Lecture of His Excellency Prof

LECTURE OF HIS EXCELLENCY PROF. EKMELEDDIN IHSANOGLU

SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE

AT THEMGIMO UNIVERSITY, MOSCOW

ON ISLAM AND DIALOGUE AMONG CIVILIZATIONS

ON THE OCCASION OF AWARDING HIM

DOCTOR HONORIS CAUSA

8 JUNE 2006.

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like, at the outset, to thank MGIMO University for the thoughtful gesture of bestowing upon me the honour of awarding me the title of DOCTOR HONORIS CAUSA. Coming from such a prestigious, distinguished and highly regarded University. Your kind gesture fills me with pride and humility.

The timing of this generous gesture, as I preside over the OIC, the highest and only intergovernmental organization of the Muslim world, induces me to be even more determined to work hard to further the cordial relations between the Russian Federation and the Islamic World.

Russia is a great nation and historic neighbour to the lands of Islam. It had a very close relations with many Member States of the QIC that was until recently a part of the Soviet Union, but regained their independence. Russian culture, literature and music have myriad devotees and admirers in the Muslim world, and in the Middle East in particular. Several Muslim communities and minorities coexisted for centuries within the Russian frontiers. Now Russian Federation is heading towards a prosperous future both economically as well as politically. The democratization reforms are bringing glad tidings to all the citizens of the Federation signalling progress, harmony and

concord.

The Federation is regaining its prominent position on the world's scene and increasingly asserting its position as a major player in shaping the world's order.

The Muslim world is, also, gradually endeavouring to regain what it has lost in the past two centuries, during the era of imperialism and colonialism. This is why we are happy to see the Russian Federation, as a friend to Muslim world, joining hands by adhering to the QIC as an observer member. I am sure that both sides will benefit from these important and historic steps as we both tread together the path of cooperation and collaboration and cordial relations.

Now I would like to go into the main theme of this meeting i.e. the "Dialogue among Civilizations and Islam". Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Contemporary civilization is the common heritage of all humanity across time and space. It is not limited to the genius of any race or nation. Islamic civilization has left an inedible legacy on this civilization, and played a prominent role in the renaissance of the West.

Islamic teachings and values are - to a large extent -perfectly compatible with the values of modern times. However, a major bone of contention with the West is, inter alia, the concept of the centrality of religion in one's life. While Muslims are still attached to the teachings of their faith, the tendency in the West is to stay aloof from religious ideas and practices.

All those who have studied Islam know that the underlying principles of Islam amount to the loftiest humane values that man can find. Islam is a faith of peace and mercy, moderation and dialogue, tolerance and equality, pluralism and equilibrium.

Unlike some Western trends heading towards a kind of mono-cultural destination, Islam believes in pluralism, diversity, and acknowledging the other. Islam as a message to all mankind seeks diversity as manifested everywhere in the world and in the cosmos.

To Islam, the world is a vast forum or a meeting place of cultures, where people gather, get to know one another and interact, while safeguarding the distinctive identities of all. This interactive convergence generates richness and progress; and safeguards the collective heritage of all human kind.

Meeting, getting to know each other, and interacting are the essential ingredients for dialogue, where the multiplicity of peoples, languages, and colours lead naturally to intellectual diversity. With this view, Islam demonstrates a transcendental maturity, enlightened emancipation, and equitable globalization.

On the other hand, Islamic moderation has found its expression in diverse shapes and manifold manifestations, which have become the distinctive trait and feature of Islamic civilization, and its distinctive hallmark.

This fact, by itself, stands to belie the baseless allegation that Islam is an inherently violent faith. Islamic teachings are situated at the middle way, between what is divine and what is worldly ; between personal liberty, responsibility, and accountability before the society and the Creator.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Talking about Dialogue among Civilizations, the OIC, the Organization which I have the honour of steering and directing, has been very active in holding a plethora of meetings, forums, and seminars on the virtue of interfaith dialogue. In 1997, the Muslim world launched, for the first time, its initiative of "the Dialogue among Civilizations". This idea was formulated and sent off under the leadership of the then Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, in his capacity as the OIC Summit Chairman. The initiative received overwhelming acceptance on the international scene, and the United Nations declared 2001 asthe Year of Dialogue among Civilizations" between faiths and cultures.

The idea of dialogue is not new to Islam. Prophet Mohamed (PBUH), took the initiative to send emissaries carrying his letters to the heads of State of the neighbouring countries, explaining his revealed message to humanity, and exhorting them to consider embracing Islam.

It is also related that the Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) received a delegation of the Christian Arabs of Najran of Southern Arabia in the Mosque of Al-Madinah Al-Munawara, and conducted with them a three-day long discussion focussed on his new revealed message. The delegation returned to their tribes, without embracing Islam.

Dialogue in good faith was the right method that Islam followed in dealing and conversing with the other. The teachings of Islam accord a prominent role to the ethics of dialogue, and enumerate the modalities and conditions for conducting it. The teachings emphasize the fact that Dialogue should take place among equals and through wisdom, gentle exhortation, and kind council. Willingness to reconcile views and knowledge of the position of the other, which thus distinguish between dialogue and squabbling, are prerequisite elements to dialogue and steering it towards a fruitful conclusion. Tolerance and moderation should come hand in hand with dialogue.

One can induce from the above that Islam has an important stake in indulging in a sincere dialogue with the West, on the basis of complying with the teachings of its faith, as well as on the premise of safeguarding its vital interests. A great effort to that end has been exerted.

The era of direct colonization by the West of large parts of the Muslim world was to give way to a new phase of neocolonialism and subordination, with political and economic dependency.

Under these circumstances, Muslim populations suffered from deprivation, foreign occupation of their lands, ethnic cleansing, denial of fundamental rights, as is the case with the Palestinian plight, which was of the work of the European colonial powers. Today, and as a legacy of the untold injustices inflicted on Muslims throughout centuries and decades, the Muslim world is the home of a large percentage of poverty stricken populations of the world, more than two-thirds of the world's displaced persons and refugees, half of the world's least developed countries, and so on.

Since the events of September 11, Muslims throughout the world are increasingly victimized with collective guilt and dishonour. These events opened the doors of hell to all Muslims. The wrongs of a few are ascribed to billions of innocent people. The picture looks very bleak and gloomy, but unfortunately it is real. The burning issues of the time, where Muslims are the victims, have never been addressed sincerely.

During the last two decades, the Muslim world and the West were confronted with two seemingly moral crises, based on the role of religion in one's life.

The first took place in September 1988 when the novelist Salman Rushdi, published his book "The Satanic Verses", through a British publisher in London. The book contained very derogatory references to the Prophet of Islam, and aroused a wave of anger in the Muslim world, causing scores of dead people and injuring hundreds. The Western media and intelligentsia - on the contrary - were swift to defend Rushdi's deed and to exalt his distasteful thoughts. Moreover, his book was selected to the "Booker Prize" and won the British "White Bread Prize" for novels, in total disregard to the Muslim feelings.

In September 2005, a Danish newspaper, Jyllands Posten, published blasphemous cartoons which offended the image of the Prophet of Islam, and depicted him in a way to arouse hatred to Islam and Muslims. What matters most in this case is the attitude of the Government of Denmark. Under the pretext of freedom of expression, the government refused to look political or moral responsibility in the matter, from the angle of its intended objective; namely inciting hatred against Muslim population in Denmark and elsewhere and exposing them to prejudice and threats.

After a wave of fury that swept the Muslim world and resulted in scores of deaths, and the boycott of Danish products, the European Union came to defend the position of the Danish government, displaying a lack of sensibility towards the feelings of the offended Muslim world.

The Rushdi crisis and that of the Danish cartoons revealed a serious shortcoming in conversing and conducting dialogue with the West. The countless meetings and discussions over decades, have proven to be insufficient to stand the test of crucial events and crisis.

As the traditional approach of Dialogue among Civilizations has led us no where, and failed to prevent even a small moral crisis from festering, how can we expect to settle more serious conflicts through this kind of dialogue in the future?

As I said earlier, an essential premise for a successful dialogue is the availability of political will and good faith in dealing with the contested issues. The evidence of the failure of the existing dialogue mechanism, prompts us to search for different tools of dialogue. We have to confess and bear in mind that there is no alternative to dialogue.

Our main goal and objective is the prevalence of peace and security among States and nations of the world. To attain such a goal we need to take issues of contention one by one, discuss them amply, and propose practical measures for a realistic solution.

With regard to the tense relations between Islam and the West, I have, on more than one occasion, recommended the necessity of devising a practical approach to a genuine reconciliation, which will put an end to centuries of adversity that have plagued the relations between two sides. The root causes of this should be studied and eliminated in good faith.

Muslims should start from the premise that there exist in the West a lingering deep rooted grudge against Islam, that has developed across centuries, and which is hard to uproot by merely good wishes or by appealing for tolerance. The root causes of such an aversion are multifaceted, as they reposed on religious, cultural, political and economic factors. All those issues are important, and deserve profound study. However, religious and cultural considerations are most difficult because they are the oldest, and subsequently well entrenched in the conscience of generations.

But the world has changed. We are, currently, going through the age of globalization, interdependence and cultural diversity. Those are the realities and the values created, heralded, disseminated and defended and hold dear by the West. If the West is faithful to its values, and cares about their prevalence, and if it sincerely believes in cultural diversity, then the continued conflict with Islam on religious and cultural grounds should not be an insurmountable obstacle.

Both sides should work to gradually reshape its attitude towards the other. Both sides must seize on every opportunity for serious and honest dialogue at the levels of governments, political parties, the media, universities and religious establishments.

It is by so doing that we can arrive at a historical reconciliation that puts to rest, once and for all, a long overdue and annoying misunderstanding.

This historic step could only be reached by political engagement between the two parties with a real stake in the dialogue process. All those who are now actors, contributing to this misunderstanding, should be parties to this process of reconciliation, including the media, which plays a pivotal role in shaping public opinion.

I do not think that this is a Utopian approach, because for centuries long, Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived together in harmony and peace in the land of Islam, offering the world an example of fraternity among faiths.

If we are to look to the future, first and foremost, we must acknowledge the fact that Islam and the West are eternal neighbours, bonded together with common values stemming from common spiritual background reference.

As we live now in an interdependent world, and in the age of globalization and cultural diversity, it is incumbent upon European and Muslim States to open a new chapter of friendly cooperation based on a new vision of tolerance and friendship.

In this framework, I believe that Russian Federation has an important role to play in fostering a multicultural and peaceful world. I am confident that cooperation between Russian Federation and the Islamic world will be one of the main pillars of the new epoch of historic concord and harmony that we are aiming for.