KAICIID COUNCIL OF PARTIES MEETS IN VIENNA TO DISCUSS CENTRE'S WORK IN 2014
The KAICIID Council of Parties, comprising representatives from the governments of the Republic of Austria, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Spain, met at the organisation's headquarters in Vienna, Austria on 3 March 2014.
The Council of Parties representatives met with KAICIID leadership to discuss the planned work programme and activities of the Centre in 2014.
2014 Programme Focus
The 2014 programmes will focus on four areas: assessing how the media form the public's perceptions of the "Other", that is the followers of different religions and members of cultures other than our own; helping educators play a fundamental role in building a respectful and accurate understanding of the "Other"; supporting dialogue as a means to further peacebuilding; and developing institutions’ capacity to undertake constructive interreligious and intercultural dialogue.
Council of Parties Background
The Council of Parties consists of representatives of the signatory Parties to the Establishment Agreement of KAICIID, which entered into force in October 2011.
The function of the Council include oversight of elections to the Board of Directors and other governing bodies, as well as the adoption of the Centre's financial regulations, work programme and annual budget.
KAICIID DIALOGUE: LENSES OF PERCEPTION: "THE IMAGE OF THE OTHER" IN THE DIGITAL MEDIA AGE
"Images lead our understanding of reality. If reconciliation is to work, we need accurate images of each other", Moderator Claus Reitan (former chief editor, Die Furche), speaking of issues of presentation and perception of "Others" at a panel discussion at the KAICIID Dialogue Centre.
A panel of international journalists, authors and media experts led a dialogue on the representation of religious and cultural "Others" at the first in a series of public events at the KAICIID Hall of Dialogue in Vienna, Austria. In a dialogue-based event, the panellists engaged with the audience to discuss a range of issues, challenges, ideas and solutions around this topic.
The panellists were drawn from a range of countries, cultures and religions. Moderator Claus Reitan is an author and columnist, and former chief editor of noted Austrian news magazine, Die Furche. Anat Saragusti, current director of B'Tselem USA, a journalist, feminist and human rights activist, is an expert on how media affects society. The former CEO of AGENDA, an NGO established to change the way the media cover key issues, and, Anat brought to the panel her extensive knowledge of peacebuilding processes and conflict transformation. Fauzia Shaheen, head of the Women Media Center (WMC) in Karachi, Pakistan, spoke on the reporting of religion in South Asia, and her experience promoting creative ways in which the voices of Pakistani women may be reflected in the country’s policy-making.
Author and media expert Khaled Hroub is Professor of Middle Eastern studies at Northwestern University in Qatar. As a senior research fellow at the Centre of Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge, where he is the director of the Cambridge Arab Media Project (CAMP), he brought his experience working with Arab media, and bringing together academics and experts on the field.
Alan Rosenblatt is a digital/social media strategist, professor, thought leader and a Partner at Turner Strategies. Alan taught the first college course on digital politics (1995), created and built the Center for American Progress’s social media program (2007-13) and has trained 15,000+ people across the world in digital/social media strategy, including civil society leaders across the Arab world in 2009.
The panelists discussed the challenges of ensuring fair representation of people of different communities, as well as the dangers of marginalising communities who do not have a voice or the opportunity for self-representation in the news media. In the words of panelist Anat Saragusti: "The media plays a role in decision making processes. If communities are not represented in the media, this means that this community is not participating in the public debate. If we are not participating in the decision-making processes, the system will not take us into account."
The participants highlighted several key challenges in transmitting a fair Image of the Other, including the issue of "newsworthiness", an emphasis on the sensational and the extreme which results in over-emphasis on stereotypes and extremes, and the marginalisation in the media of the vast majority of peaceful people of faith, and the friction between nuanced reporting and the media as a profit-oriented business model. Fauzia Shaheen mentioned a significant challenge to the fair representation of religions in many parts of the world: "Extremism and fundamentalism are challenges in reporting on religion in Pakistan. Journalists seeking to report objectively on other religions can frequently face threats. Pakistan is one of the most deadly countries for journalists in the world."
Responding to a criticism from the audience that social media leads to polarisation of populations, Alan Rosenblatt countered that social media, far from being a source of polarisation, is a "lens, through which pre-existing ideas are shared."
In conclusion, the panellists agreed on the need for dialogue between media and religious representatives. "Dialogue is without alternative", said Khaled Hroub. "Critical thinking in the media and acceptance or faith in religions are two different spheres: the only way to reconcile these two different spheres is through dialogue. We are different, and we embrace this."
MEDIA EXPERTS DISCUSS FAIR REPRESENTATION OF RELIGIOUS AND CULTURAL OTHERS AT KAICIID
KAICIID's focus on the media and the internet in 2014 began on 7 March 2014 with a consultation among journalists and media experts from Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America.
KAICIID's "Year of the Media" is an exploration of how people of other religions and cultures are depicted, and how they portray themselves through new forms of communication. Through dialogue between religious communities and people engaged in media communication, and, through training for interreligious practitioners on how to work with the media, KAICIID will promote best practices in the realistic representation of religion in the media and on the internet. The programme is specifically aimed at providing members of the media with a better understanding of how interreligious dialogue can be a force for peace in the face of conflict.
The consultation examined current issues in the representation of religious and cultural Others in the news media and on the internet, with experts offering their opinions and expertise on challenges and opportunities in the field.
The findings of this consultation meeting will be incorporated in defining KAICIID's work in the field of the media and the internet over the coming years.
KAICIID Director of Programmes, Hillary Wiesner: "Today, the internet and social media are becoming new public spaces where perceptions are formed and expressed. No study of "images" of people and communities can be complete without engaging with these arenas. We thank our participants for joining us from all around the world, and sharing with us their time and expertise in a lively dialogue. We look forward to taking the learnings from this consultative meeting, and implementing them in our work over this exciting year."
AUSTRIAN JUSTICE MINISTER VISITS KAICIID
The recently appointed Austrian Minister of Justice, Dr. Wolfgang Brandstetter, paid his first official visit to KAICIID on 10 March 2014. He met KAICIID Deputy Secretary-General, Claudia Bandion-Ortner, who had previously served as Austrian Justice Minister from 2009 to 2011.
Minister Brandstetter showed great interest in KAICIID’s mission, its activities, and was impressed by the Centre’s development.
The Deputy Secretary-General remarked that "dialogue is of crucial importance in the world of justice. No just decisions can be taken without dialogue".
Austria undertakes a unique and vital dual role for KAICIID: it is the host country of the organization, and, Austria is a member of KAICIID’s Council of Parties, one of the Centre’s two governing bodies.
KAICIID HOSTS INAUGURAL “TALKING DIALOGUE” EVENT
Students from universities around the world attended a two-day workshop, Talking Dialogue, at the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID).
Led by KAICIID's Head of Social Sciences & Statistics, Dr. Karsten Lehmann,
Talking Dialogue marks the beginning of a months-long process that will culminate in an international academic conference –
Dialogue beyond Dialogue – to be held in ViennathisNovember.
Speaking at the
Talking Dialogue event, Dr. Lehmann explained, "International universities are important partners for us. They add an important academic perspective to our activities, as well as a vital qualitative element to our projects."
"Talking Dialogue is KAICIID’s second major in-house event of 2014, coming just two weeks after the Centre co-hosted a three-day activity with theWorld Organisation of the Scout Movement on best practices on dialogue in Scouting, as well as on enriching the potential dialogical solutions provided by KAICIID to their stakeholders around the world. Through
Talking Dialogue, KAICIID gains access to new perspectives; while, from the Centre, the students will hopefully enhance their understanding of research methods and approaches to interreligious and intercultural dialogue
.”
Pre- or post-Masters students of Religious Studies programmes, or young people with expertise in the field of interreligious and intercultural dialogue, took part in the workshop. Coming from places of learning in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the Americas, the twelve participants analyzed the challenges, research methodologies and opportunities for expanding the field of interreligious and intercultural dialogue.
During the course of this summer, the students will conduct research at archives maintained by interfaith networks, such as the United Religions Initiative. The outcome of this research will later be compiled into a publication to be released during the November 2014
Dialogue beyond Dialogue conference.
Dialogue beyond Dialogue will bring together, in Vienna, 75 scholars of dialogue from multiple disciplinary perspectives, to map theoretical and methodological dialogue approaches.
VOICES OF DIALOGUE: CO-FOUNDERS OF NIGERIA’S INTERFAITH MEDIATION CENTRE SHARE THEIR STORY FROM CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE TO RECONCILIATION AND DIALOGUE
© From left to right: Imam Dr. Muhammad Nurayn Ashafa, KAICIID Deputy Secretary General Claudia Bandion-Ortner, and Pastor Dr. James Movel Wuye at the KAICIID Hall of Dialogue, Vienna, Austria, 13 March 2014. Copyright: KAICIID
In the first of a planned Dialogue series, KAICIID welcomed to its headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Imam Dr. Muhammad Nurayn Ashafa and Pastor Dr. James Movel Wuye. The Imam and the Pastor, as they have become known, spoke to a select audience about their journey to dialogue, which they began as leaders of warring militias in northern Nigeria.
The discussion took place on Thursday, 13 March at 18.30, and was moderated by KAICIID Senior Advisor Professor Mohammed Abu-Nimer.
The Pastor and the Imam began their journey to dialogue as leaders of opposing militias involved in violent religious conflict in Northern Nigeria. Following great personal losses on both sides, they met through a mutual friend, and began their work together. Nineteen years later, they are pioneers in interfaith mediation in Northern Nigeria, working to bring peace to this troubled part of the world.
The Interfaith Mediation Centre, which they jointly run, works to enhance and deepen peaceful coexistence among different faiths, to build trust and relationships among divided communities, and strengthen early warning systems for conflict prevention. The Pastor and the Imam have used dialogue and dialogical methods to mediate community conflicts and initiate economic development projects. They have also mediated a peace agreement between fighting groups in the Nigerian state of Kaduna, which has lessened religious conflict in this volatile region over the last nine years.
Speaking of the challenges of encouraging dialogue in conflict areas, Imam Ashafa said, “If you live in a conflict area, your brain has been washed to view ‘the Other’ as an enemy. ‘The Other’ is not to be trusted.”
“Dialogue is all about talking to the person ‘across the red line’”, said Pastor Wuye. “Talking, talking, and talking some more.”
In response to a question from the audience, the panellists also spoke of the importance of respect for one’s own and Others’ religions. Imam Ashafa explained the shared values of peace in religions around the world: “I must respect him, because my scripture tells me to do so. It tells me to respect every human being.”
At the same time, they also said that respect for other religions is not the same as amalgamation of other religious beliefs into one’s own. “Come together, respect one another, but keep your boundaries”, said Pastor Wuye.
KAICIID Secretary General, Faisal Bin Muaammar: “Here at KAICIID, our mission is to facilitate dialogue as a path to peace. There is no better demonstration of the power of dialogue than the story of Imam Ashafa and Pastor Wuye. They have taken great risks to reach across the divides that separated them -- of history, of culture, of religion -- and break through to their common goals of peace and coexistence. We are honoured that they will join us in our Hall of Dialogue to share their unique story of risk and reconciliation.”
ABOUT THE PASTOR AND THE IMAM
Imam Dr. Muhammad Nurayn Ashafa and Pastor Dr. James Movel Wuye are a Muslim cleric and a Christian pastor working together to end violent clashes between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria through the Interfaith Mediation Centre which they jointly run.
Born into a conservative Islamic family, the son of an Islamic scholar from a long line of Muslim clerics dating back thirteen generations, Muhammad Nurayn Ashafa became the leader of a militant Islamic group and also Secretary General of the Muslim Youth Councils.
Born in Kaduna State, Pastor James Movel Wuye is the son of a soldier who served in the Biafran War. In the 1980s and 1990s he was involved in militant Christian activities and served as Secretary General of the Kaduna State chapter of the Youth Christian Association of Nigeria, an umbrella organisation for all Christian groups in Nigeria, for eight years. He recounts that his “hatred for the Muslims had no limits”.
In the 1990s, Pastor James Wuye and Imam Muhammad Ashafa led opposing, armed militias, dedicated to defending their respective communities as violence broke out in Kaduna, northern Nigeria. In pitched battles, Pastor James lost his hand and Imam Ashafa’s spiritual mentor, as well as two close relatives, were killed.
However, a chance meeting in 1995 brought the two clerics together. Their goal now is to achieve peaceful coexistence through inter-faith cooperation and community education. They have together designed an early-warning mechanism that helps communities identify potentially volatile situations and provides the means to reduce tensions. Their work has spread beyond Nigeria to Burundi, Northern Ghana, and Kenya. They were also featured in a film called An African Answer which depicts their dramatic bid to bring reconciliation in Kenya’s Rift Valley, following communal killings in the post-election violence of early 2008.
The Imam and the Pastor have both received numerous awards, including the first Fondation Chirac Conflict Resolution Prize; the Hessian Peace Prize, granted by the Albert Osswald Foundation; and the Interfaith Cooperation Award by Search for Common Ground.
THE “KAICIID VOICES OF DIALOGUE” SERIES
What role does dialogue play in creating reconciliation among individuals and communities across religious and cultural lines? KAICIID asks this crucial question of leaders in dialogue who have taken great risks to overcome stereotypes, heal divisions and transform relationships. Speakers in this series will share stories of their work and the risks and challenges they face. Each session will provide time for dialogue
POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS MEET AT KAICIID – CALL FOR INCLUSION OF COMMON VALUES IN POLICY AND DECISION-MAKING
© From left to right: Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Quraishi (former Central Bank Governor of Saudi Arabia), Claudia Bandion-Ortner (KAICIID Deputy Secretary General), Tun Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi (former Prime Minister of Malaysia), Andries van Agt (former Prime Minister of the Netherlands), Abdul Salam Majali (former Prime Minister of Jordan), George Vassiliou (former President of Cyprus), Yasuo Fukuda, (former Prime Minister of Japan), Jean Chrétien (former Prime Minister of Canada), Helmut Schmidt (former Chancellor of Germany), Faisal Bin Muaammar (KAICIID Secretary General), Franz Vranitzky (former Chancellor of Austria), Olusegun Obasanjo (former President of Nigeria) Copyright: KAICIID
At the conclusion of the InterAction Council's (IAC) two-day meeting in Vienna on 'Ethics in Decision Making', the IAC members and prominent religious leaders from several different faiths met at the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID) to honor the Honorary Chairman of the IAC, former German Chancellor, Helmut Schmidt, and learn of KAICIID's progress in its mission.
KAICIID Secretary General Faisal Bin Muaammar welcomed the IAC members to the Dialogue Centre: "As a Centre for interreligious and intercultural dialogue, we believe, most importantly, in peace. And that is why we are so pleased to have the Interaction Council here. We depend on you to carry the message of peace through dialogue, the message of KAICIID, out to the world."
The KAICIID InterAction Council event was attended by former heads of state or government, and leading religious and theological figures from the world's major religions.
During their meeting, IAC and KAICIID agreed:
- Dialogue between the leaders of different faiths is essential as the long-term basis for peace, and for a more just and humane world. Both religious and political leaders must counteract any abuse of religion to justify oppression, violence and conflict.
- The wisdom that arises from dialogue among cultures and religions is vital in preserving the dignity of human life, preserving the environment, ensuring the sustainable use of natural resources, ethical and religious education and poverty alleviation.
- The world’s different faiths all share a common values of peace and respect for others.
The IAC and KAICIID affirmed their mutual commitment to encouraging political leaders to include these values in their decision-making.
Dr. Franz Vranitzky, co-Chair of the IAC's meeting and Chancellor of Austria from 1986-1997, said: "Perceived differences between religions, and the abuse of these perceptions, has been a cause of unrest and conflict. Since the first interfaith dialogue convened by the InterAction Council, in 1987, the group has held many deliberations with leaders from all faiths, and through its work, advanced the importance of shared values and dialogue as a means to peace. We support KAICIID’s mission to build a culture of peace through dialogue, and will follow its progress with interest."
ABOUT IAC
Established in 1983, the InterAction Council of Former Heads of State and Government is an international organization whose objective is to address long-term, global issues facing humankind. Co-Chaired by the Right Honourable Jean Chrétien (Prime Minister of Canada, 1993-2003) and Dr. Franz Vranitzky (Chancellor of Austria, 1986-1997), the Council’s membership is comprised of more than forty former heads of state who volunteer their time to develop proposals for action and submit them directly to national and international decision-makers.
ABOUT KAICIID
KAICIID was established as an international organization in November 2012 to facilitate dialogue among followers of different religions and cultures. KAICIID organizes training, workshops, conferences and educational programmes, and support the mediation of conflict. KAICIID carries out activities under the oversight of a multireligious Board of Directors and its Council of Parties, comprised of the governments of Austria, Saudi Arabia and Spain, as well as the Holy See, the Founding Observer.
