A cross-cultural group of 20 prominent world figures has called for urgent efforts to heal the growing divide between Muslim and Western societies.
The chief causes of the rift are not religion or history, they say, but recent political developments, notably the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Their findings were presented to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan at a ceremony in Istanbul on today.
No other dispute had such a symbolic or emotional impact on people, he said.
"We may wish to think of the Arab -Israeli conflict as just one regional conflict among many. But it is not," Mr Annan said.
"As long as the Palestinians live under occupation, exposed to daily frustration and humiliation, and as long as Israelis are blown up in buses and in dances halls, so long will passions everywhere be inflamed."
The Alliance of Civilisations, which includes Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami, dismisses the notion that a clash of civilisations is inevitable, but says that swift action is needed.
The group argues that the need to build bridges between Muslim and Western societies has never been greater.
They say that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, along with Western military interventions in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan, contributes significantly to the growing sense of resentment and mistrust that mars relations among communities.
Please take the time to download the report, read it (it's only 39 pages) and then forward it to your friends.Download: Alliance of Civilizations Report [.PDF 431 k]
Learn more about the organization here: http://www.unaoc.org/
3 comments:
Blame Israel - What a fine list of critics - all Israeli Bashers, Kofi Annan, Desmond Tutu, etc. Blah, blah blah. It's always Israel. It couldn't possibly be the terrorists who send rockets into Israeli civilians or build tunnels to bring in weapons from Egypt. It couldn't be the support of terrorists like Nasrallah? It couldn't be that Pro-palestinian types don't have an idea in their heads except "destroy Israel." The whole Middle East has no economy except for oil. Let's blame Israel. What a bunch of morons.
Judging by the speed of your comment and your reaction I can only say that you didn't read the report or my post.
Nobody "blamed Israel":
"As long as the Palestinians live under occupation, exposed to daily frustration and humiliation, and as long as Israelis are blown up in buses and in dances halls, so long will passions everywhere be inflamed."
It is just these sort of knee jerk reactions that need to be avoided otherwise mutual fear and suspicion will continue fuelling tensions between East and West.
Abu-Issa
"5.1 With regard to relations between Muslim and Western societies, we must acknowledge the contemporary realities that shape the views of millions of Muslims: the prolonged Israeli-Palestinian conflict," ...What does this say? Like a Muslim in Indonesia, the Phillipines,Afghanistan, or Pakistan gives a rat's ass about Israel. Puleeez
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