APPROACHES TO QURAN

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WHERE HOPE TAKES ROOT

• BY KAMALUDDIN ALI MUHAMMAD

Online Resource http//www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblo
g/category/collections/where-hope-takes-root/
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THREE CONDITIONS

• I put it to you that no human development
  initiative can be sustainable unless we are
  successful in achieving three essential
  conditions.
• First, we must operate in an environment that
  invests in, rather than seeks to stifle,
  pluralism and diversity.
• Second, we must have an extensive and engaged
  civil society.
• And third, we must have stable and competent
  democratic governance.
• (Nobel Institute, Oslo, Norway, 7 April 2005)

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PLURALISM(Definition)

• Pluralism means peoples of diverse backgrounds
  and interests, coming together in organizations
  of varying types and goals, for different kinds
  and forms of creative expression, which are
  valuable and deserving of support by government
  and society as a whole.
• I deeply believe that our collective conscience
  must accept that pluralism is no less important
  than human rights for ensuring peace, successful
  democracy and a better quality of life.
• (Leadership and Diversity Conference Gatineau,
  Quebec, Canada, May 19, 2004 )

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SUPPORTING PLURALISM

• It is my conviction that the strengthening of
  institutions supporting pluralism is as critical
  for the welfare and progress of human society as
  are poverty alleviation and conflict prevention.
  In fact all three are intimately related.
• (Prince Claus Fund's Conference on Culture and
  Development, Amsterdam, September 7, 2002)

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NURTURING PLURALISM

• Developing support for pluralism does not occur
  naturally in human society. It is a concept which
  must be nurtured every day, in every forum -- in
  large and small government and private
  institutions in civil society organizations
  working in the arts, culture, and public affairs,
  in the media in the law, and in justice --
  particularly in terms of social justice, such as
  health, social safety nets and education and in
  economic justice, such as employment
  opportunities and access to financial services.
• (Prince Claus Fund's Conference on Culture and
  Development, Amsterdam, 7th September 2002)

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KNOWLEDGE ABOUT MUSLIM CIVILIZATIONS

• It is my profound belief that the
  Judeo-Christian world will find it a hopeless
  endeavour to try to address the issues of
  democracy, civil society and pluralism in the
  Muslim world unless a major effort and I mean
  an absolutely major effort is made by the
  Judeo-Christian world to acquire deeper and wider
  knowledge about Muslim civilizations. This is a
  first step toward building dialogue and
  understanding.
• Continue

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KNOWLEDGE ABOUT MUSLIM CIVILIZATIONS

• the effort I am describing will have to be
  systematic and extended over many decades to be
  successful. It must reach a wide spectrum of
  students in secondary schools and not be
  restricted to the specialized knowledge of higher
  education as it is today.
• (Annual Conference of German Ambassadors, Berlin,
  Germany, September 6, 2004)

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TOLERANCE

• The spiritual roots of tolerance include, it
  seems to me, a respect for individual conscience
  - seen as a Gift of God - as well as a posture of
  religious humility before the Divine. It is by
  accepting our human limits that we can come to
  see The Other as a fellow seeker of truth -- and
  to find common ground in our common quest.
• (Tutzing Evangelical Academy, Tutzing, Germany,
• May 20, 2006)

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GLOBAL CENTRE FOR PURALISM

• The AKDN has begun to formalize its support
  for democracy, pluralism and civil society
  through the establishment of a Global Centre for
  Pluralism in Ottawa. This education and research
  centre will work closely with governments,
  academia and civil society to foster legislation
  and policy to strengthen local capacity for
  enhancing pluralism.
• (Annual Conference of German Ambassadors, Berlin,
  Germany, September 6, 2004)

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CIVIL SOCIETY (Definition)

• The World Bank uses the term to refer to a wide
  array of organizations that have a presence in
  public life but are not affiliated to the state.
  They function on a not-for-profit basis to
  express the interests and values of their members
  and others, based on ethical, cultural,
  political, scientific, religious or philanthropic
  considerations. In this sense, civil society
  organizations are multifarious from community
  and indigenous groups through faith-based and
  charitable organizations, to non-governmental
  organizations (NGOs), labour unions, professional
  associations and foundations.
• Continue

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CIVIL SOCIETY (Definition)

• But there is a broader definition that holds
  that civil society embraces an even wider
  diversity of spaces, actors and institutional
  forms that vary in their degree of formality,
  autonomy and power. Besides the Banks
  categories, these spaces are populated by such
  organizations as village and womens groups,
  neighbourhood self-help groups, social movements,
  business associations, microcredit organizations,
  coalitions and advocacy groups.
• (Convocation of the University of Torontos
  Ontario Institute for Studies in Education,
  Toronto, Canada, June 18, 2004 )

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IMPORTANCE OF CIVIL SOCIETY

• No country to my knowledge can achieve stable
  continuous growth if its civil society is
  constrained by inherent institutional
  instability.
• (Annual Meeting of The European Bank for
  Reconstruction and Development, Tashkent,
  Uzbekistan, May 5, 2003)

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DEMOCRACY

• Three concepts seem to me to be essential in
  creating, stabilizing and strengthening democracy
  around the world, including among the people of
  Africa and Asia with whom I have worked in the
  past. These concepts are meritocracy, pluralism
  and civil society.
• (Leadership and Diversity Conference Gatineau,
  Quebec, Canada, May 19, 2004 )

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FAILED DEMOCRACIES
Much of the worlds attention is periodically
focused on the phenomenon of so-called failed
states. But of the global threats that face us
today, apart from nuclear war or HIV/AIDS, the
most preoccupying is not failed states. It is the
failure of democracy. The global picture at the
beginning of the 21st century is a story of
failed democracies in the Muslim world, in Latin
America, in Eastern Europe and in sub-Saharan
Africa. A startling fact today is that nearly
forty percent of UN member nations are failed
democracies. The greatest risk to the West
itself, and to its values, is therefore the
accumulation of failed democracies. (Governor
Generals Leadership Conference , Gatineau,
Canada, May 19, 2004)
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DEMOCRACY IS FRAGILE

• The point is this democracy is fragile. It is
  susceptible to failure at any time, in any
  society. The experience of Europe in the last
  fifty years should also be a sobering reminder of
  another unfortunate truism. Elections and the
  existence of political parties do not by
  themselves guarantee stable governments,
  competent political leadership and respect for
  the constitution. Nor do they guarantee good
  economic management and the absence of
  corruption.
• If this has been the experience in the
  birthplace of modern democracy, I must urge you
  to be patiently supportive of democratic
  experiments in the Middle East and in the wider
  developing world.
• (Annual Conference of German Ambassadors, Berlin,
  Germany, September 6, 2004)

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I AM A DEMOCRAT

• Sometimes I read that Islam is in conflict
  with democracy. Yet I must tell you that as a
  Muslim, I am a democrat not because of Greek or
  French thought, but primarily because of
  principles that go back 1400 years, directly
  after the death of Prophet Muhammad (peace be
  upon him).
• (Annual Conference of German Ambassadors, Berlin,
  Germany, September 6, 2004)

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SPECIAL THANKS TO

• AKBAR ABDUL MAJEED HUDA (RBKB)
• HINA ABDUL MAJEED HUDA
• AMIR ALI KASSIM ALI (HRD)
• For their help in preparing the presentation

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• THANK YOU