a href="/myfiles/Images/2012/11/27/ki17.jpg" title="Some of the participants deliberate at the two-day “Bridging Cultures Forum" at the less Organization of Islamic Cooperation general secretariat in Jeddah, Sunday. — SG photo by Roberta Fedele" Some of the participants deliberate at the two-day “Bridging Cultures Forum" at the less Organization of Islamic Cooperation general secretariat in Jeddah, Sunday. — SG photo by Roberta Fedele Roberta Fedele Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH — European and Islamic academics, officials and diplomats gathered for the two-day “Bridging Cultures Forum” at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) general secretariat here, explored ways of handling different cultural perceptions and diverging perspectives on delicate issues such as freedom of expression and human rights in both Europe and the Islamic World. Organized by the German Consulate General in collaboration with the OIC and Al-Makkiyah Al-Madaniyah Institute, the forum was followed by a Dewaniya, a more informal evening gathering hosted by Al-Makkiyah Al-Madaniyah Institute in which the findings of the forum where further explored and preceded by an interesting lecture on Hijazi traditions of cultural exchange by Ulrike Freitag, Director of the Center for Modern Oriental Studies in Berlin. In line with the forum's previous session, controversial issues and equally genuine concerns in both regions were identified. A common apprehension among most Islamic scholars and public officials is the fear of an institutionalization of Islamophobia in the West encouraged by unrestrained limits to freedom of expression. Rizwan Sheikh, OIC Director of the Cultural Affairs Department, discussing this fear further, said: “The recent derogatory movie on Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the ban on construction of minarets in Switzerland, proposals to ban the use of hijab in Europe and anti-Islamic electoral propaganda of various European political parties represent a matter of concern for the OIC, an organization that represents the political voice of Muslim majority countries.” Equally significant worries, on the other side, concern the risk of laying the basis for potential political repression from restricting the right to freedom of expression and the need to wider emphasize Europe's multicultural dimension and great achievements in the field of human rights that are sometimes undeservedly disregarded. Gudrun Kramer, Professor of Islamic Studies and Director of the Berlin Graduate School of Muslim Cultures and Societies at the Free University of Berlin, said: “Muslim places of worship can be found all over Europe, a region where Muslims actively participate in the country's political, economic and cultural life thanks also to the right to freedom of expression. “Even though I'm aware that an Islamophobic fringe exists in Europe, I believe that the often-repeated comparison between current Islamophobia and the Nazi propaganda of the 1930s is totally unfounded. “The trash video on Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) should not be seen as an expression of anti-Islamic feelings from the West and I would look today for a culture of public debate instead of raising walls of prohibition.” The forum was organized in response to a need to develop a culture of dialogue and an academic debate able to influence decision-makers and avoid reproducing dehumanizing prejudices and stereotypes. The aim was to highlight conceptual solutions against the spread in public opinion of negative and baseless thoughts and look for universal structures and values characterizing the human spirit. Kramer explored the concept of justice as defined in European and Islamic thought and explained how aspirations for justice, variously understood, provide common ground among cultures and civilizations. Kramer added: “I do not know of any civilization that doesn't cherish justice. “A concept associated by people from all cultures to principles of moral integrity, moderation and probity but also social order, balance and stability. “Individuals and societies are motivated and animated by aspiration to justice that is part of the natural law rooted in all human beings. “However the concept is vaguely defined. Justice, like other values, is embedded in specific contexts, is characterized by a plurality of interpretations through various intellectual and religious traditions and presents cross-links among diverse traditions. “Today, the tendency in Islamic thought is to move towards a more rational reading of the normative sources. “In European thought, which now includes Muslim voices, there is a heightened concern with community-oriented rights and the implementation of justice.” Abu Bakr Bagader, Professor of Sociology at King Abdulaziz University, enriched the discussion by comparing principles of human rights to the main Islamic goals and purposes defined as “maqasid ash-Shariah”. Bagader retraced the history of this conception developed in the 12th century by the Islamic scholar Al-Ghazali, pointing out how common grounds of understanding with the Western tradition can be easily found. The idea of a natural law, as a system of universal principles that apply to all humans, represented also the basis of the structuralist theory exposed by Simone Petroni, Consul General of Italy, during the evening gathering at Al-Makkiyah Al-Madaniyah Institute. “For the structuralists the consciousness is never really independent from a set of extra-conscious elements, so that the individual is governed by a series of forces of which he is not conscious about. “The goal is to identify a single model of human cultures, able to express the essence of human nature,” he said. Sheikh provided a more technical and practical analysis of the issue of freedom of opinion within the framework of international law. He added: “Article 19 and 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) recognizes limitations to freedom of expression. “However, this law is not always well implemented or interpreted in the legal framework of the single national states.”
