Date : 07/04/2004
KUN0017 4 GEN 0216 KUWAIT /KUNA-ETC8
CUL-GERMANY-KUWAIT-DIALOGUE
Kuwait plays significant role in dialogue between civilizations- German
diplomat
BERLIN, April 6 (KUNA) -- German delegate for Islamic affairs and head of
the Mideast department at the German foreign ministry Gunther Mulack said
Kuwait plays a significant role in the dialogue between western and eastern
civilizations.
In statements to KUNA on the sidelines of a seminar on cultural dialogue
between the west and the Islamic world at the German institute of foreign
cultural relations, IFA, he expressed satisfaction on the spread of awareness
and cultural and scientific institutions in Kuwait.
Kuwait is highly developed in that area and having such extensive
facilities makes the country influential in bolstering multilateral cultural
cooperation with the Arab world and the west, Mulack who was a German
ambassador in Kuwait in the nineties said.
Islam is the "meeting point for all religions and civilizations," he said
adding that it is a religion of tolerance that has nothing to do with
terrorism and violence.
He recalled the scientific contributions of the Islamic civilization to
Europe when the latter was still living in the dark ages and the transfer of
new information to Europe through Muslim thinkers and intellectuals.
-- Furthermore, the Secretary General of the German institute of
foreign relations Kurt Maass told KUNA that the seminar urges both sides (the
east and the west) to listen and to understand each other.
It is important to let go of the burdens of the past and of any
misunderstandings between civilizations and to have a new fruitful start that
promotes tolerance and dialogue between the two sides, he added.
He stressed the importance of establishing joint scientific and cultural
institutions to promote cooperation especially in education, curriculum and in
the eradication of poverty in the Islamic world.
The seminar discusses a report compiled by six intellectuals from countries
strongly influenced by Islam, namely Egypt, the Palestinian Territories,
Malaysia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Syria and Pakistan.
The report addresses the historical roots of the confrontation between the
West and the Islamic world, identifies stereotypes and prejudices, and draws a
line through to the causes and effects of the September 11 attacks and the
wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. (end)
sh.bn