Impositions Prevent Peace and Reform in Middle East

I was invited to the Dialogue of Civilizations and the Future of the Middle East seminar held in St. Petersburg on Nov. 8-10.  The seminar was sponsored by the Russian Foreign Ministry and organized by Dialogue Eurasia, a civil society movement known for its successful similar events in the past. The Asian-African Studies Institute of prestigious St. Petersburg State University was also involved in the event as organizer.

As you might have already noticed, a global team of destruction is working tirelessly to sacrifice the future of humankind to a bitter conflict. Apparently, this team now targets the Middle East, Afghanistan and other parts of the Islamic world for their rich natural resources. Therefore the Middle East and Islam are central to the dialogue between civilizations.

Conversely, in response to the axis of evil, an alternative team of reconstruction works to stop the destruction, also calling for a global endeavor to maintain peace in the world.

We gladly note that Turkey not only takes part in this global endeavor but also leads it, relying on its influence in the region and historical experience. Frankly speaking, the best role for Turkey is to offer an option by which the entire world will win instead of remaining a mere bystander in response to what is happening.

Turkey and its prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero lead the global attempt for inter-civilizations dialogue. The endeavor was finally recognized by the United Nations, which will make it a movement of the global community.

It should be recalled that some renowned civil society organizations have already initiated these global dialogue efforts well before the official launch of governmental involvement in the endeavor. Despite the reactions by those who failed to appreciate the significance of the attempt, Fethullah Gülen made a great contribution to global peace efforts when he met with Pope John Paul II. Subsequently, the Turkish Religious Affairs Directorate also joined the endeavor. Likewise, the Abant Platform, annually held under the auspices of the Journalists and Writers Foundation, sponsored two more meetings in Abant and Cairo.

In addition to former Foreign Minister Yaşar Yakiş and Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputy Salih Kapusuz, a large number of scholars from different universities attended this meeting in St. Petersburg. The Russian side seemed to be more active than the Turkey-based civil society organizations in the event. A number of scholars, bureaucrats and politicians followed the sessions with great interest.

A final declaration was also released at the end of the meeting which discussed the impact of religion, politics, education, media and economy on the inter-civilizations dialogue. The declaration stressed the existing global problems can only be resolved through dialogue. Once more, it was noted that civilizations should be able to be more tolerant towards each other and make more effort to maintain global peace. The meeting also made a call for the media not to instigate intolerance and injustice.