At an interactive, interreligious breakfast that gathered interreligious dialogue practitioners from around the world, as well as diplomats and stakeholders from intergovernmental organisations, policy-makers, civil society and the media, the KAICIID Advisory Forum held its first public dialogue just one day after its constituent meeting.

In opening the dialogue, KAICIID Secretary General Faisal Bin Muaammar noted that the interactive breakfast’s dialogue focused on a challenge to our societies’ communal peace, violent extremism. He stressed that extremists falsely claim a religious justification that is denounced by all responsible religious and political authorities.

The key question is “whether we can encourage cooperation through interreligious dialogue to combat prejudice and promote respect for those we see as strangers.”

In the subsequent dialogue, there were many significant points of agreement among the 80 participants, held on 11 April 2016 in Vienna.

A clear consensus emerged that among the religions there are many more commonalities than differences. Interreligious bridges are being built in many locations between and within communities. Less well appreciated outside the interreligious circles is the untapped potential of religious community leaders’ knowledge and experience in strengthening community cohesion. This knowledge can be used more widely and systematically to support civil society and policy makers in finding sustainable ways to ensure that cohesion remains resilient. Together, religious community leaders also serve as credible advocates for pluralism and can sway the opinion of billions of people to support dialogue and diversity. Dialogue is the most effective means of solving problems without resorting to violence. To that end, dialogue should be used to unify a common narrative that rejects prejudice and makes a public stand in support of the rights of the others.

Promoting interreligious dialogue also entails overcoming challenges in expanding the circle of practitioners beyond the current elite group of religious leader to the grassroots.  There was broad agreement that real dialogue requires practitioners to ‘leave their cloisters’ and to go to the others, to open closed doors. In a time of increasing conflict and violence in the name of religion, practitioners will need to engage the media and relate the stories of the hundreds of acts of interreligious kindness that occur for every act of violence in the name of religion. In times of extremist violence, it is clear that dialogue must be pursued vigorously, proactively and continuously to engage the young and actively prevent their recruitment to violent actions.                                                                                  

The participants discussed the vision of KAICIID as the home for dialogue, where all work for the peace and safety of all people. The inclusion of women and youth in dialogue was supported through a unanimous call for women and youth to enjoy equal rights, equal treatment and equal opportunity to become empowered members of society.

As the experiences of successful conflict reconciliation through dialogue have proven, engagement between communities can lead to the restoration of peace. At the same time, it is vital that religious leaders make every effort to disengage religion from conflict. The goal of interreligious dialogue is to build cohesive societies, which means that no religious community can be rejected.

Religion is the profound expression of a deep yearning for a unifying vision for humankind that is felt by all people, believers and non-believers alike. Interreligious dialogue represents a timely and invaluable opportunity to offer people a diversity of visions that exemplify the beautiful tenets of all religions. It is this vision of a peaceful coexistence that is exemplified by the common teachings of all religions that must be effectively communicated to policy makers from the heads of government to local community leaders.

The members of the Advisory Forum and the Board of Directors called upon KAICIID to repeat these interreligious meetings.