Delegates from Asia and Europe assembled in Budapest, Hungary on January 15th and 16th in Working Group 1 of the Larnaca Working Group Action Plan meeting hosted by the Cypriot embassy.
Set in a posh hotel in the heart of Budapest, a city well-established in its vibrant cultural and historical surroundings, the meeting was held subsequent to the July 2006 ASEM Interfaith dialogue held in Larnaca, Cyprus jointly organized by Malaysia.
The meeting intended to deliberate on the issue of putting forward a set of proposals for the incorporation of basic knowledge of world religions and of the common ethical standards and moral values shared by the different faiths in national educational curricula, giving due consideration to the specific circumstances of the respective countries.
Malaysia was represented in the meeting by Dr. Syed Ali Tawfik Al-Attas, Director General of IKIM and myself.
IKIM’s representation was by virtue of being the lead government agency entrusted by the Government of Malaysia to deal with interfaith dialogue issues on the national as well as the international arena.
The organizing secretariat was Cyprus. Although Malaysia was apparently joint-organizer, no official representation from Malaysia was reflected in the organizing secretariat leaving us feeling rather awkward in explaining this shameful situation.
Others may have questioned Malaysia’s commitment to interfaith dialogue if not for our active participation , presence and contribution in such an important meeting.
A representative from China was named Chairman of the meeting, perhaps due to the absence of Malaysian officials at the meeting and was assisted by secretariat officials from the Cypriot ministry of foreign affairs.
Participants included experts on religion and education curricula from among members from the European Union and Asian countries. Some participating countries were represented by observers from their respective embassies in Hungary.
Issues in relation to the role of the education system and curriculum was deliberated at length giving each participant a chance to voice his or her opinion on how best to approach the objective of ASEM countries through the Larnaca Action Plan in promoting interfaith harmony.
Led by IKIM, the Malaysian delegation made plausible proposals on the fundamental approach of understanding the different worldviews as part of building and promoting interfaith understanding and dialogue.
We suggested the incorporation of “understanding civilizations and cultures” as the first step to the introduction of the subject of interfaith studies in the education curricula.
Emphasis should be focused on educators rather than school children to understand the importance of interfaith understanding and dialogue as they are the ones who breed and nurture positive values on the youth of tomorrow.
The meeting also noted our serious concern with regard to the risk of exposing children as young as 6 to differences of faith which, in our opinion, would promote segregation and the sense of being different. It was agreed upon that the term of reference be changed to mean “youth” and be incorporated at the earliest possible education level taking into consideration peculiarities in reference to governments and societies.
We reiterated the need to address the menace of the corruption of knowledge by educators and the relevant authorities and that adoption of an “up – down” instead of “bottom – up” approach be implemented. At the same time, erudite scholars should be afforded a greater role and due recognition by governments to contribute in curricula development and in making recommendations on interfaith issues in the education system.
The Malaysian delegates also objected to the inclusion of controversial philosophical ideologies namely pluralism, secular, tolerance, freedom and etc unless clear terms of references be duly made and agreed upon by all so as not to create confusion.
The worldview of Islam does not consider mathematics, ethics, economics and other sciences as being secular as these are integral to the development of an Islamic Civilization. After all it was this which has brought about the glorious Islamic civilization of the past.
The meeting agreed to a proposal to urge ASEM member countries to share best practices and experiences in interfaith dialogue in their respective educational systems through student teacher exchange programs.
It was also agreed that participants recommend to their respective governments to send only experts on education and religion to a subsequent meeting proposed prior to the 3rd Interfaith Dialogue scheduled in Beijing, China, to complete a final draft of the proposal.
If necessary, Indonesia volunteered to be the host country for such a meeting and suggested April of this year.
The meeting also proposed to recommend and urge ASEM governments to convene a meeting of religious and educational experts at the intra-governmental level to deliberate on the practical aspects of the introduction of interfaith studies in their education curricula.
Finally, it was agreed that a draft questionnaire be distributed to participants of all ASEM member countries to assess the status of the incorporation of interfaith studies in their respective education system prior to making a final proposal to the 3rd ASEM Meeting in Beijing, China.
The meeting tentatively agreed that a final communiqué be drafted and distributed to participating member countries for endorsement. The communiqué shall be accompanied by reports on the survey of each member country’s status of incorporation with regard to interfaith studies in their respective education systems.
Although we had a bad and embarrassing start at the beginning due to a failure in bureacracy, our participation at the meeting was well received. We stood firm to our expectations and of the other ASEM dialogue partners and made Malaysia proud.
Because of our participation, Malaysia received commendations from other participants, particularly from the hushed participants from Asia. If it hadn’t been for Malaysia, the meeting would have been monopolied by the European members.
We hope our contribution made a difference in the collective approach towards better interfaith understanding and dialogue. For IKIM, the meeting in Budapest was a success and an achievement for which we are proud of.