Working together to end conflict

Kim Howells, Jakarta

In September 2002 the leaders of the three great monotheistic faiths, Islam, Christianity and Judaism, met in the Egyptian city of Alexandria to proclaim that they shared values as much as they shared prophets.

Indonesia and the UK are taking the process a step further. The Asia-Europe Meeting on Interfaith Dialogue beginning in Bali on Thursday aims to highlight how tolerance and shared values are more in tune with the modern world than division and sectarianism. Initiatives like the dialogs demonstrate that people of different faiths and backgrounds want to build common ground and understanding. That within Islam and other religions there is a common respect for the sanctity of human life, for toleration and for humility.

We need to do more to highlight that common ground. Of course we are not all the same -- nor would we wish to be. But the values of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are based on every culture and faith and apply to all. It is by reaffirming them and strengthening their application that we can best defeat those who preach division.

The UK's record on multiculturalism is second to none in Europe. We have always encouraged religious freedom. There are now nearly two million Muslims living in Britain. In 1889 the first purpose built mosque in Britain was opened just south of London. By 1996 there were over 600 mosques in the UK. Today there are over 1,000.

But we are conscious of the need to support further socio- economic development for our Muslim citizens.

That is why we are introducing new legislation to make incitement to religious hatred a criminal offense -- giving Muslims the same protection as other groups by virtue of their race.

Islam too is constantly adapting to new realities and challenges. Leaders are encouraging a united response to those who illegitimately claim to speak for Islam and are in fact harming it.

A strong sense of wanting to strengthen shared values of morality and justice is emerging. Some say that Islam itself is incompatible with change. But it is not Islam which blocks change, but rather those who choose the extremes, who use religion as a block on society's evolution. As we adapt to the pressures of the modern world, change can help strengthen -- not diminish -- religious and national identity and tradition.

But resolving immediate issues of conflict is also vital if we are to achieve the kind of world we all want to see. Perhaps the longest-running sore which resonates most with Muslims is the Israel/Palestine conflict.

We are committed to helping the Palestinians establish a viable democratic state. And we are keen to tackle the sense of despair and helplessness that can so easily undermine the prospects for a peaceful solution. We believe in two states, living and co-operating side by side.

We are also working to achieve stability in other areas of concern, including Afghanistan.

Conflict is often the result of poor or corrupt governance where much of society has little or no voice in their country's political or economic development. This breeds deep bitterness and resentment.

Some detractors maintain that democracy is a Western value and that promoting democracy reflects a Western agenda. Others that Islam and democracy are incompatible. I believe that both assertions are wrong. There are strong traditions within Islam of consultation and consensus. Indeed there are more Muslims living happily in truly democratic states than the reverse. Surveys, such as those cited in the UN's Arab Human Development reports, show a significant demand for more democracy. Indonesia itself is living proof that democracy is entirely compatible with Islam.

No country can claim to have the perfect model. But it is where the principles and implementation of democracy is derogated that problems exist. And it is the terrorists and extremists who benefit by exploiting disenfranchisement and discontent to win new recruits for their hideous violence. They thrive where people's faith in politics, based on dialogue, is weak or non- existent.

Indonesia has an important role to play in promoting democracy as a universal aspiration. Many see Indonesia as the leading proponent of democratic culture in the Muslim world. By highlighting to other Muslim countries the positive Indonesian experience of involving Muslim intellectuals in democracy, the role played by civil society, the importance of pluralism and the centrality of the rule of law, Indonesia can help spread peace and prosperity.

Continuing interaction between societies, countries and regions will have a positive impact on these issues. Perhaps the greatest phenomenon of our age is the revolution in information technology which has allowed the world to transform the way business is conducted and, above all else, how we communicate. This massive world-wide communication network has opened up unparalleled opportunities to learn about other peoples and cultures.

But there has been a very ugly side to the communications revolution. It has been used, indiscriminately and to devastating effect, by extremists and fanatics to perpetrate hatred, intolerance and violence on a scale never seen before. Instead of uniting people in understanding this sort of communication has divided people further and opened up a gulf of ignorance and suspicion.

We have all experienced the catastrophic result in the form of unspeakable, barbaric acts of terrorism, here in Jakarta, in Bali and in London on July 7.

These bombings were criminal acts. And they were an attack on all of us. People from 19 countries and many different faiths -- Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and Jews -- were killed or injured.

We need to work together to confront the terrorists and undermine their destructive invective and propaganda. We need to challenge their arrogance to claim representation of those who have not chosen them. We need to stand against their methods which demonstrate that they have no care for killing and maiming Muslim or non-Muslim alike. The divide they seek to promote is not the so-called "clash of civilizations" between Islam and the West but the divide between order and chaos. There is no solution or hope along their path.

And in resisting and rejecting them, we need also to take on the wider phenomenon of mistrust and division which terrorism and extremism seeks to create. Our weapon must be the opposite to theirs -- a strengthening of our common values and understanding. Together, we must speak louder and clearer that terrorism does not equate to Islam or any other faith or human value and that they have no legitimacy in the eyes of the civilized world.

This article was condensed from a speech delivered by British State Minister at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta on Wednesday.