The interfaith dialogue initiated by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has developed a great deal since the first meeting in Makkah in June last year. The two-day meeting in Geneva which concluded on Thursday was the fourth so far. Organized by the Muslim World League, it was not of the same order as last year’s Madrid conference or the special session on the subject at the UN in New York. There were no major leaders from any faith group in attendance, or any politicians cheering from the wings. It was largely a gathering of scholars and those already involved in the still very young science of dialogue.
But that was right. If dialogue is to work, it has to cease being the preserve of the religious high and mighty. Indeed it has to move out of gilded halls and conference centers and into the community, into the places where ordinary people are to be found — the workplace, the home, places of worship such as the mosque, the church, the synagogue, the temple — and, perhaps, most important, the school. As several participants at the Geneva conference noted, people learn to mistrust those of other faiths when very young, often at school. But if schools are part of the problem, they can be part of the solution. Teaching children to respect other faiths and people of other faiths would have great effect. Not just teaching: Imagine if children at a school in London were involved in the same project — a project on the environment, say — as children at schools in Riyadh or Islamabad or Delhi; they would begin to see each other as partners, not as possible enemies.
There is a mountain to climb. A great deal of lip service is paid to dialogue by leaders from all faiths who in reality fear it or do not understand its importance in a world that has become a global village. They are afraid of losing control of their faithful. But dialogue is not about conversion. It is about respect — people of differing faiths respecting each other, finding common ground and thereby living with each other in harmony and working for the well-being of humanity. There is also defensiveness, not unnatural given the suspicions of the past; even at Geneva, there were a few who confused dialogue with debate, trying to present points showing the merits of their faith and falling into the trap of comparing the teachings of their faith with the less than perfect practices of others. Dialogue is not easy. But it is vital if the world is not to sink into a destructive clash of civilizations that the bigots and the terrorists hope to bring about, foolishly imagining that they will win. In such a clash, we will all be losers. There will be a place for gatherings of religious leaders championing dialogue for some time to come. It is still in its infancy. It needs constant endorsement from the top. The Geneva meeting, however, was more about discussing where it goes next. That shows progress. The next stage must be to have dialogue meetings in every country, every city and promote dialogue in schools. It may seem a tall order. But the world’s peace depends on it.
