"There Is No Alternative to Intensive Exchange"

European-Islamic cultural dialogue has been made a key weapon in the arsenal of security policy measures. But culture, art, and education lose their inherent strength when they are used as mere tools to create security and solve conflicts, argues Johannes Ebert

Cultural manager Volker Trusheim, mike in hand, discussing with young students in Egypt during a Goethe Institute event (photo: © Goethe Institute)
Cultural dialogue ensures that Europe and the Near East maintain a close exchange outside the world of politics, says Johannes Ebert in his essay

​​After the attacks of 9/11 and the publication of Samuel Huntington's Clash of Civilisations – politicians of all persuasions have made "European-Islamic cultural dialogue" a key weapon in their arsenal of security policy measures.

The logic behind this thinking is that the Arab Islamic world has historical faith in Europe's educational systems and cultures. Both are highly respected for their quality and are considered by many to be an alternative to the "American way of life", which is perceived as dominant. But culture, art, and education lose their inherent strength when they are used as mere tools to create security and solve conflicts.

In the original meaning of the word, culture instead creates social freedom, releases creative potential, and initiates open processes of encounter, thereby making a significant contribution to constructive exchange.

In real terms, there are currently two obvious risks: on the one hand, the cultural dialogue with the Islamic world is overloaded with expectations that it cannot meet. On the other, if western culture and education were suspected of being used for other ends, they would very quickly lose credibility in the Islamic world, as has been the case in other areas of foreign policy.

Don't expect short-term security policy gains

So what can be gained from cultural dialogue between Europe and the Islamic world? The exchange of culture and education can neither close the socioeconomic gap between North and South nor eliminate the problems that have arisen from political constellations. An artists' exchange programme cannot solve the Palestinian conflict, nor can it remove a corrupt regime that is unwilling to introduce reforms or convert extremists with a propensity to violence.

In other words, the short-term security policy gains to be expected of cultural dialogue are very modest indeed.

But this is not what cultural dialogue is about; its merits lie in other areas. It ensures that Europe and the Near East maintain a close exchange outside the world of politics even in troubled times. It keeps communication channels open and allows both sides to discuss – and even enter into heated debate – about views and ideals without resorting to violence.

Educational and cultural exchanges contribute to reform processes in the Arab world, thereby smoothing the path to the knowledge society. It strengthens people and groups that break new ground in the development of civil virtues. When both sides enter into dialogue, they each learn about the other and develop an understanding and peaceful means of communication.

For young people in particular – some 60 per cent of the population in Egypt is aged under 30 – education and culture are highly appealing and could be effective outside urban areas. If we look at the long-term potential of cultural dialogue, its outstanding significance for the relations between Europe and the Islamic world become evident.

Dialogue is an open-ended process

After the dispute surrounding the Danish caricatures, individual politicians and media representatives announced that the cultural dialogue with the Islamic world had failed. They could not see that cultural dialogue is not a panacea for all ruptures both between and within societies, but rather an open-ended process. The focus of cultural dialogue is on the path that is travelled together rather than on the ultimate destination.

It is only when both sides tackle such processes together that they can learn from each other in a sustainable manner. While the debate about the caricatures was undoubtedly a painful experience, it was also an important step along the road to rapprochement.

Johannes Ebert (photo: © Goethe Institute)
Johannes Ebert, Director of the Goethe Institute in Cairo, Egypt

​​It did lead to violent protests, but it also led to a large dialogue conference organised in Denmark by the popular Egyptian preacher Amr Khaled. Once the dust that had been swirled up by the heated emotions had settled again, numerous honest and open discussions about values and taboos in our societies took place.

We can also assume that it was this seriousness that helped ensure that the scandal about extreme right wing youths in Denmark who disparaged Islam was not blown out of proportion as the caricatures were.

Discussions and conferences are an integral part of the dialogue with the Islamic world. However, it is more effective for individuals and social groups to encounter each other in mutual cooperation over an extended period of time. There are numerous examples of such long-term encounters.

Through these encounters, the people involved learn about the other culture and take these positive experiences into their own environments. Scholarships and translation programmes, co-productions in the world of film or the arts, student or journalist exchanges, language courses, and many other positive activities are all positive approaches to dialogue between Europe and the Arab world.

Historic evidence for successful dialogue

However, if we want to make the most of the long-term potential of education and culture in encounters with the Arab world, we have to redouble our efforts. Germany's reconciliation with France after World War II illustrates that cultural dialogue can break down barriers between enemies.

In view of the much larger social differences and discrepancies in world views that exist between Europe and the Arab world, it is unrealistic to expect the same degree of rapprochement that was achieved between two western neighbours.

But could anyone have foreseen such reconciliation between France and Germany in 1945? Was not the gulf running through Europe much deeper back then than the one currently separating the countries on the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean?

Did not courage and far-sightedness encourage politicians on both sides of the divide to mobilise resources and people in order to tackle this ambitious project of reconciliation between two historic arch enemies and to trust not only in economic ties and political conferences, but also in the forces of cultural dialogue and youth exchanges?

In a globalised world in which the southern shores of the Mediterranean are no farther away than the western banks of the Rhine, we have to rely on courage, optimism, and far-sightedness in the face of the dangerous widening of the chasm between these two cultures. In other words, there is no alternative to an intensive exchange with the Arab-Islamic world. We must channel significant resources into educational and cultural exchange. We have no choice.

Johannes Ebert

© Johannes Ebert/Qantara.de 2007

Translated from the German by Aingeal Flanagan

Qantara.de

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