Faith and diplomacy<\/p>\n
Religion has moved into the realm of international affairs with
\nthe first interfaith dialog of the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM), a
\nforum involving 39 countries, in Bali this week. Religion and
\npolitics in many countries don't mix and thus it was strange to
\nsee religion taking center stage at an international forum like
\nASEM.<\/p>\n
During the two-day meeting, religious leaders and scholars
\nbriefed diplomats and observers about the need and the way to
\napproach dialog between religious communities around the world.<\/p>\n
There is a particularly good reason why religious faith has
\nnow become a diplomatic issue. Tensions between people of
\ndifferent faiths have risen in many parts of the world in recent
\nyears -- in some places such tensions have even turned into full-
\nblown conflicts. Indonesia, a country that for long prided itself
\non its ethnic and religious diversity, has not escaped being
\ntested in this regard.<\/p>\n
Even those European countries that were formerly homogeneous
\nhave now become multiracial and multireligious through
\nimmigration and greater mobility of people. And globally, there
\nhas been growing tension between Islam and other faiths since the
\nSept. 11 attacks in New York and on the Pentagon in 2001. This
\nmonth's London bombings threaten to further strain the relations
\nbetween Islam and the West.<\/p>\n
If interfaith dialogs in the past have been confined to
\nreligious leaders within nations and within communities, then the
\nASEM dialog in Bali is the latest effort to raise the dialog to
\nthe international level. Inevitably, governments, whether they
\nprofess to be secular or not, are becoming involved in something
\nthat is widely considered to be a very private domain: Religion.<\/p>\n
Those who have taken part in similar dialogs in the past know
\nfull well the value of these gatherings. Dialogs, if conducted
\ngenuinely, can overcome misunderstandings between different
\ngroups, and they help to dispel fears, prejudice and hatred of
\n"the other". If that is the case, dialogs at all levels, national
\nand international, are welcome.<\/p>\n
It is commendable that the Indonesian government should have
\ntaken the initiative to organize the first dialog at the Asia-
\nEuropean level. Indonesia also held the first such gathering at
\nthe Asia-Pacific level in Yogyakarta in December. And it is even
\nmore commendable that the government restricted its role to
\nfacilitating the dialog, leaving religious experts to discuss the
\nsubstance of interfaith matters.<\/p>\n
Whatever transpires from Bali this week, whatever course of
\naction the meeting recommends in promoting interfaith dialog and
\ncooperation, the diplomatic language of the Bali declaration
\nstill need to be translated into practical terms for the
\nadherents of the faiths represented there.<\/p>\n
Beyond the interfaith dialog in Bali, governments and
\nreligious leaders have their work cut out for them in ensuring
\nthat the substance as well as the spirit of cordiality shown can
\nbe replicated outside at the grassroots level. For at the end of
\nthe day, it is at the grassroots level that interaction between
\npeople of different faiths takes place. And it is also there that
\nmany of the misunderstandings and tensions arise.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/faith-and-diplomacy-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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