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Toh Swee-Hin  One very significant component of the progress towards a culture of peace has been the interfaith dialogue movement, which seeks to promote understanding, respect and reconciliation among diverse faiths within and across nations.
The pervasive realities of conflicts and violence, whether local, national, international or global, continue to inflict suffering on billions of people. Wars, armed conflicts, hunger and other deprivations of basic needs, violations of human rights, ethnic and cultural intolerance, discrimination of all kinds and environmental destruction all pose major challenges for building peaceful societies that promote the wellbeing of all humanity. One serious dimension of peacelessness is reflected in the conflicts between different faiths and cultures; conflicts that sometimes tragically result in violence and bloodshed. The rise of religious extremism has also driven the leaders and followers of some faiths to intolerance, discrimination and violence towards peoples of other faiths. A very significant component of the progress towards a culture of peace has been the interfaith dialogue movement, which seeks to promote understanding, respect and reconciliation among diverse faiths within and across nations. Interfaith dialogue does not only endeavour to raise awareness of each participant of the faith of others. Most importantly, interfaith dialogue hopes to critically engage participants in revealing common values and principles that in turn may lead to collaboration in personal and social action towards building a more peaceful world for all humanity. Interfaith dialogue, if it is to be fruitful and authentic, rests on several assumptions and principles. These include openness to learning about — and from — each other’s wisdom and knowledge about faith and spirituality; and a spirit of humility and willingness to be self-critical, acknowledging contradictions between theory and practice. In dialogue, there is also openness within each faith to engage in re-interpretation of beliefs in the context of contemporary societal realities, and to challenge any tendencies towards extremism and intolerance by any leader or followers. In this regard, as many faith leaders have emphasised, intra-faith dialogue needs to complement interfaith dialogue. Increasingly, there are healthy and vigorous self-critical reflections on doctrines such as the “just war” and “jihad” within the wider discourse on the use of physical violence in “resolving” conflicts. Likewise, the complex field of human rights needs to be seriously discussed in relation to faith traditions and practices. Importantly too, interfaith dialogue needs to involve not only leaders but also ordinary citizens from all walks of life and sectors, including professionals, civil servants, media and educators. The role of education in promoting interfaith dialogue is essential and vital, so that children and youth, our future leaders and adult citizens, can grow up to promote a culture of respect, harmony, justice and non-violence. Globally, the significant progress and accomplishments of interfaith dialogue are reflected in the growth of various networks and coalitions, such as the World Conference on Religions for Peace, the Parliament of the World’s Religions and the United Religions Initiative. Through the frequent gatherings and specific projects of these networks, diverse faiths have shown that it is possible and urgent for dialogue to establish deeper mutual respect and understanding. Through interfaith dialogue, many faith leaders and followers have contributed to: - campaigns for nuclear disarmament.
- abolition of the deadly arms trade.
- non-violent strategies to deal with the root causes of 9/11 and related political problems, including terrorism, local and global justice in the world economy.
- protection of human rights of all peoples, especially marginalised groups such as women, children and indigenous peoples.
In recent times, faith communities have also recognised their responsibility to inspire followers to live in harmony with the earth, as seen for example, in the “Common Belief” statement in which several faiths in Australia expressed their commitment to urgently address climate change. These joint efforts are consistent with the core values and principles of diverse faiths such as peace, justice, compassion, forgiveness, respect, harmony and love.
Professor Toh Swee-Hin is the Director of the Griffith University Multi-Faith Centre and Laureate, UNESCO Prize for Peace Education in 2000.
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