On September 26-27, 2019, the MED-HUB project organized a workshop in Trieste, Italy on Values and Religion in the Euro-Mediterranean Region »Towards the Tolerant and Plural Dialogues of Values and Religions in the Euro Mediterranean« with the aim of mapping the relevant knowledge and discussing the latest research results in terms of values and religion throughout the EURO-MED region, with special focus on contemporary theories and practices of interreligious dialogues in this region. Cornelis Hulsman was invited to this workshop to speak about his work with the Arab-West Report in Egypt. Hulsman explained that when he started his work in 1997, Prof. Dr. Herman G.B. Teule, then director of the Institute of Eastern Christian Studies at the Radboud University in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, asked him to write about his ideals regarding how to bridge the gap between peoples of different religions and cultures. Hulsman had noted that many people act on a basis of what they believe to be true instead of employing actual facts or an understanding of the other. He had also seen how different Arab authors present issues which most Western readers are unaware of due to the language barrier. Thus, Hulsman proposed to Prof. Teule the creation of an electronic database with a thorough search system that would provide readers with rapid insights into different ways of thinking and reporting from what most audiences are used to seeing. The original aim was to collect data from different Arab countries and Europe so as to make this accessible in different languages, including English and Arabic. However, due to financial reasons this has never materialized. That said, with limited donor funding, Hulsman has been able to establish a large database focused on contemporary discussions regarding the role of religion in Egyptian society. This has attracted students worldwide who come to intern and contribute to the database. In this way the Arab-West Report has become a major and effective hub for Muslim-Christian understanding in Egypt and an example of how this could be set up in other countries as well. Hulsman has also demonstrated that the costs of doing so do not need to be large while demonstrating a good standard of influence.

The report was written by Prof. Dr. Lenart Škof (scientific coordinator) and other workshop collaborators. To read the full text, click "read more" or visit: http://medhub.emuni.si/

The MED-HUB project organized this workshop with the aim of mapping the relevant knowledge and discussing latest research results in terms of values and religion throughout the EURO-MED region, with special focus on contemporary theories and practices of interreligious dialogues in the region. The purpose of the workshop was that by creating a community of scholars, teachers and other relevant stakeholders (NGOs, associations, etc.) will be able to suggest new ways of how to teach future Euro-Mediterranean studies in the field of interreligious dialogue and education. The main topics addressed at this workshop were the following:

• Current theories and practices of interreligious dialogue and related kinds of intercultural communication
• Values and paths of interreligious dialogues in the era of (in)security and fear
• Addressing the limitations and recent cultural criticisms of interreligious dialogue
• Particularities of the history and present situation of interreligious relations in the Euro-Mediterranean and its relevance for the future of interreligious relationships
• The importance of the common values for intercultural negotiation and education, in the context of religious and worldview differences in the Euro-Mediterranean region
• Educational aspects: ways towards teaching youth a tolerant dialogue between cultures, values and religions
• Intercultural dialogue within the framework of changing political paradigms and new connectivities
• Proposal for the »Mediterranean Nathan chair on interreligious education« to be jointly installed in Trieste & Piran

The workshop consisted of panels with presentations by the speakers on relevant aspects, followed by discussions among all the participants, and a roundtable with short statements and a lively discussion was held among the whole group. 14 experts of 9 nationalities were planned as speakers in the workshop (but as it is often the case, the group proved the fluidity of the concept of nationality and provenance). Additionally, 18 participants (many of whom were not just passive listeners) attended the workshop in whole or in part. The group was extremely diverse from the point of view of disciplinary backgrounds, and included representatives of the academia and civil society, young people at the beginning of their professional career as well as established experts. Gender representation was well balanced.

The speakers contributing to the discussions on this topic were:

Rouba El-Helou, University of Erfurt, Germany

Dunya Habash, Woolf Institute, United Kingdom

Cornelis Hulsman, Center for Intercultural Dialogue and Translation (CIDT, company/thinktank) and the Center for Arab-West Understanding (NGO), Egypt

Associate Prof.  Dr. Elisabetta Ruspini, University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy

Prof. Dr. Romain Murenzi, Executive Director of TWAS

Prof. Dr. Lenart Škof, Science and Research Centre Koper, Slovenia / Alma Mater Europaea, Slovenia / European Academy of Arts and Sciences, Austria

Assist. Prof. Dr. Gorazd Andrejč, Science and Research Centre Koper, Slovenia / University of Groningen, The Netherlands

Dr. Helena Motoh, Science and Research Centre Koper, Slovenia

Dr. Eugene Sensenig, Notre Dame University, Lebanon

Dr. Tomaž Grušovnik, Faculty of Education, University of Primorska, Slovenia

Dr. Maja Bjelica, Science and Research Centre Koper, Slovenia

Lydia Dionís Giordano, Blanquerna Observatory on Media, Religion and Culture, Spain

During the workshop we have received many extremely relevant ideas and suggestions. They are presented here in form of recommendations for action within the EU policies as well as recommendations for future curricula to be implemented. As per the latter, the discussions explored the ideas of including the themes within the existing courses and activities, and strongly supported the idea of setting up new educational activities, focusing specifically on interreligious dialogue in the Euro-Mediterranean. Our recommendations stemming from this MED HUB workshop are divided into 4 main pillars:

1. Religion, values, and interfaith dialogue
2. The role of gender and generations for the future cohabitation
3. Education and liberal arts and their role for societies
4. The role of NGO and academia and initiatives from the NGOs

Ad 1) In light of rising anti-immigration populist politics and growing intolerance throughout the EU, it is of great importance to devote attention to the vital role of interreligious dialogue and intercultural communication in countering xenophobia and promoting justice. With respect to the EuroMed partners in the Eastern and Southern Mediterranean, it is important to promote interreligious (IR) dialogue and intercultural communication (IC) based on respect for religious, linguistic, and ideological diversity. It is also critical to build on the traditional values of tolerance, justice, and mutual respect fundamental to the various Abrahamic and secular traditions in the MENA in order to combat anti-immigrant rhetoric and islamophobia. Finally, attention should be paid to the domestic anti-immigrant and populist groups within Arab countries and their links to right-wing populist and radical far-right groups in the EU. It is important to remember that many anti-immigrant groups in Europe and the MENA abuse religion to promote intolerance. However, scholars and activists alike can combat this intolerance within the Europe-Med region by promoting the very values rooted in Abahramic tradition that others have chosen to exploit and distort Faith-based topics which lend themselves well to IR dialogue include business ethics and CRS, youth employment and vocational training, protection of the environment, faith-based social justice agendas, and refugee repatriation.

Anti-immigrant populist policies are to a large extent based on fear mongering, generalizations, and distortions of facts, and for this reason, tensions or conflicts rooted in intolerance should be addressed with factual, easily accessible information.  The Arab-West Report database in Egypt was created based on this philosophy, providing summary translations from the Arabic-language press about subjects that are most often misrepresented in populist political circles or by political activists. The database also provides non-partisan media critique and in depth interviews that address concerns involving Arab-West understanding, interreligious dialogue, and issues important to Christian, Muslim and secular groups and communities.  A key feature of the database is the descriptive, rather than antagonistic nature of the reports, with contributors coming from diverse backgrounds and holding various political or religious perspectives. Rather than contributing to the often derisive rhetoric of polemics, the aim of the database is to create understanding across various political and religious groups and promote dialogue. The database has become a very effective tool for student interns as well, allowing them the opportunity to contribute published works under editorial supervision. It is highly desirable that similar databases are established in different parts of the EuroMediterranean region and are mutually linked. This will allow for a wider scope of content that can be covered, critiqued, and compared across regions, which in turn will allow the Arab West Report to create an even more accurately illustrated depiction of interreligious and intercultural communication in the MENA region.

Ad 2 and 3 do not concern the work of Arab-West Report and thus have not been placed here.

Ad 4) Recognizing the importance of active cooperation between universities and NGOs (and some of the excellent practices resulting from that cooperation, such as the Arab-West report) we propose a new action within the EuroMed region. The Arab-West Report already exists within the databases as collected and provided by The Center for Arab-West Understanding. Arab-West Report is a database that was established in 1997 and that hosts by now some 54,000 articles and reports. Most texts are summary translations from the Arabic-language press that provide information about the role of religion in society (Muslim-Christian relationships, political Islam, religious-secular dialogue, and pluralism in societies represent a few of the topics it covers). Arab-West Report has investigated tensions that have been reported in the media and demonstrated that issues are always more complex than they appear when initially reported. Arab-West Report has consistently strove to get close to the sources of information and provide in-depth interviews, and it has built a database with extensive search functions such as  a Dewey-like index, extensive name lists, lists of organizations, and references in the Arabic-language press to religious texts (Qur’an and Bible). The Center for Arab-West Understanding (CAWU, Egyptian NGO), in turn, has built a very extensive internship program around the AWR database for students from all over  the world; Egyptians, Europeans, Americans and others. Student interns benefit from the very extensive network of CAWU and the highly diverse student population.

While building and maintaining the database has been possible with relatively low costs, its role in facilitating different discussions and reducing tensions should not be underestimated. The resources provided by the database have been used by journalists, scholars, diplomats, politicians, and other decision makers. It is our recommendation to find support for creating an even larger database with centers in different parts of the Arab world and Europe which would all contribute to the same central database. This would allow the Arab West Report to translate and publish the most relevant articles and news from the Arab world while highlighting differences in views about various issues, particularly those related to interfaith dialogue in the region. We also recommend strengthening the campaigns and initiatives that explicitly target young people with the aim of raising awareness about social injustice and empowering citizens to fight against it.  This, in turn, would reaffirm that everyone, especially youth, could be the key for change, play a role in countering entrenched prejudices, and improve understanding and knowledge about different cultures and religious beliefs. The main tools that can be used to achieve these goals are social networks, media, and local entities and institutions. One example of such a campaign is the project called #BeTheKey, which has been developed and practiced in Barcelona by Blanquerna Observatory on Media, Religion and Culture over the last 2 years. This project aims to eliminate islamophobic discourse from Barcelona, and we propose sharing and bolstering this initiative and others like it with other regions and cities where Islamophobia is particularly strong. Initiatives such as these should be linked to the AWR database so that it becomes a hub for information exchange. It is of utmost importance that such initiatives extend beyond short-term projects that live for a few months or years only. To attain the targeted impact, they need continuity of funding and practice.

For the full text of the MED-HUB project please consult http://medhub.emuni.si/