On plurality and participation
The Egyptian-German Young Leader’s Forum (EGYLF), affiliated to the Coptic Evangelical Organisation for Social Services (CEOSS), has placed its faith in the relevance of interaction and dialogue among peoples of the world. It believes that diversity by no means creates gaps or prevents peoples from forging close ties with one another. Rather, differences in terms of race, sex, or sect could help enhance values of tolerance and accepting the “other”. Founded in the 1990s, EGYLF has organised a host of conferences and workshops involving journalists, academics and leading religious figures. EGYLF keeps a focus on young people given their greater capabilities in using advanced methods of communication.
More capable
The prevalent unhealthy atmosphere of tension between the East and West side by side with the spread of stereotyped images regarding certain groups induced EGYLF to launch dialogues between Egypt on the one hand, and Denmark, the US and Germany on the other. Unlike previous dialogues, the Egyptian-German dialogue, held in Hannover, was characterised by a strong presence for young people. The meeting on “Pluralism and Participation” gathered 36 young men and women, including 13 Egyptians and 18 Germans. Among the latter were four participants of Arab origin from Syria and Morocco. The meeting was held under the supervision of Andre Zaki, deputy chairman of the CEOSS, and Samira Luqa, director of cultural development, representing the Egyptian party, and Lidwina Meyer and journalist George Khouri representing the German side. Sessions touched on various areas including the role of music in enriching relations between peoples, the status of religious minorities, the image of Islam in Germany, and the media’s perspective vis-à-vis the “other”.
In her inaugural speech Dr Meyer referred to the relevance of enhancing participation by young people in the conference on the grounds that they were more capable than older generations of achieving the goals of rapprochement among peoples with different cultural and religious orientations. Dr Luqa replied that the dialogue helped lift obstacles in the way of integration among peoples, most importantly discrimination on a religious basis. Dr Zaki stressed the significance of knowing the “other” before adopting any positions against him or her.
Global language
In his speech, Mohamed Abdel-Moneim al-Sawi, director of the Sawi Culture Wheel, argued that since music was the sole global international language it had a large role to play in terms of bridging cultural gaps and transcending divides among peoples. Over the course of modern Egyptian history, he continued, songs had worked to enrich values of tolerance. Mr al-Sawi expressed his admiration of the Ana Masri (I am Egyptian) company, which mixes Islamic Sufi chanting with Coptic hymns.
The presentation by journalist Abdullah al-Tahawi from the Islam Online website focused on the impact of the new media on the relationship among religions and sects. He suggested that since the beginning of the new millennium Islamic currents of all sorts had started expressing themselves via the Web. “The outcome” he went on to say “was the emergence of some 13,000 websites gathering a variety of Islamic currents and sects: Sunni/Shiite, Shafiitic/Hanafitic, Muslim Brotherhood/Jihad and others.” Mr Tahawi argued for a direct coloration between the degree of extremism and the keenness to have a presence on the Web. Among a wide spectrum of Islamic currents and organisations, he added, the Jamaa al-Islamiya and Salafi groups were the first to have websites.
Knowing the other
A paper on the image of Islam in Germany was based on a survey conducted among a random sample of people in Hamburg. Some respondents referred to a relationship between Islam and violence. Others believed that the problem was not with Islam itself but with Salafi tendencies. One of the respondents said that people in Germany feared Islam because they knew nothing about it, and the practices of some Muslims defamed the image of Islam. The research showed that the media in Germany incited provocation vis-à-vis Islam given the hostile headlines appearing on newspaper front pages such as: “Islam threatens Western civilisation” and “Islam is a brute force”. The research stressed the problem of the lack of communication between the Muslim community and German society, and called for the foundation of a basis for engagement if the false notions about Islam were to be corrected.
Egyptian media and the “other”
Nader Shukry, a staff journalist at Watani, focused on the role of media in shaping people’s views in the developing world. He argued that the media played a pivotal role in forming public opinion and the values of sympathy and accepting “the other”. Shukry stressed the relevance of transparency when dealing with sensitive issues and events. “More often than not,” he said, “when it comes to debatable and sensitive issues, one can hardly find a single story of a particular event, because each media outlet reports the story according to its own prejudices; the outcome is that the truth is lost. This applies to stories on sectarian and gender relations. In an unprecedented event, a demonstration was organised last April in front of the Ministry of Information to protest against the media portrayal of ‘the other’, especially Christians and Baha’is.
The talk by Bassem Deser, spokesman of Muslim students and academics in Germany, tackled Muslim experiences of coexistence. “There are four million Muslims in Germany, he pointed out. “Unlike the status of the Copts in Egypt, the Muslim community here is a migrant community. Through 26 branches scattered all over Germany, the Council of Muslim Students spares no effort to forge ties with the German Society.”
Religion-based isolation
Rev Refaat Fathi of the Evangelical Church in the town of Benha, north of Cairo, discussed the role of religion in integration and exclusion of minorities. “The growing religious extremism in Egypt since the 1970s led to the isolation of Copts, who had to increasingly depend on the Church as the sole available shelter in the country,” he said. “In this context Copts were excluded from leading government posts and refrained from contesting municipal and general elections on the grounds that their religious affiliation made victory almost impossible.”
A cultural festival took place at the end of the conference, which gave an opportunity to participants from different countries to present performances expressing their cultural heritage. The Egyptian delegation portrayed a traditional wedding in Upper Egypt with its specific music and dance.
Afterwards the participants moved to Berlin, where a training session was held on ways to enhance values of diversity and tolerance. On the final day participants visited the German parliament and discussed with some MPs questions with regard to the Middle East, and most importantly the phenomenon of Islamophobia, the Arab-Israeli conflict and Germany’s position regarding the latest repercussions in the region.
WATANI International
4 July 2010