Dialogue in a changeable world [Archives:2006/946/Opinion]
By: Prof. Abdulaziz Al-Tarb
If you want to approach someone and wanted to remove whatever barriers between him and yourself, a logical and constructive dialogue is conducted between both of you. Such a behavior applicable between persons and individuals can be applicable to relations among states and civilizations.
To remove the fabricated gap between Islam and the west each party must know the party's principles, ideas, objectives and intentions. This could not be attained unless there is dialogue. You present your own intentions and I present you with my own intentions and purposes as they are and then the deformed and false image would have been removed. The religion of Islam is a religion of dialogue and its principal principle is that there is compelling in religion.
Hence, the history has not witnessed a program more open to dialogue than that of the Prophet Mohammed. History has not witnessed a ruler more patient towards iniquity of debating parties and their injustice more than him, despite of the long distances, difficulty of traveling and its dangers. The Prophet was used to send to those dialogues such men as having strong faith in religion and entertained a huge ability of knowledge and tolerance of pain.
Dialogue associated with mutual respect is a necessary demand at a time when some are ignorant about the truth and reality of Islam and its civilization. Dialogue is the sole means for displaying facts and truths. The more we contact the world the more we would be able to portray the real image that has been deformed by those with evil intentions as well as the deformation perpetrated by some Muslims out of ignorance or without it.
The language of dialogue must benefit from the essence of the experiment and changes taking place in the world and also from its lessons. Nevertheless, we have no right to accuse the other of being our enemy and conspire against us because surely this is not in favor of our international relations and does not serve the reciprocal interests with the other. If we, the Arabs and Muslims, are not able to conduct dialogue among ourselves, how can we then ask for success with the other while we refuse self-criticism and have not put to motion the wheel of internal dialogue?
It remains very important to activate the dialogue leading to interaction and rectification, first of all at the internal level. It is one of the characteristics of the contemporary international community. The Arab media still believe that the traditional language among governments is the ideal one. This is a mistake because the experiment and reality proved the opposite in the west. Their public opinion is the motivator and the effective and the west has assimilated the lessons very well and the Arab media cannot appeal to the western media but with science and thinking with truthfulness and clarity rather than sedition, accusation of betrayal and creation of sorts of tension and confusion.
I follow up with great interest what is going on in Yemen first and in the rest of Arab countries of dialogues about the future of the political action and the aspired for reforms. I have reached to a full conviction that peoples are not built by trading insulting words for each other. The ruler should know and realize that tomorrow he would go to the opposition. Therefore, he must maintain the stage of genuine dialogue towards the best with a way respecting the other's submissions and views whatever different the other's programs and goals are. We have to agree on knowing the shortcomings in the way of dealing with each other and to reform the house from inside in order to occupy our position among other nations. We have to understand these bases in our daily dialogues at home, school, office or the party!
Prof. Abdulaziz Al-Tarb is an economist and a professor in Political Science. He is the head of a number of professional associations, such as the Arab Group for Investment and Development.
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