Territory and Religion

Moderator: Vartan Gregorian

Panelists: David Rosen, Shirin Ebadi, Satish Kumar, Fyodor Lukyanov, Hasan Abu Nimah

 

 

Keynote speaker Chief Rabbi David Rosen opened the panel by referring to the “intricate and inextricable conflict between territory and religion” and questioned the meaning of territory, linking it to identity and suggesting that it holds a meaning greater than geographical area. He referred to the recent Swiss controversy regarding the building of minarets as an illustration of the “multicultural challenge for Western society”, that is, to what degree old societies should accommodate the new. Addressing the conference theme, Rabbi Rosen said that for the world to be what we want it to be, “we require a new social contract that can facilitate an interaction with those claiming a territorial space in a broader context” and that religion had a critical role to play in its definition. He concluded that, in a litany of global examples, “conflicts portrayed as religious are actually territorial”; in areas where religion is incorporated into power structures it becomes part of the problem rather than the solution. Looking to the future, Rabbi Rosen felt that it was critical to recognize the importance of identity in religious and territorial conflicts. To move past the divisiveness we encounter today, we must work to achieve “a universalism that comes out of our particularities,” and that “only universalism can actually heal society”.

Ambassador Hasan Abu Nimah injected a Middle Eastern perspective on religion and territory. On the interference of religion in territorial disputes, Nimah found “the issue is how we react, how we manipulate our religions and make them either a problem or solution.” Nimah concentrated on the rise of identity-based religiosity and the social practice of religion despite a failure to incorporate ethical values into decision-making. In regional disputes, Nimah concluded, “the complexity of the situation makes it difficult to separate what is the state and what is the religion,” and was not optimistic about the future.

 

Russian journalist Fyodor Lukyanov followed, asserting that “globalization brings us back to pre-nation-state politics” when major players justified their actions with religious doctrine. The political atmosphere regarding cultural and religious identity is changing and as a result there are consequences. He remarked on the emergence of liberal xenophobia, which he referred to as a “new phenomenon which can profoundly change the political landscape in Europe.” Lukyanov praised the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church who, when visiting neighboring nations, underlined the common heritage they all share rather than the differences between Russian and Non-Russian Orthodox countries. The ongoing conflicts, he stated, are why now more than ever, real interreligious dialogue in Europe is critical.

The final speaker was Satish Kumar, who distinguished between the two types of religion: religious experience and institutionalized, organized religion. The latter is “associated with power and territory and will always be part of the problem.” Kumar continued by recounting his experiences crossing the Indian-Pakistani border, calling into question how we define identity. He charged that identities of territory and formal religion are small and cannot continue to dominate our politics; to combat this we must “identify as human beings.”  Addressing the global challenges we face, Kumar concluded: “You cannot solve the political problems and the territorial problems with a narrow identity. Rise above. Transcend.”