In a booming voice that pierced the quiet calm around us, an Imam from Bosnia passionately implored: “Why do we dialogue? We dialogue not just for others but for ourselves, to exorcise our inner demons to be a better human being!”. This was 2019 in Lindau, Germany, as we were about to unveil a sculpture representing the Interreligious Symbol of Peace. I was one of the 1000 global delegates from religious, political, and civil society backgrounds. We were here for the 10th World Assembly of Religions for Peace, the largest network for interreligious dialogue.
Sited in the calm lake of Constance in Bundsee, this beautiful sculpture is aptly named Ring for Peace. Designed by Gisbert Baarmann the 7.5m-high standing wooden ring takes the form of a Moebius strip. The ring consists of 36 woods of certified cultivation from all continent — a perfect symbol of the constant and integrative nature of dialogue as part of human consciousness.
The words of the Imam and the symbol are apt verbal and visual descriptors of why dialogue matters as part of the continuum of human existence. Without dialogue, co-existence and mutuality cannot happen, leading to a breakdown of a rules-based global order. Indeed, these days, the ‘normal rings’ for peace, food security, and economy — things that we have taken for granted — have been disrupted. What was once considered unthinkable has become a numb reality: the horrific war in Ukraine and a world that is inching precariously toward a nuclear doomsday. Such situations happen because leaders have rejected the need for dialogue.
Rules of engagement
Since I got involved in interreligious dialogue in 2005, I have often been asked what I hope to achieve from dialogue and what good can come from it. I repeatedly explained that it is the only way for us to have a holistic and strategic view of any situation. It is the only way to nurture common ground and prevent a downward spiral of conflicts that ultimately destroy any functioning society.
Even though information is abundant today, we have a lot of ignorance that leads to preventable conflicts. The Covid-19 pandemic and speed at which fake news about vaccines spread have shown that the availability of information does not guarantee mutual understanding and trust. You need a dedicated forum, process, and good institutions to deepen understanding, nurture shared views, and seed the value of each other’s existence. Dialogue acts as a glue to ensure the proper evolution of any human system.
Dialogue is also what sets us apart from animals. Civilisation is about the ability to communicate, negotiate mutual existence and nurture a functioning society for the common good. Dialogue helps to guarantee freedom of beliefs no matter how divergent they might be. In interreligious dialogue, religions hold divergent views of God, yet all are engaged with one another. I had the rare opportunity of being with Pope Francis in 2014 when he welcomed a small group of religious leaders and activists in Domus Sanctae Marthae where he stays. He said the most crucial thing in dialogue is that we choose to walk together despite our differences.
This is especially important as we increasingly find rising anger and discord in our social media feeds. No wonder, according to a recent study, vitriolic posts generate the most likes on Facebook. This is sad. Feeding into the demon of anger that seeks to cancel people out is, ultimately, dangerous. Like a fire, it can burn the neighborhood down, so we need to find ways to stop this.
If we are genuinely interested in establishing common grounds to solve the climate crisis and inequality, then we have to appreciate that it will require dialogue to build trust and confidence.
On February 4, 2019, Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, met in Abu Dhabi and launched a visionary co-authored document called the Document for Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together. It sets out an ambitious outline to nurture dialogue and prevent a canceling tendency, opting instead for creative solutions towards human fraternity.
It was a historic moment as these two leaders represent global religions with a history of trying to cancel each other out to the point of armed conflict. This document has since inspired the United Nations to declare a world day for the human fraternity. Dubai World Expo has featured a forum on this. In addition, Timor Leste’s government just voted to incorporate its principles into the school curriculum this year.
In Singapore, we have systems to nurture dialogue, but they require more work as we face a wildly divergent Singapore. But this state of affairs need not break us, it can be an opportunity to be creative in dialogue, and I believe we can.
