An Inter-faith Perspective on Globalisation
for the Common Good
The
Annual International Conference Series,
An
Introduction and Mission Statement
By
Dr.
Kamran Mofid, Founder Convenor
The Children of Adam
Are limbs of one another,
In terms of Creation,
They’re of the self-same Essence.
Sa’adi.
What is to be done, O Moslems? For I
do not recognise myself.
I am neither Christian, nor Jew, nor
Gabr, nor Moslem.
I
am not of the East, nor of the West, nor of the land, nor of the sea;
I am not of Nature’s mint, nor of the
circling heaven.
I am not of earth, nor of water, nor
of air, nor of fire;
I
am not of the empyrean, nor of the dust, nor of existence, nor of entity.
I am not of India, nor of China, nor
of Bulgaria, nor of Saqsin;
I
am not of the kingdom of ’Iraqian, nor of the country of Khorasan.
I am not of this world, nor of the
next, nor of Paradise, nor of Hell.
I am not of Adam, nor of Eve, nor of
Eden and Rizwan.
My place is the Placeless; my trace
is the Traceless;
’Tis neither body nor soul, for I
belong to the soul of the Beloved.
I have put duality away; I have seen
that the two worlds are one;
One I seek, One I know, One I see,
One I call.
He is the first, He is the last, He
is the outward, He is the inward;
I
am intoxicated with Love’s cup, the two worlds have passed out of my ken;
If once in my life I spent a moment
without thee,
From that time and from that hour I
repent of my life.
If once in this world I win a moment
with thee,
I will trample on both worlds; I will
dance in triumph for ever.
Rumi.
These days, we hear a
great deal about cultural conflicts and the clash of civilisations taking form in
religious extremism, terrorism, and the victimisation of innocents on all
sides. Such acts deform religion and
degrade us all. In human history wars
fought in the name of religions have not brought peace and happiness to any
society or nation.
The wish that a new
century would usher in a world transformed as if by magic lies in ruins. Cycles of violence and countermeasures have
brought destruction, anger and fear in their wake. Communal hatreds have led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands
of innocent victims. Mismanagement of
the global economy leaves millions in abject poverty. There is an urgent need for integrity in human relationships, in
economic life, in public governance.
There is an urgent need for a dialogue of communities and civilisations,
across cultures, religions and economic divides.
There is an equal need
for an inner journey of the human spirit, towards eternal spiritual
values. This journey, beginning with us
as individual people, can affect families, neighbourhoods and even the world.
Hope is restored when individuals, groups and communities take courageous
action to right wrongs and reach out to others. The course of history can change when the causes of desperation
are recognised, justice is honestly pursued and hates are healed.
This series of annual
conferences was developed so that we, the peoples of the world, could travel
together in a healing journey, moving from conflict to community and the common
good in our global home. The economic
vision behind the series is the development of globalisation as if people
really mattered – an honest debate and analysis on integrity, responsibility,
accountability and spirituality for the common good. This series of conferences
is an attempt to provide answers to questions such as: What role must the
various sectors of society, business, labour, media, government, religion,
academia, and local and global activists – play together in order to ensure a
just globalisation for the common good.
The theological,
religious and spiritual vision for the conference is based on the understanding
that a transformation is taking place in our societies: after centuries often marked by conflict,
rivalry mistrust and ignorance, the world’s religions are working together as
partners for peace and the common good.
Can believers apply in their own lives the ‘golden rule’ that all
religions and philosophies have in common:
“Do not do to others what you would not like done to you”? During these
conferences we will hear about initiatives already being taken by
representatives of religions and other people of humanitarian commitment, and
seek to promote this important transformation in our secular societies. Participants will have a chance to share
their fears and their faith and explore ways of supporting one another.
This series of
conferences seeks to widen vision and deepen hearts. Inter-faith dialogue is a path to reqpect and constructive
co-operation for a peaceful, just and sustainable future. It is grounded in the belief that religion
is religion only when it reconciles and unites, not when it divides.
Looking into the future, the 2005 conference, Africa
and Globalisation for the Common Good: The Quest for Justice and Peace Will take place in Kericho, Kenya in April
2005 (see further the conference announcement and call for papers later in this
booklet). The fifth annual conference
will be held at Chaminade University of Honolulu, Hawaii, during 16-21 May 2006
while the sixth annual conference will be held in India in 2007. Other venues for future conferences are
currently under consideration.
Finally, as all we have
done and achieved so far has been based on a teamwork spirit, I want to thank
you all for travelling together for Globalisation for the Common Good.
Kamran Mofid
Founder Convenor
Greetings, Welcome and
Thank You
Dear
Colleagues and Friends,
It is my pleasure and honour to welcome you to the
conference. In these global and too
often troubled times, we need new perspectives and models so that we can find
humane answers to the challenge of globalisation, based on a profound respect
for the diversity of cultures and religions in our world community. As global events demonstrate, there is a
desperate need to reintroduce spirituality, ethics, morality and faith into the
debate on globalisation.
Looking at the conference programme, without doubt
and hesitation, we can see that our accomplished speakers have risen well to
this challenge. The conference is truly
privileged to have speakers of this calibre, sharing their views with us. Without them there would have been no
conference, and with them, I hope we can travel together to mend the troubled and
torn cultures of our time and pave the way to global justice, peace, harmony
and healing. I wish to express the
conference’s respect and sincere gratitude to each of our presenters for their
extraordinary commitment in being a part of this vital effort by giving their
time and expertise freely. Each one of
our speakers brings a missing and essential piece that completes the process,
leading to a better understanding of what globalisation is all about. Hopefully, together, we can clearly argue
for and insist on social and economic alternatives that address the roots of
global injustice and inhumanity.
I am also grateful to and thank all the conference
delegates who have come from near and far to be with us. It is wonderful for academics and
non-academics to get involved and engaged with one another, so that we can all
share each other’s varied experiences.
All of us must be given a voice to be heard.
I would also like to thank my co-convenor, Dr.
Raymond Hamden. Without his support,
love and hard work there would not have been a conference in this vitally
important region of the world. Raymond
has cheerfully, with much spirituality, given much to make this possible and
for this I convey my gratitude to him and all his staff at the Comprehensive
Medical Centre in Dubai. It was during
my second visit to Dubai in November 2003 that I met Mr. Abbas Bolurfrushan,
President, Iranian Business Council
(IBC) of Dubai. Abbas has proved to be
a formidable friend and a great supporter of Globalisation for the Common Good
and a source of inspiration to me. At
this point I would like to thank him, the Iranian Business Council and all the
members of its Board of Directors, in particular Mr. Nasser Hashempour for
organising and sponsoring a special session, Iran and Globalisation for the
Common Good on the evening of 28th March(see further the
programme). I want to also pay a
special tribute to another good friend of Globalisation for the Common Good,
Mr. Brian LaBelle, Vice President, Skywards at Emirates Airlines and Chairman, Canadian Business Council,
Dubai. As some of you may know the
Honourable Dr. Lloyd Axworthy, the former Canadian Foreign Minister had kindly
accepted our invitation to deliver a keynote address at the conference in
Dubai. However, in January 2004 Dr.
Axworthy was appointed by the United Nations Secretary General as his Special
Envoy for the two Horn of Africa countries, namely Eritrea and Ethiopia. Given the urgency of what needs to be done
there, Dr. Axworthy with great regret had to cancel his participation at the
conference at the last moment so that he can devote all his time to much needed
peace work there. Although I was very
disappointed that Dr. Axworthy could not join us, I know that his work in the
Horn of Africa is a true example of common good in action and I am sure you
will all join me in wishing him good luck. Brian LaBelle was instrumental in
facilitating and sponsoring Dr. Axworthy as well as Mr. David Choi, President
and CEO, Royal Pacific Group and Special Advisor to Dr. Axworthy to come to
Dubai. Here I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Brian and all his
colleagues at Emirates Skywards and the Canadian Business Council, and
also at Lufthansa Airlines.
It is also necessary to thank the Sikh community in
UAE for their generous hospitality by inviting the conference to attend their
Gurudwara in Dubai on the evening of Friday 26th March. They have arranged for hundreds of their
fellow Sikhs to travel to Dubai to be with us during our visit (for more
details see the programme). I would now
like to thank Ms. Priya Sridharan, our conference secretary. I am sure you
agree that she has worked very hard, diligently and efficiently. Special thank is also due to the Rotana
Hotel Group in Dubai for so cheerfully assisting us with all that we have
required. I am sure, knowing their standards well, you will all have a very
good and welcoming time here. I am
grateful to Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha for sponsoring the production of
this booklet. Thanks also to my friend and colleague Dr. Josef Boehle for his
continuous hard work in maintaining the commongood website and help in
developing the conference programme. I
must thank my wife and my sons for their support and help.
Finally, and hopefully for future conferences, as I
have been saying since our first conference in Oxford that hopefully one day
soon people of goodwill can translate their words of praise into action by
helping us more fully so that a permanent home for Globalisation for the Common
Good can be established. We have to prove St. Francis of Assisi right in that
it is in giving that we receive!
In all, it has been a wonderful experience for me
to get to know so many people of good will from different cultures and
nationalities in Dubai. I am grateful
to all of them, especially to the Persian, Canadian and the Sikh communities
and people.
This week, all of us, experienced and newcomers,
young and old, students and teachers together will form a community, committed
to exploring and debating visions and ideas for celebrating diversity,
appreciating uniqueness, enabling us to transform disagreements into
understanding and mutual respect.
In addition to plenary sessions and workshops,
there will be opportunities for informal spontaneous meetings and dialogue
between participants all through the week.
This, I sincerely hope will result in invaluable collaborative learning
experiences and networking as well as rich personal interactions. Please try to participate also in the
cultural and social activities to cement further the newly formed
friendships. I hope you will take full
advantage of all these activities.
In conclusion, I invite you to share a common
belief in the potential of each one of us to become self-directed, empowered,
and active in defining this time in the world as opportunity for positive
change and healing and for the true formation of a culture of peace by giving
thanks, spreading joy, sharing love, seeing miracles, discovering goodness,
embracing kindness, practicing patience, teaching tolerance, encouraging
laughter, celebrating diversity, showing compassion, turning from hatred,
practicing forgiveness, peacefully resolving conflicts, communicating
non-violently, choosing happiness and enjoying life.
Have
a wonderful conference.
Have
a wonderful time.
Kamran Mofid
Conference
Founder Convenor
Organising Committee in
Dubai
What could be more flattering
than being selected to serve as conference co-convener on the theme of
Globalization for the Common Good with Founder, Dr. Kamran Mofid In the 30+
years of studying and practicing psychology, I find this opportunity one of the
highlights of my career.
Today, people worldwide
need to re-think globalization as a significant part of daily life. As experts in various fields of study and
the applied professions, we have emerged from academic theorist to
practitioners without compromising our growing academic significance.
This conference further
awakens more of our world’s population to the Middle East region. Professionals from the Gulf States, and
internationally, cover topics of essence to academics, practitioners, and the
public-at-large. This is the third
conference. Hopefully it will cultivate
an emerging international consciousness of this region, as it has for the
others communities, and more areas to come…Africa, Asia, and the western
hemisphere.
Globalization for the
Common Good is of the essence in everyone’s daily life: work, play,
relationships, health, technological, spiritually as well as psychologically
and economically.
The goals of the Globalization of the Common Good Conference are, in
part, commitment to working in partnership and friendship with others,
individuals and organizations worldwide; To develop the theory and practice of
the “common good” concept and interventions, in order to significantly improve
its effectiveness; To identify and develop Leadership drawn from men and women
committed to the concept of the “Common Good”.
On today’s world we can expand our global awareness, international
understanding, and manage diversity of multicultural dimensions, with the
sophistication of communications and transportation. The world is open to most of us with the click of a button on the
computer and air travel to just about any place on the planet.
The ultimate goal: to
enrich each of us individually and enhance our knowledge in developing and
sustaining peace in all communities by fostering effective communications,
mutual understanding, and increase cooperation among all inhabitants of this
planet earth.
Dr. Raymond H. Hamden
Co-convener, and Director, Comprehensive Medical
Centre, Dubai
List of Speakers
|
Dr.
Maher Abu Munshar |
Al-Maktoum
Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, Dundee, Scotland, UK. |
|
Dr.
Yousif Asfour |
Chair,
Department of Information Technology, American University of Dubai, UAE. |
|
Professor
Hooshang Amirahmadi |
Director,
Middle East Centre, Rutgers University, USA and President, American-Iranian
Council, USA. |
|
Dr.
Josef Boehle, |
Research
Fellow, Department of Theology, University of Birmingham, UK. |
|
Agnetta
Borgman |
Research
Social Worker, Dubai, UAE. |
|
Rev.
Michael Bos |
Director,
Al Amana Centre, Sultanate of Oman. |
|
Dr.
David Coleman |
Associate
Professor of Religion, Chaminade University of Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. |
|
Professor
Suleman Dangor |
Professor
of Islamic Studies, University of Durban-Westville, South Africa. |
|
Ann-Katrin
Elis |
Post-graduate
student, Geography, Heinrich-Heine University, Duesseldorf, Germany. |
|
Mag.
Markus Glatz-Schmallegger |
Senior
researcher, Catholic Social Academy of Austria (ksoe), Vienna, Austria. |
|
Wayne
Green |
Founder-Proprietor,
Global-Affairs.co.uk |
|
Najdia
Diane Hamden |
Leadership
programmes, USA. |
|
Dr.
Raymond Hamden |
Director,
Comprehensive Medical Centre, Dubai, UAE and the Co-Convenor of the
conference. |
|
Dr.
Christopher Houghton Budd |
Director,
Centre for Associative Economics, Canterbury, UK. |
|
Hazar
Ibdah |
Department
of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, American University of Sharjah,
UAE. Iranian Business Council (I.B.C), Dubai. |
|
H.E.
Dr. Ahmad Jalali |
President
of 31st UNESCO General Assembly (2001 – 2003) and President of the
World Heritage General Assembly. |
|
Dr.
Judith Jensen |
Director,
Educational Solutions, Oregon Institute of Technology-Office of the Assistant
Provost, USA. |
|
Dr.
George Katodrytis |
Assistant
Professor of Architecture, American University of Sharjah, UAE. |
|
Jim
Kenney |
Executive
Director, Interreligious Engagement Project(USA) and Co-Editor,
Interreligious Insight: A Journal of
Dialogue and Engagement. |
|
Dr.
Kathleen Kevany |
University
of Western Ontario, Canada and United Nations University, Japan. |
|
Fazlun
Khalid |
Founder
Director, Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences,
Birmingham, UK. |
|
Dr.
Mahmood Khalil |
Head,
College of Sakhnin for Teacher Education, Israel. |
|
Audrey
Kitagawa |
Advisor,
Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children
and Armed Conflict, United Nations, UN, New York, USA. |
|
Rev.
Dr. William Lesher |
President
emeritus of the Lutheran School of Theology, Chicago and the Chair of the Board
of Trustees of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions. |
|
Mandana
Manoochehri |
Iranian
Business Council, Dubai. |
|
Bernard
Margeuritte |
President,
The International Communications Forum, Paris, France. |
|
Sr.
Beatrice Mariotti |
Headmistress,
St. Mary’s Catholic High School, Dubai, UAE. |
|
Professor
Fr. Peter Milward SJ |
Emeritus
Professor and Director, Renaissance Institute, Sofia University, Japan. |
|
Dr.
Kamran Mofid |
Founder
Convenor, An Inter-faith Perspective on Globalisation for the Common Good. |
|
Dr.
Athar Murtuza |
Seton
Hall University, USA. |
|
Ali
Owliaei |
Senior
Consultant, Crisis and Conflict, and a Managing Partner, Office for Project
Development and Strategic Planning, Tehran, Iran. |
|
Rev.
Alan Race |
Rector,
St. Andrews Church, Leicester, UK and Editor-in-Chief, Interreligious
Insight: a Journal of Dialogue and Engagement. |
|
Robert
Radin |
Businessman
& Social Activist, Calafornia, USA. |
|
Jane
Samuels |
Cultural
Development Consultant, UK. |
|
Bhai
Sahib Mohinder Singh |
Chairman,
Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha, Birmingham, UK. |
|
Jeffery
Smith |
Editor,
The Geonomist and President, Forum on Geonomics, USA. |
|
Professor
Tara Stuart |
Professor
of Education, Keene State College, USA. |
|
Professor
Toh Swee-Hin |
Director,
Multi-Faith Centre, Griffith University, Australia. |
|
Dr.
Keyvan Tabari |
Attorney
at Law, San Francisco, USA |
|
Jakob
von Uexkull |
Founder
and Chairman, The Right Livelihood Awards, London and Co-ordinator, The World
Future Council Initiative. |
|
Dr. Marie France Waxin |
Professor Adjoint, HEC Montreal, Canada. |
|
Annick
de Witt |
Social
Environmental Sciences, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands. |
|
Dr.
Lawrence Woods |
Associate
Professor of Political Science and International Studies, American University
of Sharjah, UAE. |
Friday, 26th March
|
|
Registration |
|
|
Registration
will take place throughout the day at the following hotels: Al-Bustan Towers
Rotana Jumeirah
Rotana. |
|
5.45-9.00 pm |
Visit to the Sikh Gurudwara in
Dubai |
|
5.45
pm 6.00
pm 6.30
pm 7.00
pm 8.00
pm 9.00
pm |
All
visitors to arrive at the Al-Bustan Hotel Leave
Al-Bustan Hotel by coach Arrive
at the Sikh ‘Gurudwara’ (Sikh place
of worship) The
Sikh community will be giving this visit special status, and will arrange for
all five Sikh Gurudwaras in UAE to come together for this special occasion. About
2000 members of the congregation may be present. As
we arrive at the Gurudwara ‘Kirtan’ (Sikh form of devotional singing), will
be in progress. Words
of welcome and vote of thanks Langar
(sharing of food) Coach
leaves for hotel |
Saturday, 27th March
|
8.00
am |
Welcoming
Reception and Breakfast |
|
9.00
am |
Welcome And Opening Remarks |
|
|
Dr. Kamran Mofid and Dr.
Raymond Hamden |
|
9.45
am |
Opening Addresses |
|
|
Chair: Dr. Kamran Mofid Reverend Dr. William Lesher Pathways to Peace:
Overview and Preview of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh The Contribution of Interfaith Work to a More Just and Peaceful World A Perspective from Sikhism |
|
10.45
am |
Morning Tea / Coffee |
|
11.15 am |
Session 1 Muslim - Christian Dialogue for the Common Good: |
|
|
Chair: Dr Josef Boehle Dr. Maher Abu Munshar The Qur’anic Framework concerning Muslim Treatment of non-Muslims Rev. Michael Bos Shaping Religious Communities for
the Common Good: the Gulf Experience Sr. Beatrice Mariotti Globalisation and Christian - Muslim Spiritual Dialogue in Dubai |
|
12.45
pm |
Lunch
Break |
|
2.00
pm |
Session
2 Religions and Social Justice |
|
|
Chair:
Prof. Tara Stuart Mag. Markus Glatz-
Schmallegger Religions
Acting for “Bridging and Linking Social Capital” in the Context of
Globalisation Dr. Judith Jensen Introducing
a Powerful Website to Encourage Grass Roots Inter-faith Dialogue on Economic
Social Justice Dr. Athar Murtuza Inter-faith
Values as the Foundation for Dialogue to achieve International Economic
Social Justice |
|
3.30
pm |
Coffee / Tea Break |
|
4.00
– 5.30 pm |
Session
3 An Interactive Public Forum: |
|
|
Chair:
Rev. Alan Race Dr Kamran Mofid “Businesses
do not have a natural propensity to do good. What is natural for them is to minimise
costs and maximise profits”. Editorial,
The Economist, 24 June 1995. |
|
7.45 pm |
Welcoming Dinner by the Pool |
Sunday 28th March
|
8.00
am |
Welcoming
Reception and Breakfast |
|
9.15
am |
Session
4 Religions and the Common Good |
|
|
Chair:
Jim Kenney Dr. Josef Boehle Religions
and Cooperation for the Common Good Prof. David Coleman Leadership
for Community and the Common Good Dr. Kathleen Kevany Compassion
for the Common Good: Building the Requisite Leadership and Stewardship
Capacity Prof. Suleman Dangor Can
Religion give Globalisation a Human Face? |
|
11.00
am |
Coffee
/ Tea Break |
|
11.30 am |
Session
5 Urbanisation and Cities in a Global
Age |
|
|
Chair:
Dr. Lawrence Woods Ann – Katrin Elis Dubai-
on the Way to a Global City? An Analysis from View of Geography George Katodrytis Hybird
Urbani Wayne Green The
Middle East and Lebanon: To What Extent if any did Urbanisation Contribute to
Confessional Consciousness |
|
1.00
pm |
Lunch
Break |
|
2.00
pm |
Session
6 Globalisation and Civilisations |
|
|
Chair:
Rev. Michael Bos Fazlun Khalid Globalisation,
Modernity and Tradition Jim Kenney and Rev. Alan
Race Globalisation
and a Dialogue of Civilisations Dr. Lawrence Woods and
Hazar Ibdah Al-
Andalus and Contemporary Globalisation |
|
3.30
pm |
Coffee
/ Tea Break |
|
6.30pm |
Persian Evening Sponsored by the
Iranian Business Council (I.B.D.), Dubai
|
|
6.30
pm 7.10
pm 7.30
pm 8.00
pm 8.30
pm 9.30
pm |
Iran and Globalisation
for the Common Good Registration
& I.B.C Presentation Dr. Kamran Mofid, Globalisation for the Common
Good Dr. Hooshang Amirahmadi, The Place of Iran in
the New Global Community H. E. Dr. Ahmad Jalali, Ethics and Globalisation: an Oriental
Approach Dinner Traditional
Persian Music and Entertainment |
Monday 29th March
|
8.00
am |
Welcoming
Reception and Breakfast |
|
9.15
am |
Session
7 Ethical Perspectives on
Globalisation |
|
|
|