‘Dialogue among Civilizations’ gets a major boost

When a ‘Clash of Civilizations’ was seen as erupting in the world in early post-Cold War times, with the explosive emergence the world over of religious identity-based politics, former Iranian President Seyed Mohammad Khatami formulated the idea of a ‘Dialogue among Civilizations’ in the decade of the nineties. If ‘thinking outside the box’ is the requirement for a world where ‘things are falling apart’, a ‘Dialogue among Civilizations’ rises resoundingly to fill the lacuna.

The ‘Dialogue among Civilizations’ concept could be no ‘quick fix’ to the current ills of the world, considering that it requires limitless courage, resourcefulness and patience on the part of those seen as world leaders to get the dialogue process at the heart of the idea going and to ensure its continuance. But the exceptional merits of the idea ought to be plain to see because what is essentially advocated by the exponents of the concept is a meeting of hearts and minds among the adherents of diverse cultures and civilizations that, at first blush, seem to be irreconcilable and representative of polar opposites in thought and belief.

However, compared to the usual tendency among humans to resolve their seemingly irreconcilable differences and grievances in the battle field, a ‘Dialogue among Civilizations’ is eminently recommendable on account of the fact that it is peaceful methods that come into play in the interactive process in question. This is particularly so in efforts at resolving contentious questions among human groups.

Those sincere adherents of the world’s major religions should have no difficulty in entering into a ‘Dialogue among Civilizations’ on account of the core values at the heart of these religions being identical. For example, compassion and understanding are preached by all of these religions. Such common values have the potential of facilitating peaceful dialogue among humans. Accordingly, former Iranian President Khatami goes down in history as going against mainstream thinking and advocating a revolutionary and most effective means of unifying the human family.

Considering the foregoing, Pope Francis recommends himself glowingly to peace lovers the world over by touring troubled Iraq, which is being torn apart by divisive political tendencies and power struggles. The importance of the visit by the Pope is redoubled by the fact that today’s Iraq and its adjacent regions were the cradle of the world’s Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

That is, Abraham of yore is a principal figure in all these faiths. So, Iraq offers fertile soil for bringing together the adherents of these religions. However, one of the most immediate reasons for the Papal visit, we are told, is the need on the part of the Pope to raise the morale of Iraq’s dwindling Christian population. It is an act of solidarity with Iraq’s Christians on the part of the Catholic Church.

However, the high point in the Pope’s visit to Iraq was his meeting with a key clerical figure in Iraq’s Shia Muslim community, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. The Shias are of considerable importance to Iraq’s politics on account of the militant opposition posed by sections of the community to the remaining Western presence in the country.

Pope Francis is unlikely to take up any Western causes with the Shiite religious leadership but he could help in fostering a close dialogue between the Christians of Iraq and the latter’s Shia community. As a result, lingering friction among the latter groups could be reduced.

Simultaneously, the Pope could consider talking closely with Iran as well. Considering that Iran is the foremost exponent of Shiite Islam in the world much could be done by the Pope to bridge any perceived differences between the Christians and the Shiite Muslims in the Middle East by helping to unite the communities on the basis of their shared beliefs and values.

The Pope has already launched quite a vibrant dialogue with the leaders of the Sunni Muslim community in the Middle East and this initiative has borne some fruit. But considering Iran’s region-wide influence, she could prove crucial in de-escalating some Middle East tensions. Hence, the importance of Iran to a sustained ‘Dialogue among Civilizations’.

The above outlined efforts are likely to have positive fallouts on not only Christian-Shia ties in Iraq but also on Christian-Shia relations in the Middle East region in general and perhaps world wide. Although nothing spectacular by way of improved ties among the communities in question could be expected in the near term, we are likely to witness positive outcomes on the inter-religious planes in the long term. What is of immediate paramount interest is the coming together of like minds and hearts. That is, the ‘Dialogue among Civilizations’ needs to be taken vibrantly forward.

An issue of the first magnitude is how the ‘Dialogue among Civilizations’ project could be promoted among the world’s foremost powers who are also number one arms manufacturers and traders. They are unlikely to buy into any world wide peace projects that could adversely impact their arms sales, a key financial mainstay for the major powers. Moreover, the West is focused on containing the perceived rise of China and is in no mood to curtail its fire power.

This is indeed a major challenge, but supporters of world peace and global disarmament could prove a formidable challenge to big powers by coming together in a grand coalition. There’s a tremendous amount of hard work to put in on this score but unflagging efforts in this direction should begin now.

One means by which the ‘Dialogue among Civilizations’ could be popularized world wide is through the adoption by states of soft power as opposed to hard power. The latter has to do with military power, while the former centres essentially on the use of peaceful ways of changing attitudes in a positive direction. For example, Buddhistic values could be harnessed to bring the peoples of South Asia together to a notable extent. Even the Covid vaccine could be used by the more influential countries of the region to foster a sense of community among the South Asian Eight. It could prove a legitimate peace tool.