Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, president of Indonesia, sees tolerance-building as a central task of the 21st century
The big question for 2010—and the whole century—is whether the world’s civilisations, religions and cultures will finally depart from their persistent patterns of conflict. Some predict that the rift between “Islam and the West” will widen and that a clash of civilisations is unavoidable.
Despite globalisation and technology, I predict a steady rise of religiosity worldwide. The politics of identity—locally, nationally, regionally—will become more prevalent.
But this will be against a backdrop of multiculturalism and tolerance. People all over the world are beginning to realise that co-operation yields dividends not only within civilisations but also between and among them. Racism is on the decline, and apartheid is gone. The number of countries adhering to religious freedom and the portion of global citizens living under open, pluralistic societies are at their highest ever.
At the start of the last century, there were only a handful of democracies; today there are 89 free democracies. In the Muslim world, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference has committed its members to promoting democracy, human rights, fundamental freedoms and good governance.
Indeed, non-Western civilisations have begun their march to modernity. In this process, peoples of various religions and cultures have found renewed confidence, seeing others as partners rather than as a threat. Global challenges—from climate change to terrorism—are providing new imperatives to transcend civilisational differences.
But these encouraging trends must vie with the negatives. Bigotry, intolerance and ignorance are still rife. Polls show that the perception gap between civilisations—particularly between Islam and the West—remains worryingly wide.
There is no single remedy for this, but let me offer a few. First, the world’s leaders must strengthen in 2010 the various dialogues already taking place, such as the UN Dialogue Among Civilisations, the recent Saudi initiative of an Interfaith Conference, and the Global Inter-Media Dialogue (launched by Indonesia after the crisis following cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad).
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(Submitted by reader)