UNITED NATIONS, June 23: Saying that there is both a “knowledge deficit” and “understanding deficit” among faiths and civilizations, Pakistan’s High Commissioner in London Maleeha Lodhi stressed the need to promote dialogue and cooperation among religions and cultures.
“It is no longer an option for our contracting world. It is a political as well as a moral imperative,” said Ms Lodhi at an interfaith conference here as a keynote speaker on the theme, “Exploring Strategies to Enhance Interfaith Cooperation for Sustainable Peace”.
The conference is a tripartite event jointly sponsored by 11 member states (including Germany, Pakistan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Morocco, Iran), accredited civil society organizations and the UN secretariat.
Ms Lodhi noted that despite a surfeit of information, instantly available, the gulf of misunderstanding among faiths and civilizations seems to have grown wider. There is both a “knowledge deficit” and “understanding deficit”.
“The promotion of peace, security and prosperity at the dawn of the 21st century depends more than ever before on the promotion of understanding, accommodation and cooperation among people of different faiths, cultures and backgrounds,” she added.
Ms Lodhi observed that “the greatest paradox in the world is that while it has brought people closer together and created vast networks of connectivity and inter-dependence, it has also spawned divisions and frictions among and within societies”.
“Many of these divisions and frictions are manifested in religious tones and terms. In this post-Google world, the proliferation of the sources and the channels of information have, instead of promoting a better understanding among peoples, quite often reinforced stereotypes and deepened misperceptions,” she said.
Reflecting that the root causes of friction between cultures and civilizations are not primarily religious differences, Ms Lodhi pointed out that “the root causes are often a clash of political and economic interests. Clearly, responses to conflicting political interests may often be cast in religious terms but this is only an expedient disguise for those pursuing narrow political and national objectives.”
Saying that dialogue alone is not enough, Ms Lodhi added: “We need to leverage and tap the widespread desire for dialogue to translate this into concrete action and in tangible results that advance the objectives of peace and harmony and ameliorate the sufferings of those who are the victims of intolerance and interfaith friction.
Ms Lodhi said that a comprehensive strategy for action at the international and national level. Such a strategy should be based on accepted principles and parameters:
Firstly, it should be promoted through dialogue and cooperation and eschew the option of coercion and intimidation; secondly, it should emanate largely from the internal decisions and motivation of governments and their peoples and not be externally imposed; thirdly, it should be comprehensive i.e. involve governments, civil society, private sector, media and international organizations; and fourthly, it should be supported by adequate financial resources from governments and the private sector.
Referring to the conflicts and disputes which undermine international peace and security, Ms Lodhi said “it is necessary to secure early resolution of conflicts and disputes where relations with different religions and faiths are directly involved”.
“I have no hesitation in mentioning that such conflicts include Palestine and the Middle East, Kashmir and similar problems where Muslim peoples feel that they have been the objects of historical injustice. To this end, from the political negotiations which are taking place among the parties concerned, it would be useful if interfaith dialogue were to lead to the creation of contact groups, with a similar tripartite structure on major political issues,” she said.
Earlier, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United Nations Munir Akram said in his speech: “It is necessary to promote a better understanding of different faiths and cultures; to remove misunderstandings, and deliberately propagated negative caricatures.”
He emphasized that the vast majority of the adherents of any faith are peaceful, tolerant, honest, just and caring people. Those who hold militant views are a small minority, and those who act on these militant views are even fewer.
However, Mr Akram noted that “the socio-economic and political sources of this modern friction of cultures and faiths need to be addressed equally vigorously i.e. ending underdevelopment and resolving outstanding mysteries”.
“We should not fear differences within or between societies, cultures, civilizations and religions but cherish them as a precious asset of humanity. We are all members of the same human family, with shared wishes and aspirations of a good and happy life in peace and prosperity,” he added.
