UNITED NATIONS, Oct 5: Saying that “Islam is not a threat to the Western civilisation”, Pakistan on Thursday called for promoting better understanding among different faiths in order to avoid a ‘catastrophe’.

Addressing the first ever high-level dialogue in the UN General Assembly on inter-religious and inter-cultural understanding, Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Munir Akram said: “Today Muslims should also be able to live in fraternity and freedom in western countries.” As the British historian and author Karen Armstrong has stated, “If we are to avoid catastrophe, the Muslim and western worlds must learn not merely to tolerate but to appreciate one another.”

Mr Akram said: “It is Pakistan’s hope that the Alliance of Civilisations, under the UN auspices, can provide the organisational framework for the adoption of a comprehensive strategy for action at the international and national levels to promote understanding and cooperation between religions and cultures. Such a strategy should be inclusive, involving governments, civil society, religious leaders, private sector, media and international organizations.”

He proposed that at the national level, each country should promote conscious action to counter extremism within its society. “We must prohibit extremist organisations and hate literature, prevent the misuse of places of worship for the promotion of extremist views.”

Stressing that “we must also prohibit the defamation and denigration of religions and religious personalities under the pretext of freedom of expression,” Mr Akram suggested that at the international level, a series of actions are required: Sincere efforts to resolve major international disputes, especially where these involve friction between different religions and faiths, such as in Palestine and Kashmir; The promotion of equitable socio-economic development and an end to the exploitation of the natural resources of developing countries; Promotion of universal and multi-cultural education, inculcating greater understanding of other religions and cultures. To this end, one specific step is the establishment of a common school for training of officials and diplomats from nations representing different faiths.