Dialogue of Culture is the Only Way to Stop Clash of Civilizations

By Dr.M.A.Quassem

General Secretary,Bangladesh Peace Council

Please allow me to thank the CPAPD comrades for offering me an opportunity to share my views on such an important issue at such a crucial time of history in this esteemed gathering.

I had been in Zinjiang in 1998.On way from airport to the city I noticed a number of big gates decorated with the slogan“Let Ziang go to the world,let the world come to Ziang”.This is an eternal message of mutuality and“give and take relationship”,which is true for all countries and civilizations,and has been carried forward through the ages.Civilizations have become richer and more colorful with exchanges and mutual learning.Such exchanges and mutual learning form an important drive for human progress and global peace and development.

Exchanges and learning between various civilizations and cultures dates back to the ages when people started trading.One example may be useful here.We all know about the Silk Road or the Silk Route which originated from China and travelled through China,Persia,Europe,Arabia,Persian,Rome,Armenia,Indian subcontinent,Bactrians during various periods of time.Though silk was the major trade item,various technologies,religions,and philosophies also travelled along the Silk Route introducing each others culture and promoting cultural ties among the civilizations by linking traders,merchants,pilgrims,monks,soldiers,nomads,and urban dwellers.Many artistic influences were transmitted via the Silk Road,particularly through Central Asia,where Hellenistic,Iranian,Indian and Chinese influences could intermix.Greco-Buddhist art represents one of the most vivid examples of this interaction.Silk was also a representation of art.

About fifteen hundred years ago,reverend Atish Dipankar,a Budhist monk from Vikrampur(Bangladesh)travelled to China and Indonesia for learning and disseminating knowledge.More than thousand years ago,Nalanda(India)and Shalbon Vihar(Bangladesh)had been the centres of learning,where learners from different countries of the region used to come.Hsüantsang(Xuanzang c.602–664)-a Chinese Buddhist monk and scholar is still referred to by the Indian scholars for his seventeen-year overland journey to India in 7thcentury for learning Buddhist sculptures.FaHien(Faxian 337–c.422)was another Chinese Buddhist monk and scholar who travelled by foot all the way from China to India,visiting many sacred Buddhist sites in Xinjiang,China,Pakistan,India,Nepal,Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the 4thcentury to study the Buddhist scriptures.

The cultural influences can be seen in the development of Buddhism where for instance,Buddha was first depicted as human in the Kushan period in India,which has been attributed by many scholars to Greek influence.The mixture of Greek and Indian elements can be found in later Buddhist ar tin China and throughout countries on the Silk Road.

Such exchanges also took place through maritime trade routes across the Indian Ocean,Mediterranian sea,Persian gulf to Alexandria in Egypt and Guangzhouin China,Thailand,Malacca,Ceylon,Italy(Venice)in the Mediterranean Sea(East China and South China Sea Routes).In the early 15th century,Zheng He,the famous Chinese navigator of the Ming Dynasty,made voyages across the Western Seas to Indonesia archipelago leaving nice stories of friendly exchanges.

The over 4,000-year history of exchanges and learning between civilizations demonstrate that on the basis of solidarity,mutual trust,equality,inclusiveness,mutual learning and win win cooperation,countries of different races,beliefs and cultural backgrounds are fully capable of sharing economic development,culture and peace.This can bring valuable inspiration for us.

Needless to mention that those were the days–thousands and centuries ago-when transport on land was accomplished using river craft and pack animals,notably the sturdy Bactrian camel.Travel by sea depended on the prevailing winds of the Indian Ocean,and upon the monsoons(winds which blow from the southwest during the summer months and from the northeast in the autumn);socio-economically the world was less divided in religion,ideas and philosophies;socio-economic conditions were less complex.

Today we are living in completely changed circumstances;we are living in a complex world with much more diversified social and economic systems,highly diversified regional demographic change,qualitative increase in socio-economic and political aspirations of mankind;and,astronomical advancement of science and technology.Beyond the imagination of our ancestors,today,we can travel by air,overland has become simpler,faster,luxurious and safe;while travel by land and sea also has become secured,fast,luxurious and throughout the year.These developments coupled with the influence of globalization,have geometrically increased collaboration in industries,trade and commerce as well as education and learning between civilizations,and cultures of the East and the West,between the North and the South.

This is one side of the coin;the other side is not as positive–rather shaded by man-made conflicts.Mutual exchanges,which I have narrated earlier,has been dark-shaded by mutual incomprehension and miscomprehension by the so-called clash of civilization-as the religious and attitudinal differences between the East and the West,between the Christians and the Muslims-was philosophized by President George W.Bush–failing to realize that the principles of behaviour which guide a good Jew,a Muslim or a Christian have more in common than one generally might think of.Incomprehension by such persons ignores the issues,which our societies are facing today are very similar–reconciling old and new values,demographic and economic changes and finding jobs and opportunities for the young.There is no denying that-neither,one cannot turn a blind eye to the deep-seated resentment,anger,frustration felt by the Muslims world over due to longstanding failure to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,and insecurity felt by the Muslims in the West;nor,Muslim nations the world over can ignore the mounting concern of world population about the violence and terroristic attacks by the Islamic fundamentalists.

Apart from such deep-rooted issues,I can cite two interesting examples of misunderstanding between civilizations–one is day-to-day behavioral and the other is cultural.Firstly,about behavior–in the Indian subcontinent we move our head up and down to mean“Yes”,and to right and left to mean“No”.The people of East Asia like China,Japan,Vietnam move their head to mean the opposite to what we mean.This I realized,when I first worked with a Japanese consultant in 1970.The other example is-the good Christians were shocked and baffled by the strength of feeling and outrage of the Muslim world;and in some cases,violence,which was evoked by the Incident of publishing a cartoon on the Prophet Muhammad(peace be on Him).On the other hand,the Muslim world did not understand why the good Christians were shocked and baffled by the strength of feeling and outrage of the Muslim world.

Dialogue of cultures through mutual exchanges and learning among different civilizations and religions through various means,such as holding of conferences,exchange of academic scholarships and cultural visits of working people’s and civil society’s representatives,academics and parliamentarians,professionals,young students,to enable them to draw on each other's strength and achieve common progress-is the only way to stop the so-called clash of civilizations.Improving understanding,promoting tolerance and deepening respect should be our watchwords to improve understanding between different cultures,religions,ethnic groups,skin colours within a country,in a region and around the world.Clash of civilization is really not any threat,“the real threat is a clash of ignorance.Difficult though it may be,we must seize every opportunity for dialogue and foster mutual respect and understanding”.Such dialogue should be held at all levels of society–public institutions,religious and cultural leaders,civil society and the media.

These developments coupled with the influence of globalization has brought countries closer;and,has geometrically increased collaboration in industries,trade and commerce as well as education and learning between the East and the West,between the North and the South–between civilizations and cultures.At the same time it must be pointed that under the influence of globalization and neo-liberal ideology,education and learning is being turned into a commodity(commoditization)and framing education and learning in market terms(marketization);learning has increasingly been seen as a commodity or as an investment rather than as a way of exploring what might make for good life and well-being of society;national educational systems are threatened-forgetting that education ever had any purpose other than to promote only growth.Under the market ideologies and consumer culture,the learners are being transformed as‘intense consumers’.So along with promotion of exchanges and learning between civilizations and cultures,we also need to emphasize that it is for human flourishing,well-being of mankind and participation in common life.

Finally,I would like to confirm that Bangladesh Peace Council takes inspiration from the recent speeches of the President of China,H.E.Comrade XI Xinping’s speeches and initiative to accomplish their internationalist responsibility of promoting peace and stability,development and progress–in a win-win situation-by broadening cultural exchanges and mutual learning;and,“to turn China into a modern socialist country that is prosperous,strong,democratic,culturally advanced and harmonious”.

Thank you all.