02.12.2015
Joint Declaration of the 10 Muslim International Forum
We, participants of the 10th Muslim International Forum opened on 10 December 2014 in Moscow and entitled ‘Mission of Religion and Responsibility of its Followers in the Face of the Challenges of Modernity’, representing Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Estonia, Finland, Holland, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Mongolia, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan, sharing the values of justice, benevolence, broad public dialogue and mutual understanding, appeal to the public with the following:
1. A set of local and regional conflicts, civilian confrontations utilizing military force that seized up many a region on the world map, the ease with which they descent to the level of mutual violence and its brutality cause our deepest concern and are regarded as the main challenge of modernity and a menace to the humanity in general.
2. Extremes observed in the world – whether it be religious fanaticism, aggressive ultra-liberalism, nationalism or quasireligious aggression – and causing appalling consequences all over the globe, essentially derive from deeper and fundamental processes in human society.
3. One of the fundamental problems to swell in the future is the issue of the human being and individual and its role and responsibility in the shaping of its ethos and mentality. Civilization – in the western perception of the term – suggests readymade solutions for material prosperity and semblance of social well-being, while depriving a human being of religious and national identity and ability to reflect critically on the reality. Substantially, modern civilization deprives a human being of its Predestination, i.e. the mission given by the Lord of the worlds and assigned to fulfil the law of the Almighty in the name of the humankind. In the exchange, the mankind is offered an everyday comfort, personal social welfare and an exemption of the accountability of moral choice.
4. An attempt to create a globalized humanity – a ‘universal man’ not burdened with the norms of religious and social ethics and not constrained by morality, religious or local identity – not only crashed, but entailed such grave social deviations as the ‘DAISH’ in the Middle East or the Breivik phenomenon in the West.
5. Search of the ways to preserve national, religious and cultural self-identity as well as traditional social institutions
shall be deemed as one of the key philosophical problems of today. At the same time, this quest should avoid isolationism and a ‘besieged fortress’ logic.
6. We are convinced that living in the fold of one’s own culture and spiritual tradition – no matter how backward it may seem to one – is a natural and inalienable right of every person and all the humankind in general.
7. Plurality of views, diversity of cultures and attitudes and political multipolarity of the world should be deemed God’s great design and a factor of stable and concordant development of human society.
8. Religious ethics, religious values and spiritual motivation may become a key to solving many social, demographic and environmental issues, and also to the settlement of military and civil conflicts.
9. The role of religious leaders in overcoming the current challenges is increasing. They should acquire a mission to return humanity its inalienable right to live life consciously fulfilling its mission to society and the Creator.
10. Preaching of modern spiritual leaders should be an advocacy of peace, justice, kindness and compassion; it should provide an objective assessment to the complex processes of modernity and to serve the broad public dialogue, reconciliation and harmony.
1. A set of local and regional conflicts, civilian confrontations utilizing military force that seized up many a region on the world map, the ease with which they descent to the level of mutual violence and its brutality cause our deepest concern and are regarded as the main challenge of modernity and a menace to the humanity in general.
2. Extremes observed in the world – whether it be religious fanaticism, aggressive ultra-liberalism, nationalism or quasireligious aggression – and causing appalling consequences all over the globe, essentially derive from deeper and fundamental processes in human society.
3. One of the fundamental problems to swell in the future is the issue of the human being and individual and its role and responsibility in the shaping of its ethos and mentality. Civilization – in the western perception of the term – suggests readymade solutions for material prosperity and semblance of social well-being, while depriving a human being of religious and national identity and ability to reflect critically on the reality. Substantially, modern civilization deprives a human being of its Predestination, i.e. the mission given by the Lord of the worlds and assigned to fulfil the law of the Almighty in the name of the humankind. In the exchange, the mankind is offered an everyday comfort, personal social welfare and an exemption of the accountability of moral choice.
4. An attempt to create a globalized humanity – a ‘universal man’ not burdened with the norms of religious and social ethics and not constrained by morality, religious or local identity – not only crashed, but entailed such grave social deviations as the ‘DAISH’ in the Middle East or the Breivik phenomenon in the West.
5. Search of the ways to preserve national, religious and cultural self-identity as well as traditional social institutions
shall be deemed as one of the key philosophical problems of today. At the same time, this quest should avoid isolationism and a ‘besieged fortress’ logic.
6. We are convinced that living in the fold of one’s own culture and spiritual tradition – no matter how backward it may seem to one – is a natural and inalienable right of every person and all the humankind in general.
7. Plurality of views, diversity of cultures and attitudes and political multipolarity of the world should be deemed God’s great design and a factor of stable and concordant development of human society.
8. Religious ethics, religious values and spiritual motivation may become a key to solving many social, demographic and environmental issues, and also to the settlement of military and civil conflicts.
9. The role of religious leaders in overcoming the current challenges is increasing. They should acquire a mission to return humanity its inalienable right to live life consciously fulfilling its mission to society and the Creator.
10. Preaching of modern spiritual leaders should be an advocacy of peace, justice, kindness and compassion; it should provide an objective assessment to the complex processes of modernity and to serve the broad public dialogue, reconciliation and harmony.