outside Jerusalem, and how he grew up knowing as much about Islam as he did about Christianity. At that point, religion was a unifying factor, but it has now become a tool of violence.

 

Grace Davie said that two contradictory things are happening at the same time. There is continuing secularization and yet the increasing presence of religion in the public debate. She felt that we've met this challenge with ignorance, which is proved by the quality of public debate on religion. Davie argued that the role of the state should be to improve religious education. If a person can speak in an informed and articulate way about religion, this can combat religious stereotypes.

 

Munshi ended the panel by saying that unless we can unify and discover what we can create together we will only repeat the mistakes of past conservatives and fundamentalists. "There cannot be a dialogue between deaf people. We must open our ears and listen to others."