Agree to Differ

[

] 103

Creating and supporting interreligious

councils in the Asia-Pacific region

Professor Emeritus Gary D Bouma, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Chair

in Intercultural and Interreligious Relations, School of Social and Political Inquiry, Monash University, Australia

he United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization (UNESCO) Chair in Interreligious and

Intercultural Relations – Asia Pacific (UCIIR-AP) is

an educational, research and policy activity centred in the

School of Social Science, Monash University in Melbourne,

Australia. The UNESCO Chair for the Asia-Pacific was

awarded to Monash University in 2004 and was launched by

the late AbdurrahmanWahid, former President of Indonesia.

The Chairholder is Professor Emeritus Gary D Bouma,

the Deputy Chairholder is Professor Greg Barton, and the

UCIIR-AP Senior Associates are Dr Anna Halafoff (Deakin

University) and Dr Basoeki Koesasi.

UCIIR-AP activities in recent years have centred on conduct-

ing and reporting research in the area of religious diversity,

religious resurgence, religious responses to climate change,

interreligious youth networks and countering radicaliza-

tion in the Asia-Pacific region. Our research findings have

informed local, state and Commonwealth government policy

in Australia, as well as other governmental and non-govern-

mental bodies working for interreligious understanding and

harmony in the region and globally.

Interreligious councils

The UCIIR-AP has focused on research-informed policy

initiatives to promote healthy interreligious relations in the

Asia-Pacific region. This has taken several forms.

The Chairholder and team were instrumental in winning the

2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions (PWR) for the region.

This is the most inclusive of the interreligious movements as

all persons, of whatever religion and none, are welcome to be

heard respectfully. Over 5,000 people participated and the

impact continues in myriad ways around the world.

The most direct impact of PWR 2009 has been the formation

of interfaith councils in 23 of the 25 city councils that exercise

local government in the city of Melbourne. With a highly diverse

population of 5 million people, over one-quarter of whom are

migrants and who follow over 125 different religious traditions,

Melbourne provides a model for healthy interreligious relations.

The Chairholder and team have been instrumental and very

active in meeting with local interreligious councils including

the Multi-Faith Advisory Group to the Premier of the State and

the Multi-Faith Council of Victoria Police. In addition, regional

interreligious councils have been established in country towns

to assist in the inclusion of migrants from diverse religious

backgrounds. These migrants, although culturally different, are

welcome because their presence keeps open local services such

as schools, clinics, banks and pharmacies.

When disruptive or potentially disruptive events occur

either locally or overseas, these interreligious councils are

active in convening meetings of a wide spectrum of religious

leaders with government officials, police leadership and other

community organizations to ensure that the correct informa-

tion is circulating, that aggrieved persons and communities

have opportunities to be heard, and to replace understandable

fearful reactions with community-building action. The fact that

structures are already in place and essential trust has been built

makes it possible to do this in the face of local incidences of

violence. Incidences of harassment against local minority reli-

gious groups are treated seriously and referred to the police.

The Chairholder and associates of the UIICR-AP are regular

participants in, and are called on to address, interfaith gather-

ings along with politicians and other civic leaders. Because we

are ourselves people of faith, and are familiar with the faith

lives of those from many other traditions as well as those with

none, we offer a balancing perspective that values the role of

beliefs and world views in society. We provide in the team an

example of interfaith cooperation and mutual respect.

Most recently the Chairholder has been involved in working

with other civic leaders to settle a conflict that was sparked in

a medium-sized country town when resident Muslims wished

to build a mosque. Individuals and groups who were not resi-

dents had stimulated a few locals and brought in outsiders to

protest. The protest failed and the building permit was issued,

but the community was unsettled. The local Muslim community,

with local and state civic leaders, held meetings with community

leaders and then sponsored an Eid festival dinner celebrating the

community’s religious diversity. Out of this, an interfaith council

has been formed for the region and is commencing its role in

promoting interfaith understanding and mutual respect.

The Chairholder and New Zealand associates were part of

the effort to establish an interreligious council for the Pacific

Islands. Following this the Australian and Indonesian govern-

ments sponsored a series of Regional Interfaith Dialogue

conferences which drew together first leaders and then youth

from the Asia-Pacific region to share stories and approaches.

The Chairholder and associates were involved in planning and

conducting these sessions.

Since most of the countries in the Asia-Pacific region have

one very dominant religion with only quite small minority

gree

iffer