Interreligious Dialogue: If not; What Else?
The conference was based on the concept of common holy sites and we, as participants, had the chance to ask ourselves whether they are places for conflict or dialogue.
Religious leaders, prominent academics and representatives of authorities of different Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities from diverse countries such as Bulgaria, Syria, the UK, Norway, Belgium, Serbia, Israel, Palestine, Armenia and Turkey were invited to take part in a dialogue that would lead to recommendations for a "Code of Conduct for Protection of and Reverence toward Holy Sites and Monuments."
It is very hard to ignore the truth, as it is just outside: The land where our country is located has been the cradle of the monotheistic/divine religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam and many other ancient religions, cultures and civilizations. Being one of the members of Parliament elected from İstanbul, it honors me to have it recalled where the city's beauty comes from. İstanbul is beautiful because of all the Turks, Armenians, Greeks, Jews, Kurds, Persians, Africans and Europeans who currently live in it and all those who lived in it throughout history and left behind their cultural artifacts.
Thus, that unique feature of my country gave me the opportunity to convey the significant message of the well-known Pax Ottomana to the participants of the conference: Pax Ottomana's fair, balanced and wide umbrella, gave people of different identities the chance to live in peace together for many centuries. And today, as in the past, to conceive of the preservation of the historical and cultural heritage of other religions, as well as of the preservation of religious and cultural diversity, both from respect for the values passed over from the past and as the prerequisite of the exalted tolerance of Islam.
I explained this to my friends there by emphasizing that the powerful effect of this profound wisdom in Turkey may guide the region where it is located because it's inevitably necessary that the Middle East discover a new kind of harmony and cooperation and realize it in its own nature to be saved from social clashes and conflicts.
One way of coping with growing misunderstandings is to clarify misconceptions about religions. A commission to tackle this delicate issue was created by Spain and Turkey in 2005 under the name of the Alliance of Civilizations (AoC) project, sanctioned by Kofi Annan, the former secretary-general of the United Nations.
The AoC's conciliatory mission means a lot when we recall the reference point of the "Clash of Civilizations" thesis, which alleges that religions are a divisive factor between people and sources of bloody conflicts. As if to complete the practical extension of this theory in real life, the post-Sept. 11, 2001 world gave birth to a freak child called Islamophobia. Day by day, this unwanted guest made all of us suspicious of each other -- and suspicion breeds fear. In a world filled with homegrown fear and hatred, nobody can feel safe. This is our current situation.
Contrary to all this religion-based hostility, I believe that religions have a strong message that can contribute to the solutions to these problems, because religion is a helping hand extended by God to mankind in order for him to attain happiness in this world and to reach eternal salvation in the hereafter, because a religion is certainly a source of peace and well-being. As Rev. Kjell Magne Bondevik, former prime minister of Norway and president of the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights, underlined in his speech; "The aggression is man-made. Religion is always interpreted by someone, but we can mobilize against negative interpretations by enhancing our efforts to promote understanding between people. It is of great importance to bring people together across borders, to talk frankly about how to live with our differences and to focus on common values as a platform for reconciliation and peace."
Mr. Bondevik's words lead us to the interfaith dialogue process, which was stressed during the conference as the prerequisite condition for beginning to develop a code of conduct for holy places that can give all believers the right to access such sites and worship in peace.
I share the same opinions as Mr. Bondevik about promoting our civilization to a more competent level in terms of religion-based communication.
There is no reason to refuse the truth that by understanding more about others, we also learn more about ourselves and our own beliefs. Transformation through dialogue may come in the sense of achieving greater understanding of one another. So interfaith dialogue must be based on reciprocity, confidence and cooperation.
When we pass beyond this very critical crossroads, there could be arrived at the point where our holy places are taken into account.
It is just the point where they find their meaning:
We need them.
We need them to discover that spiritual light inside and then share it by being gathered; to multiply it for human salvation.
We need holy places.
Because we see the first sparkle of thinking things over the ongoing order; there we discover the real home of mankind.
There, we have the chance to compare that order with the one we deserve.
And there, we first feel ourselves close to our real home; where we feel welcome and sacred, as we never felt before.
The accessibility of holy places is of great importance, because they are the access on this burdened, ugly side of life to the shimmering path of consciousness.
The conference was a good starting point for changing the perception of the solution to the problems we face today. We hope to use the coming year to continue exchanging views on these issues in an attempt to develop the aforementioned goals. I hope that one of the next meetings, aiming to broaden the spectrum of participants in the recognition that holy sites constitute an issue to be discussed on a global level, can be held in İstanbul.
At the end of the conference we adopted the Statement of Intention on a Code for Holy Sites based on shared respect for the sacred, mutual acknowledgement and respect for each other's holy sites, and respect for individuals and communities who practice their faith at these sites are the common values at stake that must be guaranteed. Secondly, the participants agreed to combat hatred and fear of those who are different, foster tolerance and understanding and enhance confidence through reconciliation.
We all know that the messages of all divine religions, with Islam at the forefront, contain important elements that encourage individuals to live in peace and tranquility. Dialogue and tolerance means acknowledging the differences between one another without exaggeration or creating problems and the desire to coexist feel compassion for others. This requires us to guarantee the liberty of access to holy places to all residents and citizens, as well as to foreign citizens, without distinction, subject to the requirements of national security, public order and decorum, as declared in Chapter 1 of Resolution 181 of the United Nations General Assembly adopted on Nov. 29, 1947.
Mr. Bondevik was right: Trying to understand others' spirituality, religious experiences and practices, learning from them and sharing our own faith and understanding in order to also be enriched and transformed, is the key to entering the world of interfaith dialogue. If not, what else?
Özlem Türköne is an AK Party deputy for İstanbul, a member of the Turkish delegation to PACE and the deputy chairman of the AK Party foreign affairs department.
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