Politics, not religion, at the heart of growing Muslim-West divide, new report argues

(ISTANBUL, TURKEY 13 November) The key reasons for the growing divide between
Muslim and Western societies are not religious, but political, concludes a report presented to
Secretary-General Kofi Annan today in Istanbul.

On receiving the report, the Secretary-General said: “We need to get away from stereotypes,
generalizations and preconceptions, and take care not to let crimes committed by individuals or
small groups dictate our image of an entire people, an entire region, or an entire religion.
“We should start by reaffirming – and demonstrating – that the problem is not the Koran, nor
the Torah or the Bible. Indeed, I have often said the problem is never the faith – it is the
faithful, and how they behave towards each other.”

In its report, the High-level Group of the Alliance of Civilizations maintains that although
religion is often cynically exploited to stir passions, fuel suspicions and support alarmist
claims that the world is facing a new “war of religion”, the root of the matter is political.
Furthermore, the Arab-Israeli conflict has become a critical symbol of the deepening rift.
Along with Western military interventions in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan the Group
argues, this conflict contributes significantly to the growing sense of resentment and mistrust
that mars relations among communities. The report also suggests that the repression of nonviolent
political opposition and the slow pace of reforms in some Muslim countries is a key
factor in the rise of extremism.

The Co-chairs of the Group presented the report to the Secretary-General as well as to the
Prime Ministers of Spain and Turkey, as co-sponsoring governments of the Alliance initiative.
In his address, the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said: “At a time when the
increasing polarization between major cultures and belief systems throughout the world
urgently needs to be addressed, the presentation of this Report and its recommendations to the
international community constitutes a hopeful and exciting step in efforts to sow the seeds of
respect and understanding.”

The High-level Group – a panel of 20 world renowned experts (see full list below) – was
appointed by Secretary-General Annan a year ago to explore ways of addressing the increasing
polarization between Muslim and Western societies.

Speaking at the event, the Spanish Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, said: “We
cannot stand idle in the face of claims that a clash of cultures and civilizations is inevitable. In
our efforts to counter them … we can count on international law, on the UN, on human rights,
and, above all, we can count on the equal dignity of all men and women and on our unique
capacity for dialogue and conflict resolution. From now on, we will also count on the Alliance
of Civilizations.”

In order to address the issues outlined in their report, members of the High-level Group offer a
number of practical solutions, including:

• A High Representative to assist the Secretary-General in defusing crises that arise at the
intersection of religion and politics and to oversee the implementation of the Report’s
recommendations.
• A White Paper analyzing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict dispassionately and objectively,
giving voice to the competing narratives on both sides, reviewing and diagnosing the
successes and failures of past peace initiatives, and establishing clearly the conditions
that must be met to find a way out of this crisis. In addition, the High-level Group called
for the resumption of the political process, including the convening of an international
conference on the Middle East Peace Process as soon as possible.
• A regional Middle East conference to be convened as soon as possible and involving all
the relevant actors with aim of reinvigorating the peace process.
• Support for the expansion of political pluralism in Muslim countries. The High-level
Group calls on ruling parties in the Muslim world to provide the space for the full
participation of non-violent political parties, whether religious or secular in nature and
calls on foreign governments to be consistent in their support for pluralism by, for
example, respecting the outcome of elections.
The Report puts forward a range of concrete proposals in the areas of education, media, youth
and migration to build bridges and promote a culture of respect and understanding among
Western and Muslim communities, including:
• The development of film and television programs co-produced across religious and
cultural boundaries and showing diversity as a normal feature of society.
• The establishment of a “Risk Fund” to offset the market forces that encourage mostly
sensationalistic and stereotypical cultural representations.
• The creation of a Global Youth Solidarity Fund, to encourage young people to
contribute to the implementation of all of the recommendations set forth in this report.
• The promotion of cross-cultural and human rights education to ensure that students
everywhere develop an understanding of other cultures and religions.

Further recommendations are included in the attached “Highlights of the Report”.
The report comes at the end of a year-long process in which the Group had three main
meetings – in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Doha, Qatar and Dakar, Senegal – as well as a
working session in New York. Their work was supported by extensive analysis and research
conducted and commissioned by the Alliance of Civilizations Secretariat in New York as well
as through consultations with a wide range of multilateral agencies and international
organizations.

For more information about the Alliance of Civilizations, to download a copy of the report and to
see interviews with High-level Group members, please visit: http://www.unaoc.org. Individual members
of the group are available in Istanbul for interviews through Carlos Jimenez Renjifo (Tel: +32-
475-782 802; .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) or Emmanuel Kattan (Tel: +90 537 575 1355; .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)).
For interviews following the launch, you may also contact Renata Sivacolundhu at UNHQ in New
York (Tel: +1 212 963 2932; .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)).

High-level Group Members
Professor Federico Mayor
High-level Group Co-Chair and President of the
Culture of Peace Foundation and Former Director
General of UNESCO
Professor Mehmet Aydin
High-level Group Co-Chair
Minister of State of Turkey and Professor of
Philosophy
Mr Ali Alatas
Former Foreign Minister, Indonesia
Ms Karen Armstrong
Historian of Religion
Mr. André Azoulay
Adviser to His Majesty King Mohammed VI of
Morocco
Ms. Shobana Bhartia
Managing Director of the Hindustan Times, New
Delhi
Dr Mohamed Charfi
Former Education Minister of Tunisia
Professor John Esposito
Founding Director, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal
Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding,
Georgetown University and Editor-in-Chief,
Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World
Professor Pan Guang
Director and Professor, Shanghai Academy of
Social Sciences
Mr Enrique V. Iglesias
Ibero-American Secretary-General and Former
President, Inter American Development Bank
H.E. Hojjatoleslam Seyyed Mohammad
Khatami
Former President of Iran
Professor Candido Antonio Mendes De
Almeida
Secretary General, Académie de la Latinité
H.H. Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned
Consort of the Emir of the State of Qatar and
Chairperson of the Qatar Foundation for
Education, Science and Community
Development
Professor Vitaly Naumkin
President of the International Center for Strategic
and Political Studies and Chair of Faculty of
World Politics, Moscow State University
Mr. Moustapha Niasse
Former Prime Minister of Senegal
Dr. Nafis Sadik
Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General
Rabbi Arthur Schneier
President, Appeal of Conscience Foundation and
Senior Rabbi, Park East Synagogue
Dr. Ismail Serageldin
President, Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Desmond Mpilo Tutu
The Rt. Hon. Archbishop of Cape Town
Mr. Hubert Védrine
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of France