Launched
in 2005 by former UN chief Kofi Annan and the prime ministers of Spain and
Turkey, the forum began with the aim of creating a comprehensive coalition which
would focus on promoting the peaceful coexistence between diverse groups. Its
target has since evolved to one designed to sweep aside misunderstandings and
prejudices between cultures while defusing tensions between the Western and the
Islamic world.
"Two
contradictory narratives of truth": the Israeli-Palestinian crisis is central to
West-Islam relations, but it is not on the agenda at the 3rd AoC meeting.The
third Alliance of Civilizations forum was held from 27-29 May in Rio de Janeiro
at a time when military confrontations taking place in Afghanistan, Iraq and the
Palestinian territories keep armed ideological struggles in the headlines and
societal issues based on religion and culture dominate the political discourse
in France and other parts of Europe. -- Nick
Amies
Alliance of Civilizations: Intercultural Peace Forum or Talking Shop?
The UN's Alliance of
Civilizations, a forum for intercultural and interreligious dialogue, met in Rio
to discuss the current issues between Islam and the West. Some experts, however,
question its usefulness.
By Nick Amies
The UN's Alliance of
Civilizations, a forum for intercultural and interreligious dialogue, met in Rio
to discuss the current issues between Islam and the West. Some experts, however,
question its usefulness. Nick Amies reports
Despite its honourable
objectives, some experts remain unconvinced that the AoC is a worthwhile forum
and some question whether it is anything more than a debating club with a lack
of focus
In the 13 years since Samuel P.
Huntington published his book "The Clash of Civilizations" and "The Remaking of
the World Order", many people have referred to Huntington's central argument
that the primary axis of conflict in the post-Cold War world would be along
cultural and religious lines in their attempt to explain the increase in
ideologically fuelled violence around the globe.
While there is no denying that
mutual suspicion, fear and misunderstanding between Islamic and Western
societies has been increasing since the beginning of the new millennium,
specifically after the September 11 terrorist attacks of 2001, political
scientists and experts continue to stress that it is not a clash driven by
civilizations but by extremists who continue to exploit the instability and
differences between the world's cultures.
In an attempt to create a forum
which promotes understanding, tolerance and respect between diverse ethnic and
religious groups, and therefore deny the flames of extremism some of their fuel,
the United Nations created the Alliance of Civilizations (AoC).
Promoting the peaceful
coexistence
Launched in 2005 by former UN
chief Kofi Annan and the prime ministers of Spain and Turkey, the forum began
with the aim of creating a comprehensive coalition which would focus on
promoting the peaceful coexistence between diverse groups. Its target has since
evolved to one designed to sweep aside misunderstandings and prejudices between
cultures while defusing tensions between the Western and the Islamic
world.
"Two contradictory narratives of
truth": the Israeli-Palestinian crisis is central to West-Islam relations, but
it is not on the agenda at the 3rd AoC meeting.
The third Alliance of
Civilizations forum was held from 27-29 May in Rio de Janeiro at a time when
military confrontations taking place in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Palestinian
territories keep armed ideological struggles in the headlines and societal
issues based on religion and culture dominate the political discourse in France
and other parts of Europe.
With cross-cultural
understanding increasingly seen as a way to achieve peaceful resolutions in
these areas, the May summit takes on an even greater significance when viewed as
the first to be attended by the United States which became the 119th member
earlier this month.
With the US heavily invested in
regions and issues at the heart of the most complicated cross-cultural
struggles, the Obama administration's decision to reverse that of its dismissive
predecessor adds significant weight to the Alliance's potential as an arbiter
for peace.
However, while global conflicts
and the polarization of society top the list of most pressing and concerning
issues, the 2010 forum has focused on softer issues such as the Internet and its
influence on shaping opinions and the topic of censorship.
"It's difficult to say which
issues are more important than others, but migration and education are of
special interest," Brazilian diplomat Jose Augusto Lindgren, one of the
organisers of the Thursday-to-Saturday event, told reporters.
Lack of focus on major issues
concerns experts
Some experts in the field of
intercultural dialogue are concerned that the biggest issues will not be tackled
by the AoC even at a time when their importance makes their solution paramount
to peace.
David Bosold: ""UN initiatives
such as the AoC are only useful in terms of symbolic politics"
"The Arab-Israeli conflict is a
central problem in the relationship between the West and Islam when it comes to
Arab Muslims," David Bosold, head of the German Council for Foreign Relations'
Forum on International Strategic Thinking, told Deutsche Welle. "It is not so
much a political problem with implications for the everyday life of ordinary
Arabs outside the West Bank and Gaza or Westerners but an example of two
contradictory narratives of truth, human and political rights and legitimacy
which makes it difficult to further the understanding of the 'other side' on a
broader societal level."
"In addition to this, the two
most severe problems lie with lack of information on both sides and, therefore,
lacking knowledge of the diversity of the Islamic world and the West," he said.
"The 'West' and the 'Islamic World' are presented as monolothic blocks although
both are highly diverse when it comes to the degree of the importance of
religion at the political and societal level."
Terminology of cultures
hampering progress
Despite its honourable
objectives, some experts remain unconvinced that the AoC is a worthwhile forum
and some question whether it is anything more than a debating club with a lack
of focus.
Riem Spielhaus, a research
fellow at the Centre for European Islamic Thought, believes that the AoC is
already at a disadvantage when it comes to making concrete progress as it is
shackled by its own terminology.
"Binary terminology": "The West"
and "Islam" are often portrayed in simplistic terms, AoC critics
argue
"First I would question the
focus of most of the dialogue initiatives, since they are upholding and
perpetuating a binary world view already captured in the terminology of 'the
West' and 'Islam,'" she told Deutsche Welle. "For both entities the
authorisation of speakers remains rather unclear and the terminology homogenizes
them in a way that is not helpful. So I would not even speak of 'cultures' when
referring to the AoC's focus."
"However, dialogue and direct
communications between individuals are to be preferred to violent conflicts,"
she added. "But it remains questionable whether they will lead to solutions or
further partitions if the terminology remains binary."
AoC accused of inability to
produce concrete objectives
David Bosold was more critical,
suggesting that the AoC lacks certain aspects to obtain concrete
results.
"UN initiatives such as the AoC
are only useful in terms of symbolic politics by creating a more open atmosphere
for political discussions among political leaders," he said. "In order to
achieve concrete results, the AoC lacks at least three aspects: it is not able
to connect with civil society in both the Islamic world and the West in order to
bring significant parts from both sides into a permanent dialogue; it is
elite-driven and not a grass roots-level endeavour, notwithstanding its
pretension to achieve that very end."
What's more, Bosold added, it
doesn't possess a framework outside of the UN structure. This is a problem, he
argues, because the UN has become increasingly irrelevant in international
affairs over the last decade. "Since the Secretary Generals of the UN have
increasingly lost the ability to set the international agenda, I don't see how
this problem might be remedied when it comes to the AoC."
© Deutsche Welle
2010
Source: Qantara
10:42 PM
Sultan Shahin
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