Mr. Speaker, I commend President Nursultan Nazarbayev for his vision and commitment that made possible the recent Congress on World and Traditional Religions. It was a historic event. The remarks recently by Pope Benedict XVI, quoting…
Mr. Speaker, I commend President Nursultan Nazarbayev for his vision and commitment that made possible the recent Congress on World and Traditional Religions. It was a historic event. The remarks recently by Pope Benedict XVI, quoting medieval text, and the fierce reaction in the Islamic world underscore the need for an open and candid discussion, as occurred in Astana.
At this year's forum, there were 43 delegations from 20 countries, including 43 representatives of Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, and other distinguished leaders. Though not all religious viewpoints may have been represented, the gathering had an impressive roster of participants--notably UNESCO Secretary General Koichiro Matsuura, United Nations Deputy Secretary General Sergei Ordjonikidze, particpated as well as NGOs dedicated to religious freedom issues. Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick, past Archbishop of Washington, D.C. was among the delegates attending the event from the United States.
The Second Congress on World and Traditional Religions convened at a time when the world is beset with conflict, regrettably much of it rooted in religious strife.
At some point, religious leaders, and the governments who represent them, must rise above their differences, be they ethnic, cultural, geographic, religious, by seeking God's will as the best means of achieving peace and reconciliation in the world. And make no mistake, seeking common ground and mutual respect should not be viewed as a license for censure of thought or speech. Every human being has an inalienable right granted by God to believe as he or she chooses and to freely express that belief, whether as an act of worship or persuasion. Our common ground becomes soggy if we lose the ability to advocate for our viewpoint, while making sure we give due respect and deference to the viewpoints of others.
President Nazarbayev, who is in Washington, D.C. this week at the personal invitation of President George Bush, and Speaker Nurtray Abikayev, Chairman of the Secretariat of the Congress, are to be commended for organizing this very important event.
Mr. Speaker, though we may all have different ways to express or define what freedom of religious expression and worship means, we all agree that each individual must have the right to worship freely without intrusion of the government. Therefore, I commend gatherings such as the one that took place in Astana, Kazakhstan earlier this month, and I commend the country of Kazakhstan for hosting this event and believe many worthwhile and much needed issues were raised and discussed.
I would also like to have included in my remarks the text of the Declaration of the II Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
Declaration of the II Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional
Religions
We, the leaders of world and traditional religions,
gathered at our Second Congress in Astana, the capital of
Kazakhstan:
Building on the success of the First Congress, which took
place in the city of Astana on 23-24 September 2003 and
engaged internationally recognized world religious leaders in
an important initiative of inter-religious dialogue; wishing
to help strengthen mutual understanding between cultures,
religions and ethnic groups which form the basic components
of world civilizations, and aiming to prevent conflicts based
on cultural and religious differences; acknowledging that
religion, having always been a fundamental element of human
life and society has, at the beginning of the new century,
assumed a significant new role in establishing and preserving
peace; recognizing the great responsibility held by religious
leaders for spiritual teaching and advocacy on behalf of
current and future generations, and their vital role in
establishing a spirit of mutual respect, understanding and
acceptance in the face of new challenges; underlining the
unique character of every religion and culture, and
considering cultural and religious diversity to be an
important feature of human society; expressing concern about
increasing inter-religious and interethnic tensions in the
world deriving from the exploitation of religious and
national differences as a justification for violence which
causes suffering to innocent victims; stressing that
extremism and fanaticism find no justification in a genuine
understanding of religion and that the vocation of all
religions demands the refusal of violence and appeals to
respect and peaceful co-existence with peoples and religions;
believing that the difficulties in inter-religious and
intercultural relations are related both to a fundamental
imbalance in international politics, economics, social,
humanitarian and information resources, and to the
manipulation of religion for political ends; discussing and
debating the above-mentioned concerns within the main theme
of the Congress--``Religion, society and international
security'' in the context of two special blocs.
I. ``Freedom of religion and recognition of others'';
II. ``Role of religious leaders in enhancing international
security''
Appeal to people of all religions and people of good will
across the globe, and:
Call upon them to abandon enmity, discord and hatred; and
embrace common respect and generosity, recognizing the
reality of cultural, religious and civilizational diversity;
declare our determination together to tackle and ultimately
eliminate prejudice, ignorance and misrepresentation of other
religions by placing particular focus on what religions hold
in common as well as what distinguishes them; condemn all
forms of terrorism on the basis that justice can never be
established through fear and bloodshed and that the use of
such means in the name of religion is a violation and
betrayal of any religion that appeals to human goodness and
dialogue; reject all false inventions and wrongly created
stereotypes about the violent nature of religions and
attempts to attribute terrorism to any particular religion;
call upon all to work together to address and eliminate all
causes of terrorism, thus promoting human flourishing,
dignity and unity; declare our rejection of any form of
pressure or violence to convert followers of one religion to
another; reaffirm the pivotal role of education, youth policy
and cultural
activity for understanding, solidarity and social cohesion.
We also call upon the global community, international and
regional organizations, states and governments all over the
world to:
Actively support the process of intercivilizational
dialogue; exert sustainable efforts towards creating a
culture of peace, strengthening its principles as a firm
basis of international politics and the life of all people;
work to establish a more fair world, to consolidate
international law and justice, and to implement UN
resolutions and signed international agreements, and to find
effective means of establishing peace and security all over
the world; heed the voices of victims of oppression and
terrorism and use all means to seek a just settlement of the
existing conflicts, thus addressing the grievances that
nurture violence; reject totally the development, production
and possession of weapons of mass destruction and promote
the strengthening of non-proliferation regimes; respect
and protect the sanctity of religious symbols and places
and take appropriate measures.
Based upon the abovementioned, we, the leaders of world and
traditional religions, resolved to:
Take concrete collective measures for encouraging and
highlighting positive perceptions of inter-religious
relations by organizing joint meetings, seminars and
addresses in the mass media, the Internet and other places of
influence; strongly promote interreligious tolerance among
younger generations to make them more devoted to dialogue and
encourage them recognize universal values; integrate
questions of the dialogue between civilizations and religions
into curricula at all educational levels with a view to
helping young people to respect and understand religious and
cultural difference without hostility; use our spiritual
influence, authority and resources to further establish
peace, security, stability and contacts between each other in
order to make a combined contribution to the prevention and
resolution of disputes among different religious communities;
offer our experience and best efforts to governments and
people or groups and powers involved into conflicts in order
to assist them in easing tensions, forming where appropriate
joint delegations to conduct negotiations with them; commit
to make efforts to promote and realize the goals stated in
this Declaration, and to assign the Congress Secretariat to
propose a plan for the best possible translation of these
recommendations into reality; conduct the Congress of
religions on a permanent basis and hold the third Congress of
the leaders of world and traditional religions in 2009. For
the Secretariat to present proposals on time and place of the
next forum; bring to the attention of the General Assembly of
the United Nations the conceptual and practical role
performed by the Congress in promoting dialogue among
civilizations, cultures and religions and its considerable
achievements in interreligious understanding, inviting
support for the further activity of the Congress.