World Economic Forum releases report of Islam-West Dialogue

The gathering of world leaders at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos routinely generates discussion on business and economic issues. But in recent times, the forum has taken up social issues as well.

A few years ago, the WEF formed the Council of 100 (C-100) to discuss the relationship between the Western and Muslim Worlds. This year, the C-100 released its first annual report titled, Islam and the West: Annual Report on the State of Dialogue.
The report aims at benchmarking the state of the dialogue by focusing on five main areas which are: international politics; citizenship and integration; religion, ethics, and ideology; education and intercultural understanding; economic and social development. It was authored mainly by John DeGioia, President of Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

It also includes contributions from leading authorities and personalities such as John Esposito, Karen Armstrong, Ingrid Mattson, Mustafa Ceric, Anwar Ibrahim, Rabbi David Rosen, Akbar Ahmed, Mary Robinson, and Lord Carey of Clifton. Each of the contributors is intimately involved in the policy debates on local and global platforms.

In the report’s foreword Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman of the World Economic forum, writes that “the remarkable feeling of proximity between people and nations is the unmistakable reality of our globalized world.” In his view this proximity allows people to see other cultures more clearly and also see ours more clearly.

This may practically be the case but the real question whether people are willing to see others clearly. Clearly, the C-100 is trying to facilitate this.

We strongly urge our readers to download and read this important first work. The report highlights the many global challenges which humanity faces and tries to highlight the need for unified responses through well organized social collaboration. Unified responses are certainly in order for global challenges but local challenges need local responses as well.

In effect while gatherings like the WEF and intitiatives such as the C-100 will continue to facilitate dialogue and debate about global issues it is also increasingly necessary for such efforts to recognize and nurture local responses by understanding local contexts and their specific challenges.