Speeches & Articles

Keynote address by Consul General Beth A. Payne
Seminar on Interfaith Dialogue,
Khuda Baksh Library, Patna, Bihar
December 20, 2008

December 20, 2008

Dr. Imtiaz Ahmed, Director, Khuda Baksh Library
Dr. Shamim Munimi
Acharya Kishore Kunal
Father Paul Jackson
Mr. Dhariwal
Ladies and Gentlemen

First, I would like to thank Dr. Imtiaz Ahmed for giving us this opportunity to gather here at the historic Khuda Baksh Library to talk about the most important issue facing us today – that is the need to bring the people of the world together in a global dialogue.  While it’s true that recent developments in communication and the emergence of a global economy have made countries and cultures more dependent on one other, we still have a long way to go in terms of understanding and respecting one another’s way of life.  Learning about each others faiths, one of the most important aspects of human culture, is key to gaining a better understanding of our different cultures.

It was just over a year ago that the world celebrated the 800th anniversary of the birth of Maulana Jalaludin Rumi, the great poet and mystic from present-day Afghanistan.  To mark that anniversary, Dr. Ahmed and the Khuda Baksh Library held a two-day seminar that included speakers from many communities, both from here in India and from abroad.  Rumi’s message of universal tolerance, respect and peace is a model for what we can become.  The American Center in Kolkata was proud to participate in that seminar.
 
The U.S., like India, is a multicultural society struggling to provide equal opportunities for all of its very diverse ethnic and religious communities.  Rumi and his message have in recent years become quite popular in the U.S. amongst Muslims and non-Muslims alike.  Rumi’s message transcends boundaries and leads us to respect our neighbors, and to see the value in each other’s worldviews.
 
I have already said that religion, and faith, can help us break down barriers to understanding.  Fortunately many others share this view.  In September, 33 countries participated in the United Nations Conference on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace in New York.  In addition to governments and UN agencies, the event drew wide participation from religious and civic leaders from around the world. 
 
The tone was set by President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal, who in his address to the participants said that “interfaith dialogue has become a necessity,” in order to fight “suspicion, ignorance and contempt for people of other cultures.”  President Wade, who is a Muslim, went on to say that there is no justification for violence in the Koran, and that the Koran’s message has always been one of harmony among peoples and cultures.
 
Mr. Alberto Romulo, Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, highlighted why religious leaders are important in our quest to increase tolerance for diversity.  He pointed out that responsibility for “some of the atrocities which the world encounters rest squarely at the doors of proponents of various religions.”  This is important, and central to why we must mobilize religious voices now – because religion has been, and will continue to be, a source of potential conflict.  It is therefore essential to include religion and religious actors in our efforts to increase tolerance.
 
How can we do this?  Interfaith dialogue, like what we are doing here today, is the best way to start.  Interfaith dialogue brings people from different faiths together for conversations.  These conversations can take an array of forms and formats, they can target elites, the common people, or both at the same time -- and they can take place anywhere.  These conversations should not be a debate; the aim of a dialogue, in spite of differences of opinion by the participants, is to gain understanding and acceptance. 
 
Those who engage in dialogue do not seek to defeat or silence the other person, nor should they adopt a defensive attitude towards their own faith.  Rather they seek to find out about the other person’s faith and to understand what motivates them.  Only then can you have a real conversation.
 
I am gratified to see that interfaith dialogues are springing up all over America.  If you google “interfaith ministries” you will come up with hundreds of sites sponsored by churches, mosques and temples across the United States that describe the work that they are doing in their neighborhoods to bring people of different faiths together for conversations.  Most of these dialogues are being done on a small scale, among people who live near each other and have children who attend the same schools.  This is the way that we have started to root out intolerance: at the grassroots level, people to people, and it is making a difference.  Just a few years ago some claimed that it was impossible for an African-American with a Muslim middle name to become President of the United States.  Obviously they were wrong!

It seems to me that what we lack today in our globalized world is trust.  We may be able to pick up the phone and talk to a business partner on the other side of the world, but do we trust that person, or his society, faith and culture, on a personal level?  Maybe not, if it seems incomprehensible to us.  However, when we meet in person and share our thoughts and cultures, we build understanding and therefore trust.  There was a time when many Americans had never met a Hindu, or a Muslim, or a Buddhist.  However, with the wide diversity of immigrants seeking opportunity in the U.S. and setting up lives not just in large cities but in small towns, Americans are getting to know a wide variety of different ethnic and religious group & American citizens now reflect the world community.
 
I believe that every person on this planet wants a safe and meaningful life for him or herself and family.  I also believe that when we sit down and talk together, when we work together on a project, when we come to know each other as friends, then we can achieve that dream throughout the world.  I look forward to talking to you, and sharing with you my culture and values and my hopes and fears and dreams.  Even more, I look forward to hearing from you. 

I imagine that we have a lot in common and that understanding our differences will make us better friends!

Thank you – Shukria – Dhanyawad.