Under the auspices of Lebanese President Michel Aoun, the first day of the International conference had two out of five seminars involving keynote researchers in the field of interfaith dialogue. The rest of the three seminars took place on the following day (Wednesday 13 September) of the international conference at the Lancaster Hotel- Beirut.
The first-afternoon session after the morning session of the ceremonial opening of the international conference pivoted on "The formation of religious culture and intellectual pluralism". The former President of the Lebanese University, HE Dr Adnan Al-Sayyid Hussein chaired the session.
The Director-General of the Institute of Religious Wisdom, Sheikh Shafiq Jaradi, steered the discussion of the seminar by addressing the case of "The Formation of Religious Culture". He drew the attention to the continuity of the religious beliefs, despite the overwhelming challenges and called for reviewing the stages of the cultural formation of religion by making a distinction between the “Salafism” and “ Pastism”. He stressed the importance of forming the religious culture based on the mind as well as determining the responsibilities of humans out of the capabilities they already have.
Subsequently, Dr Abdel Hakim Ghazawi, the Director of the Institute of Social Sciences - Branch III at the Lebanese University, had the opportunity to deal comprehensively with the idea of “the Social Educational dimension in the Formation of Religious Culture”. He pointed out the central role of education in the establishment of a culture of dialogue, given that the education upholds consistently the human and just values that prepare the foundation of a good citizen. As well, he called for the inclusion of courses about dialogue in majors at the universities.
The second session of the Interfaith Dialogue conference had the title of "The Obstacles of Interfaith Dialogue" and was chaired by Sheikh Ahmed Qabalan, the Grand Mufti of Jaafari in Lebanon.
Dr Aqeel Mahfoud, Head of the Department of Studies at the Damascus Research Center, spoke about "The Culture of Hatred and Distortion of Religion" where he mentioned that the hatred features were swarming the sociological scene as most of them justified on threatening sources derived from the historical memory, causing in effect a culture of brutality (Al-Twahush).
In turn, Dr Talal Atrissi, Scientific and Academic Adviser at the University of Al Maaref, addressed the issue of "Islamophobia", by referring to its conceptual meaning, and its evolution in time. He was of the opinion that such a phenomenon had a pivotal role in establishing the elements of fear, despise and hatred towards Islam.
Sheikh Dr Akram Barakat, Professor of Philosophy at the Lebanese University, however, discussed "the Image of the Other in the Religious Perspective". He called first to examine the outlook on God before looking at the Other to know the wisdom of the Creator, from which one can determine the image of the Other according to divine wisdom.
At the third session, the conference focused on the role of Religious Institutions in the Culture of Dialogue: Practical Experiences. The seminar was chaired by the patron of the Maronite Diocese of Batroun, Mounir Khairallah.
Dr Abed Al Amir Zahid, Professor of Islamic studies at the University of Kufa and a member of the Scientific Research Authority at the Ministry of Higher Education in Iraq, introduced a genealogy of the concept of dialogue as a practice within the institution of Hawza in Najaf. He believed that such a history could be relied upon to extract matured principles for present-day dialogues.
Father Porphyrius Jerji, Dean of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Balamand, took on board the explanation of the experience of “Church” in instituting an exceptional track of dialogue derived from the lived reality of the Lebanese religious mosaic.
Dr Mohammed Alloush, Researcher of Islamic movements, had a detailed preview of the main facts and practices that would confirm the idea that Al Azhar embraces the dialogue philosophy at every turn of its institutional development in different historical phases and concomitant challenges.
The sessions witnessed interventions and questions related to a range of intricate propositions by the audience. The discussions were pivoting around the feasibilities for deriving effective framework of dialogue that could institute for a new generation equipped with agreed shared principles and recognition of the Other.
By the end of the two sessions of seminars and in the result of dealing with a range of audience interventions, the first day of the conference was declared completed, hoping that the three more sessions on Wednesday 13th September would be followed-up further with a detailed information about “Towards a Culture of Dialogue among Religions”.
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