An Interfaith Congress in Astana

On July 1-2 2009, the Government of Kazakhstan held their III Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Astana, Kazakhstan at the Palace of Peace and Accord. This Congress brought together religious and political leaders from around the world to engage in two-days of interfaith dialogue for the purpose of inter-faith cooperation. The Congress opened with a welcoming address by Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev, which was then followed by a speech by Israeli President Shimon Peres. Despite the stated purpose of dialogue in this Congress, the Iranian delegation headed by Mehdi Mostafavi walked out during Mr. Peres’ address. The remainder of the first day of the Congress saw various other representatives give welcoming remarks and share position papers.
 

The second day of the Congress featured three different group sessions focusing on “Moral and Spiritual Values and World Ethics”; “Dialogue and Cooperation”; and “Solidarity, Particularly in the Period of Crisis.” Lastly, at the conclusion of these sessions, the Congress ended with an adoption of the Appeal of the Participants of the Congress.

Kazakhstan is in a unique position to promote inter-religious dialogue. Next year, they take over the Chairmanship of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the following year they assume the Presidency of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Because of this, the Kazakhstani government is in a special position that will enable them to promote sustainable inter-faith dialogue for the next three-years.

The Congress should therefore be viewed in terms of lessons learned before Kazakhstan moves further onto the world stage.

Notable absences in this timely dialogue were from women religious representatives. During the first day of the Congress in which 63 leaders sat at the table with Mr. Nazarbayev, The Rev. Dr. Bernice Powell-Jackson from the United States served as the sole woman representative. Lamentably, the diminished presence of women did not improve during the second day of the Congress, in which no women or Jewish representatives were included as panelists in the three group sessions despite their overall presence in the Congress.

For better or worse, the first day of the Congress consisted of delegates reading their papers and expressing their welcoming remarks. Although this format allowed multiple people to participate, it did not allow tangible dialogue to occur and the right to speak was not extended to all. Ideally, an inter-faith convening should allow more dialogue to take place among all the participants sitting at the table, and be more representative of the role women play in religion.

The majority of press surrounding the Congress focused on the Iranian delegation’s exit from the conference hall during Mr. Peres’ speech. Outside of Kazakhstan, there was little press on the goals of the Congress, at least according to what my colleagues and I read. This is no fault of the Kazakhstani government, however, in the future, the government may consider revisiting their press strategy.

What were the tangible outcomes of the Congress? The delegates agreed on the Appeal, which was a general document promoting inter-faith dialogue, mutual understanding, and recognizing the important role religion plays in today’s world. They agreed the IV Congress of World and Traditional Religions should be held in Astana in 2012.

Since Kazakhstan is in a position to promote long-term inter-religious dialogue, the creation of concrete outcomes must be considered to make sure a solid opportunity to work together is not missed. One of the ideas floated around the Congress by the U.S. religious delegation was to create sustainable working groups focusing on Environmental Issues, Women, and Youth. This idea is also in line with one promoted by the Embassy of Kazakhstan in the United States. These groups could be comprised of different religious leaders from around the world who either meet in person or communicate via teleconferencing to address the problems that affect all of the world’s religious communities, while focusing on issues that have not been addressed in previous Kazakhstani forums.

The Congress might also consider partnering with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAoC) since youth is one of the main areas the UNAoC strives to engage. Before the UNAoC’s second annual meeting in Istanbul, Turkey in April 2009, they held a Youth Forum, bringing together youth leaders from around the world, to help plan the UNAoC’s future youth activities. Their recommendations were then presented at the forum in Istanbul. This type of input and involvement from the world’s youth is another way the Kazakhstani Government could consider incorporating younger and lasting voices into their inter-religious dialogue.

Overall, the III Congress of World and Traditional Religions was successful in creating an atmosphere of sharing innovative ideas for interfaith cooperation and rejecting violence as a religious principle. It brought together religious leaders from around the world and engaged them in two-days of dialogue, which if coupled with the previous ideas might provide a more substantive outcome in 2012.

C. Eduardo Vargas contributed to this article.