Dialogue instead of clash of civilizations: the contributions of the Australian Intercultural Society (2)

Çemen Polat

For the 10th anniversary celebrations at the Hotel Windsor, the Australian Intercultural Society (AIS) was privileged to have the contribution of an international Muslim scholar and author, Abdullah Aymaz, in the program.

As a person who has seen the fruits of dialogue and has been encouraging dialogue since 1995, Mr. Aymaz believes that we can solve common human problems and initiate many wonderful projects for humanity by putting our differences aside, and with mutual respect come together around universal human values and ethics.

He expressed the inevitability of dialogue activities in this way: “Islamic sources regard peace as an absolute blessing. Mutual support and communal help in the name of good are the two essentials of our spiritual resources. We can only solve problems that disturb and threaten the serenity and harmony of humanity, such as global conflicts and clashes, by promoting dialogue and collaboration with sincerity between the different cultures and faiths of the world. We are quite aware of the consequences of even the smallest conflicts and scuffles that occur around the world and we observe their cost to humanity and nations. In order to overcome social problems like chaos and disorder, we need dialogue. There is a famous Turkish expression which states: ‘Animals solve their problems through smell and humans through communication.’ In the Quranic sources, our Lord states: ‘O mankind! We created you from a single [pair] of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other [not that ye may despise (each other)]. …’ [49:13] I knew that this great work has been continuing in Australia also, at the highest level, especially within the last two years. I was delighted by the news that the governor had been giving iftar dinners at Government House and that the Victorian Multicultural Commission has been fully supportive of this work using the hand of the government.”

Awards of appreciation were presented to many AIS volunteers by the governor of Victoria himself, followed by reflections from the audience. The US consul general in Melbourne, Michael Thurston, stressed the critical imperativeness of the work the AIS has been initiating, the dialogue that it is promoting among all the different people that now make up Australia. Mr. Thurston articulated his gratitude to the AIS staff, saying, “I’d also like to thank the society [AIS] for opening the doors to me and our consulate and helping us to understand some of the issues here that the Islamic community faces and helping me and some of the staff come to a better understanding of some of the issues and questions and in very candid in front discussions with us and it is greatly appreciated because it has helped us to understand certain issues a great deal.”

Maria Vamvakinou, the federal member for Caldwell, explained the AIS’s instrumental role in helping the Muslim community come forward and reveal itself to the rest of the community and give the rest of the community an opportunity to almost re-introduce themselves and learn about this community that unfortunately was stereotyped and framed within a context of ill-informed, misguided information.

Professor Raymond Canning from the Australian Catholic University (ACU) touched upon the academic partnership between the university and the AIS. “One of the most significant dimensions of the relationship of the ACU with the AIS is the Fethullah Gülen Chair in the Study of Islam and Muslim-Catholic Relations. And I’d like to recall just one statement that was made about the chair on the evening on which it was launched in November 2007. It was said that this, inshallah, is the start of something big. I think those words were very well judged because I believe it is and together with the AIS, our academic partnership we will work to make it to be,” he said.

Breaking barriers

Assistant Commissioner Stephen Fontana from the Victoria Police greatly appreciated the support, advice and friendship the AIS has provided in the activities of the Victorian police and also for the key leadership role that the AIS is playing and helping work with Victorian police, cross governing agencies, academia and other community groups. “It [the AIS] actually works towards breaking the barriers, building mutual understanding and towards our shared goal of building the cohesive and harmonious community. We really appreciate the support you provided and we look forward to working with you in the future.”

Archbishop Philip Freier from the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne expressed his gratefulness to the AIS, particularly in helping them exercise the central virtues and values of Christianity: engaging in hospitality, mutual visits and understating and building social cohesion in the community of Victoria. Rev. Patricia Bouma also acknowledged the AIS for the generous hospitability it has shown to the people of Melbourne and for “bringing peace to our soul.”

The AIS believes that it is only through dialogue, interaction and cooperation that we can strive to better understand and respect each other’s religious beliefs, cultures and traditions. However, interreligious dialogue is not the only aspiration of the AIS, as this organization is working hard to achieve intra-religious dialogue and harmony. Consequently it has successfully integrated with other Islamic organizations that are present in Australia. Ramzi Elsayed, the president of the Islamic Council of Victoria, voiced his opinions about the AIS, saying: “We are continually inspired by the AIS and I’m talking from the Islamic Council of Victoria’s point of view. One of several reasons why the AIS keeps us inspired is that it does things with a sense of generosity. I think all of us tonight are beneficiaries of this wonderful hospitality and that’s just a hospitality that runs throughout all their projects. And they [the AIS] do things also with a sense of, I would say, innovation. I think if there has ever been an organization that really thinks outside of its box, that certainly is the AIS. … And I am going to finish on this point. They do things with a sense of, and I will say the Arabic term here to best describe it, the sense of ‘ihsan,’ which means a sense of God consciousness. Essentially, when you have the sense of God consciousness in the way you do things, you do things with a sense of excellence. And excellence leads to more excellence. That is what God promised in the Holy Quran -- excellence needs more excellence. Consequently, we have been continuously encouraged and inspired by the AIS, by its sense of excellence and how it leads to another level of excellence.”

Today, due to ill-informed and misguided information and a lack of knowledge, Islam has been represented as a religion of intolerance, terrorism, injustice and suicide around the world, but particularly in Western societies. Islamophobia and the theory of a “clash of civilizations,” which foresaw estrangement between societies, have increased over time among individuals and various communities. Consequently, promoting and engaging in interfaith dialogue has become an indispensable aspect of our lives.

In his keynote address, Mr. Aymaz said: “Regrettably, some chauvinistic interpretations and opportunistic groups have taken this peaceful understanding of religions in a wrong way and converted it into a means for conflict. When we see the wonderful results of the dialogue activities of today, we realize that the reasons and causes that encouraged Muslims, Christians and other faiths to fight each other in the past could have been solved through tolerance, dialogue and mutual understanding, if only we had taken the time to sit together with our common values and discuss our common problems. This is why we need to interact and get to know each other.”

The contributions of the AIS have greatly facilitated dialogue between the different faiths, cultures and ethnicities that are present in Victoria. The AIS has offered a tremendous service by building bridges with people across a diverse range of backgrounds in different interfaith activities to ensure a harmonious society is achieved in Victoria and throughout Australia. The AIS’s achievements over the last decade are going to be a humble role model for the rest of the Muslim community as well as the wider community in establishing a dialogue of civilizations.

Published on Today's Zaman, 22 July 2010, Friday

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Dialogue instead of clash of civilizations: the contributions of the Australian Intercultural Society (1)