The European Parliament has received its fair share of religious leaders and on 26 September it was the turn of Indian spiritual leader Satguru Baba Hardev Ji. He leads the Sant Nirankari Mission, a spiritual movement dedicated to human welfare and promoting the idea of universal brotherhood. The mission has over 2000 centres worldwide and millions of followers.

 

"All cultures flow into one recipient that forms human civilisation." These are the words of the Grand Mufti of Syria, Ahmad Badr al-din Hassoun, when he spoke to us during his visit to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. He was invited by EP President Hans-Gert Pöttering to the first plenary session of 2008 to mark the year of intercultural dialogue. In his speech he praised the "the culture of mankind". In an interview, Dr Hassoun expanded on his spiritual message.

 

 

Wednesday sees the start of a series of films being screened at the European Parliament that aim to explore cultural differences across Europe. The films will form part of the European Year of intercultural dialogue and feature productions from 14 countries.  The European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) championed the idea of such a film festival. The Institutes has members from 22 countries.

 

Speaking ahead of the first film EP President Hans-Gert Pöttering said the Parliament had decided to back the initiative to "support projects undertaken by civil society which contribute to the dialogue of cultures".

 

 

The first film to be filmed is "Express, Express" by Slovenian director Igor Stek. The film follows a character, who, mourning the loss of his father, takes endless train rides in search of himself and with no clear direction. The film recounts his emotional journey and the people he meets.

 

A Slovenian film was chosen for the first showing as the country currently holds the rotating Presidency of the European Union. People who are guests of the cultural institutes from around Europe and all of those who have access to the Parliament can watch the films.

 

The Parliament inaugurated its own "Prix Lux" film prize in 2007 aimed at showcasing the European film industry.

 

"Just a friend of mine" was a huge hit for Belgian group Vaya con Dios in 1986. In the last 20 years the group - led by singer Dani Klein - have toured the world. On 7 April they came to the European Parliament to raise the plight of the Roma in Europe on International Roma day. We caught up with Dani Klein just after her rehearsal.

 

How did you become aware of the situation of the Roma?
 
My group gives concerts in Eastern countries where there are a lot of Roma. When I sing "Djelem djelem" - the Roma hymn - people are very enthusiastic and identify with the song. But they often adopt a rather discriminatory personal attitude to the Roma...I find that a bit repellent, on the one hand we appropriate Roma culture and take the best parts of it, and on the other hand we discriminate against it. I don't have a political message, just that we must respect each other.
 
You defend a more positive approach to the Roma, by underlining in particular their contribution to European culture?
 
Yes, because gypsy music has contributed to art in general. I am not a classical music specialist, but Brahms would not be Brahms had not gypsy music existed, and that is the case with many traditional types of music. Their music, their language, their traditions contribute to the wealth of European culture. The Roma are somehow unyielding and resistant to changing their ways, they want to travel, and they are not sedentary. I admire them, because they resist the efforts to change them.
 
At present, many Roma in Brussels are seen, in particular at red traffic lights. Many people say to me, "I do not give, it's easy to live like that". I think that it's very difficult to live like that! Is there anyone who would choose to breathe in carbon dioxide all day for 15 or 20 cents and a scornful glance? This is not a good approach. We must look at the  positive.
 
Can Europe contribute anything to changing this approach?
 
I do not know what the powers Europe has, I am not political. But if it has means, yes. The initial aim of the EU was that France and Germany would no longer fight. If Europe's ambition is peace, that should certainly help in making the Roma accepted as part of Europe, but with their special characteristics.
 
As an artist, when do you decide to get involved with causes like the Roma?
 
I engage when I find the causes are just - to support the values of liberty and respect for others. Among musicians, racism is less palpable than in other milieus. To be an artist, is to be marginal. Artists are also disliked to a certain extent in society and fight to find ways to express themselves. Artists are sustained by all the influences that touch them - our music is fed by different music.
 
The fact that we are marginalised brings us close to other communities on the margin of society. Art has always broken taboos and opened minds and spirits.

 

During the 2008 European Year of Intercultural Dialogue one of the European Parliament's key aims is to promote dialogue especially with Arab and Islamic countries. It was in this context that EP President Hans-Gert Pöttering made his first visit to a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) this weekend. While in Qatar he gave a keynote speech to 8th Doha Forum on Democracy Development and Free Trade.

 

In his speech he spoke about drawing the GCC into the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, which brings together European parliamentarians and members of parliament from countries around the Mediterranean basin. "I believe that you are definitely the 'next step' in our neighbourhood! Not only because of geographic and geostrategic considerations, but mainly because of the strong convergences that we have set into motion." He will propose that two MPs from GCC countries be included as observers to the Euromed assembly.
 
Mr Pöttering said the partnership between the EU and GCC is "a key element in ensuring sustained regional geopolitical stability", adding that the EU and Qatar "ought to be partners, partners in dialogue in order to overcome misperceptions and ignorance that far too often engender clashes, violence and extremism."
 
During his visit to Qatar, Mr Pöttering discussed energy, the Middle East peace process, Iran and regional stability and religion and tolerance with government officials including the Emir of Qatar.

 

The aspirations of young people in Africa were discussed on 12 June when the EP hosted a seminar on International Day of African Youth. It drew together speakers who addressed the problems that young people face. Chaired by Italian Parliament vice-president Luisa Morgantini (GUE/NGL), the event was held under the patronage of EP President Pöttering. Nigerian lawyer Hauwa Ibrahim, winner of Parliament's 2005 Sakharov prize was one of the speakers. We later put a few questions to her.

 

 

Young Africans want to contribute to peace, freedom and human dignity. They want the opportunity to be and to use their minds creatively. They want the opportunity not to think about what they are eating tomorrow, to be free of things that slow them down - like poverty. They want the opportunity to make a positive change for their society, for their countries and for the world. 

 

 

It's such an honour that the EP organises a day such as an International Day for African youth! A huge statement has been made: "We can give you a voice, we can give you opportunity. We'll bring you here to see what we have done differently and how you can go and make a difference in your place". We hope that the EU and the EP especially will not look at Africa as a unit, but as a huge continent. When you see an entity with a huge problem, you should take it piece by piece; solve one problem after the other.

 

One of the issues that we are facing in my country (Nigeria) is that government policies have not been consistent. The EU and the EP can help, since they are institutions that make policies. I suggest that the EU takes the time to visit the continent once in a quarter to have the sense of what is reality. We have infrastructures that are absolutely inadequate.

 

For example, you have a school that used to have 500 or 600 students, and they now have more than 1000 in less than 10 years, while facilities have not been expanded. This affects the morale of the teachers and of the students. Another issue is the training of teachers, who need to be more motivated. The EU could invite teachers to see how classrooms, books and laboratories are here or train them in sciences, mathematics and so on. The EU can be the torchlight to show us how to get there.

 

 

Absolutely! You have passed through so much as a region! The way you (Europe) have overcome the problems, what you have done and how you can think about the future and plan for today are lessons that we could learn from you. This beautiful Parliament is fascinating. How did you come to this end? We may not get there but maybe the new generation will.

 

What difference did your winning the Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought make in Nigeria and in Africa?

 

It made a huge, huge difference. It gave me a louder voice, credibility and above all a global stage and recognition. Since my passion is education, we created a charity, "Foundation for Literacy", with the money that I got with the Sakharov prize. And the funds have multiplied, because other people decided to give more money. We put it in a bank and we got (5%) interest. With the 5% we sent 32 children back to school, elementary school but also to university.

 

Moreover, while I was teaching law in Abuja University, I noticed that there were about 3000 students there who only had 200 useful law books. The government wanted to remove our accreditation as we didn't meet the standards. At about that time I got the Sakharov prize. I was invited in Minnesota to give a speech and I told them about our lack of books. They decided to give us 8000 new books. I used part of the money I got with the Sakharov prize to ship the books from America to Nigeria. So I can say that the EP saved the ability of Abuja University to award degrees that have international recognition.

 

 

There are issues about politics and there are issues about economy. The fundamental human rights should lie between the two. If you go to a virgin land in Africa and pick something, or remove their fish, what do you give them in return? Do you want to completely remove their fish? And leave them with nothing? Is that your ultimate objective? I think we should temper economy with humanity. We should temper globalisation with dignity. What we want is a world that is free of terrors, secure. And we do not want to create the opposite through our policies. Whether you are taking the wood or the fish, remember to temper global politics with humanity, dignity and respect for human life.

The event was held as part of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. Hauwa Ibrahim was awarded the prize in recognition of her stand in defending Nigerian women who face being stoned to death for adultery and young people who face amputation for theft under Islamic Sharia law.

 

 

Pakistani lawyer Asma Jahangir is the UN's Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Religion or Belief. On 18 June she spoke to a plenary sitting of the European parliament where she delivered a call for great understanding between religions. Whilst in Strasbourg we caught up with her and asked her about the role. She speaks of the need to get people to interact naturally with one another and believes that the "dignity of human beings must lie at the centre of all freedoms".

 

 

I believe that we should not have just an academic approach to it, but an activist one. Intercultural dialogue is all about opening up spaces for a variety of diverse voices to be heard and diverse ways of living. It is not just about talking but also about interaction, it is creating an environment where you naturally interact with each other, rather than putting different races and religions in different "ghettos".

 

 

When people feel that they will not be heard or understood, they resort to violence. In this sense, interaction is very important in order to prevent violence. Europe, as well as the global community, should also give a very clear message that violence cannot be given impunity - especially to those governments inclined to give impunity to violence committed "in the name of religion". Europe has a leading role to play, as it is a largely democratic region and can thus show us how you can deepen democracy by being truly pluralistic.

 

 

They are all equally important. The media have played an important role and have very rarely had a negative role. Culture is another way of promoting intercultural dialogue. I talked this morning about how films in India have done a great service for public education on communal harmony. Education is also very important, because it is through education that people form their personalities. So is family: it is not just about upbringing, but about preventing families and communities from putting restrictions, beyond a certain level of which you cannot have exchanges.

 

For example, arranged marriages still exist and are often a taboo, even in many so-called civilised societies. It is also important that politicians are open and talk openly about things. The dignity of human beings must lie at the centre of all freedoms - whether it is religions freedom, freedom of expression or freedom from being exploited.

 

 

I worked in the past with one of the most underprivileged sections in the society and for them their dignity is as important as the dignity of anyone else who is more privileged. If you humiliate someone - regardless of colour or religion- the kind of feeling they have is universal. So in that way we are all the same. However, we can be different in our beliefs, our approaches to life and our spiritual ideas. So we are the same in many respects, but also different.

 

Europe is a very privileged region and citizens have a lot of skills. The citizens have first of all to be the leaders of their political leadership rather than the other way round. Ordinary citizens are the ones that should be showing the direction, bringing forward the right role models even if it means taking unpopular stands. It is more possible for citizens in Europe to do it than elsewhere.

 

 

The media will bring to the people what the people want to see. If there is a conflict in dialogue, the media will pick it up. If it is a boring dialogue or a dialogue where people are batting each other's back, the media is not likely to pick it up. When people have done creative work, the media has in general picked it up. Films have been made on even very small local movements that have done heroic work.

 

 

I am optimistic because wherever I have been I have seen that the vast majority of people are willing to live in diversity. It is often a minority that has taken all the others hostage. Therefore I think that when governments and public opinion makers make strategies, they have to give voice to that majority that is against violence, against discrimination and against religious persecution.

 

 

African week left not just a political and cultural stamp but also a visual impression on delegates and visitors alike. Paintings, sculptures, music and plays were seen and heard both inside and outside the Parliament's building in Brussels. Here in this slideshow we give you an opportunity to see for yourselves some of the things that took place. We hope you enjoy the images.

In the last event of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue at the parliament, the 14th Dalai Lama, speaking without notes, said that his main concern is to promote human values and religious harmony. Welcoming him to the Parliament, President Hans-Gert Pöttering said, "Your non-violent approach provides an extraordinary example of committed and peaceful campaigning for a worthy cause".  

 

Enjoy some of the photos taken during the Dalai Lama's lively speech to plenary and visit to the Parliament and take a look at the video of the plenary for his entire speech.

 

Americans have always had to integrate newcomers, so the concept of "covenant" has always been part of the political culture of the United States. But the concept came from the political culture of Europe after the Reformation, which drew strongly on the Hebrew Bible. I suggest that Europe needs to go back to that concept, which has the power to unite different groups across differences of culture.

 

It says: "we the people come together" - it's a very inclusive form of political identity.  If you want to build a society, you must include everyone as a builder.  If you contribute to something, you belong to it.

 

So the US got this idea from Europe.  They borrowed it and they kept on using it while Europe forgot all about it. It was born in the 17th century when European nations had to find a way of uniting themselves. Other ways are not good. The romantic reaction against rationalism in the 19th century created nation states predicated on race. If you predicate your nation on race, or religion, you have an exclusive nation. We know where that led: two World Wars and the Holocaust, so we can never go down that road again.

 

 

The condition for being able to talk to somebody is that they recognise your right to speak, that you are a partner in dialogue. Someone who negates my very existence, or my identity, or my right to have rights, cannot be a partner in dialogue. So the issue is not how do we talk to the extremists, the issue is how do we talk to the moderates so that we can isolate the extremists.

 

Europe must empower the moderates, so as to marginalise the extremists. That is a political challenge, because unfortunately the media empower extremists. If you hijack an oil tanker, or explode something, or kill people, you get publicity. So the very structure of the media presents extremists as a role model for disaffected young people. They become heroes. And then young people say: "oh, I want to be like that". And, my goodness, unless there's a counter-force, then everyone is in trouble.

 

So don't talk to the extremists, make heroes of the moderates.

 

 

Religion is like the weather. Sometimes it is sunny and you love the weather and other times it's cold and wet and you can't stand the weather. There is no such thing as religion without good elements and bad elements.

 

In ages of rapid change, destabilisation, uncertainty and fear, people turn to those offering them certainty, and they are always the extremists. For them the world is simple: we are right, they are wrong. Where you have political turbulence and religious extremism, the real heroes are the people who oppose the extremists within their religion. Some have been assassinated for it, some excommunicated. You need courage to stand up against the extremists.

 

There are amongst the Israelis and Palestinians, religious leaders very much in favour of peace and of recognising the genuine religiosity of the other side.

 

 

People confuse optimism and hope, and there is a difference. Optimism is the belief that things are going to get better. Hope is the belief that if we work hard enough we may be able to make things better. Optimism is a passive virtue, hope is active. One needs no courage to be an optimist, just a certain naivety. But it needs a great deal of courage to have hope.

 

Knowing what our people have lived through over 3000-plus years, no Jew who knows Jewish history can be an optimist; but no Jew can ever give up hope. The national anthem of Israel means "hope". Our task as religious leaders is to be agents of hope in a world close to despair.  It takes tenacity and even courage to keep hoping, but the alternative is not to be contemplated; the politics of despair are always dangerous politics.

 

 

Absolutely! Humour is the first cousin of hope. I even suggested to President Pöttering that after the European Year for Intercultural Dialogue he might try a European Year of Humour.  I was only joking!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Religion and politics coexist, because they both serve man, they both exist for man. A politician cannot hide his faith, his religion, as these are part of his personal make-up and part of the way he does his job.  European culture too is based on Christian faith, on the lessons of the Gospel - but this does not imply we should exclude non-Christians from Europe. The coexistence of Christians and non-Christians means mutual enrichment.

 

 

The presence of several million Muslims in Europe today is simply a reality. We Christians, the majority, as well as those in the minority, must aspire to live in harmony as children of the same God.  No minority, including Muslims, should live separately: they should be a full part of the society that welcomed them, and gain from the majority the best it has to offer.

 

European society is open. Mosques have been founded in many European cities (including at the heart of Catholicism in Rome) and it is natural it should be so. In Athens too there should be a mosque for Muslims to pray when they want to. But this must work both ways. It is unfair for example that it is not possible to establish a Christian church in Saudi Arabia. In Constantinople we are a very small Christian minority, but we are Turkish citizens and, as a minority, entirely fulfil our obligations to the state. But we do not always receive equal treatment with majority Muslims. It saddens us to feel somehow second-class citizens.

 

 

I inherited this interest in ecology from my predecessor, the late Patriarch Dimitrios, who established 1 September as a day of prayer for the protection of the environment. This is an urgent and critical issue in all corners of the globe. Every day we hear about the devastation caused by hurricanes, floods and climate change in general.

 

I was in New Orleans to see the destruction wrought by Katrina. You have to see it with your own eyes to absorb the magnitude of the disaster. The church has a duty to do something. It must raise awareness among people, particularly the young, because the future of the planet is in their hands.

 

Environmental issues affect us all - Christians and non-Christians - because the planet is our common home, our "oikos". The word "ecology" derives from "oikos", Greek for "home". When the hurricane hits, it does not make distinctions...

 

We organize symposia on average every two years, to which we invite not only Christians but also people from other religions and specialities (biologists, environmentalists, clergy, etc). We are attempting to stimulate dialogue between science and religion. There are practical results. Recently, for example, in the Amazon, we saw with our own eyes how forests are felled to grow soya. An Anglican bishop from Liverpool was there; he was very moved, angry about what was going on and, when he returned to his diocese in Liverpool, he persuaded the local authorities to forbid ships carrying soya from Brazil from docking there.  The forests of Brazil generate vast quantities of oxygen and thus affect not only Brazil but the whole planet.

 

 

Turkey has good relations with all its neighbours, including Greece, Bulgaria and Romania, three Orthodox countries and now members of the EU. These relations will help Turkey in its accession negotiations, but will also benefit the peoples of the wider neighbourhood, who instead of killing each other and spending billions on armaments, can learn to coexist peacefully and to use their money for public works, education and so on, rather than for weapons.

 

Many say that Turkey, as an almost entirely a Muslim country, has no place in Europe. We believe that the difference of religion should not be an obstacle. If Turkey fulfils all the criteria for candidate countries, it can be accepted to the EU even if its population is Muslim. This is a different world, but it can coexist with the Christian world, as it has happened many times in the past and in many places across the globe. In Europe there is room for everyone, as long as we adapt and avoid living in ghettos.

Wole Soyinka has been imprisoned several times in Nigeria for his mediation during the civil war and later criticism of the military and government. All his poetry and plays seem to deal with corruption, tyranny and the cult of personality in African dictatorships.

 

 

"For me it's a human phenomenon - what we're talking about is how to practicalise and enhance this kind of dialogue. The international community has reached the level now that the notion of a hierarchy of cultures has been eroded. Nowadays the recognition of cultures that are unknown or strange is far more advanced and there is far more dissemination of cultural phenomena. So what it means is that the mechanisms of cultural exchange need to be enhanced".

 

"Again we come to this cultural interaction and obviously every culture has its priorities. I have always taken the position that somehow political concerns have a way of occupying the proper space within cultural programmes. People constantly ask the question "what is the place of the individual in the community". I believe that the socio-political element of culture, whether it is the poetry of the African continent or the Soviet Union, finds its own way. It's like water - it finds its own level".

 

 

"To give you examples, the British Council and the Alliance Française from time to time send theatre groups to Africa for performances and workshop - to Nigeria for example. Then Nigerian groups can go abroad and introduce to the audiences theatrical idioms that they have never encountered before. One only has to be part of this to see how much enriching it is that they spread their horizons".

 

The other example is the phenomenon of the internationalisation of local festivals. One example is the festival at my University which is called "Masks, Masquerades and Marionettes". It was an opportunity to introduce Nigerians to the mask traditions of the rest of the world. We invited Japan, China, and the Scandinavian countries. Many Nigerians do not know that so called "masking" is a tradition of these countries - they always thought it was from Africa.

 

It was doubly useful for Nigerians because there is this religious fundamentalism which is warping the cultural understanding and the horizons of people. Many Christians and Muslims (in Nigeria) still believe that masks are a sign of fetishism, paganism, barbarism - including students.

 

 

How do I feel? This is my old stomping ground! When we were in trouble I used to visit MEPs and talk to them. When things seem to be stabilised in our country and I received an invitation, it was an opportunity to come here and say thanks for your assistance during the last dictatorship. I'm usually invited during crises for Nigeria - and we're hoping never to have to come back under those circumstances. I'm quite happy to pass through...