Cebu to host inter-faith dialogue

The Philippines will host an international inter-faith dialogue in Cebu next month to deepen understanding among various faiths and cultures all over the world, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced yesterday.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said the controversy created by the publication of offensive cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in several European newspapers has given added relevance to the proposal for an interfaith dialogue for peace.

"We must deepen the understanding among various faiths and cultures all over the world. It is a question of really understanding and, eventually, trusting each other. That is why the Philippines will be hosting this March an interfaith dialogue in Cebu," Romulo said.

While the Philippines has been hosting inter-faith dialogues locally, Romulo said the dialogue that the country will host next month will be international.

"Now we will have this inter-faith dialogue in Cebu. So we have to continue this. The more so now because we cannot allow misunderstandings to deepen. Instead of being friends and brothers and sisters, misunderstanding divides us," he said.

The Philippine Mission to the United Nations joined on Friday the international community’s call for restraint and sobriety in the wake of violent protests worldwide triggered by the publication of the offensive cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

Ambassador Lauro Baja Jr., Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said countries in the world must learn from this sad experience the importance of religious tolerance and mutual respect.

Instead of debating freedom of expression vis-à-vis religious freedom, Baja said the international community should focus its attention now on the need to diffuse the escalating rhetoric and violence that resulted in the publication of distasteful cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

The cartoons, which were published in September by a Danish newspaper and republished recently by several publications in Europe and other countries, triggered massive protests across the globe. At least five persons were killed in Afghanistan and Lebanon while the Danish missions in Beirut and Damascus were torched by angry mobs.

The Philippines has been at the forefront of the inter-faith initiative at the UN, having been instrumental in convening the Conference on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace last year.

In September, President Arroyo chaired the Informal Summit on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace which was participated in by 15 world leaders who adopted a declaration highlighting the mutually inclusive and mutually reinforcing inter-religious, inter-cultural and inter-civilizational initiatives designed to promote peace at the local, national, regional and international levels.

The informal summit was followed by the Security Council Summit in September 2005, also chaired by Mrs. Arroyo, which adopted Resolution 1624 calling upon all States "to continue international efforts to enhance dialogue and broaden understanding among civilizations, in an effort to prevent the indiscriminate targeting of different religions and cultures."

In November, the Philippines scored a major victory after the General Assembly unanimously adopted a Philippine-initiated resolution on the promotion of inter-religious dialogue and cooperation for peace.

The Philippine-initiated resolution entitled "Promotion of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace" was co-sponsored by 45 other member-states and was adopted by consensus.