MoDeRATIoN - GMM - Global Movement of Moderates

Transcription

ICGMM 2012
Board of Advisors
Prime Minister of Malaysia Dato’ Sri Najib Razak (seated centre) with the Board of Advisors.
Seated (from left) are IIUM Distinguished Professor Tan Sri Dr Mohd Kamal Hassan,
IIUM Alumni Association President cum ICGMM Conference Director Khalek Awang,
USM Pro-Chancellor Tan Sri Razali Ismail and
Institute of Strategic and International Studies Chairman Tan Sri Jawhar Hassan.
Standing (from left) are Razak School of Government Chief Executive Officer
Associate Professor Dr Hamidin Abdul Hamid,
Special Officer to the Prime Minister cum Prime Minister’s Office Policy and Research Division Director
Professor Dato’ Wira Dr Khairil Annas Jusoh, his Deputy, Dato’ Mazri Muhammad,
and Malaysian Institute of Translation & Books Managing Director Mohd Khair Ngadiron.
Not in the photo:
Professor Dato’ Sri Dr Zaleha Kamaruddin, Rector, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM),
Datuk Dr Syed Ali Tawfik Al-Attas, Advisor, Al-Bukhary Foundation
G l o b al M ove m e n t o f M o d e r ate s Fo u n dat i o n
ICGMM 2012
Introduction
T
he inaugural International Conference on
Global Movement of Moderates (ICGMM)
is a conference that seeks to remind us
of the cardinal responsibility of respecting
the differences – where extremists time and
again have used their vociferousness to drown
out the dissent of the moderates. The Global
Movement of Moderates represents an initiative
to make moderation respectable again, in the
same way that Malaysian foreign policy and
ASEAN have made peace and reconciliation a
dynamic feature of Southeast Asia.
Extremism is often hoisted on the back of
hubris, arrogance, and sheer indifference. These
attributes are often deemed the precursor
of extremism. Indeed, contrary to popular
perception of extremism being the preserve of
the crazed few from the periphery, extremism
has little, if anything, to do with the margins. It
is what happens at the centre that manifests
itself in various forms of extremism, to put it more
methodically, moderation that is based upon
the pursuit of collective action to prevent the
tragedy of the commons.
When all sides pursue their own interest
without serious consideration of the interests
Global M ove m e n t o f M o d e r ate s Fo u n dat i o n
and views of others, then such an approach
can lead to a downward spiral. The Global
Movement of Moderates is an attempt to put
a check to this destructive behaviour. Hence,
just as extremism is everywhere, the Global
Movement of Moderates stand up to extremism,
anytime, anywhere, and any place.
The Global Movement of Moderates
implicitly understands the need for certainty,
predictability, and certitude in social affairs –
this despite the world morphing into one where
only change is the norm.
The Global Movement of Moderates is
an incipient movement. It marks the efforts of
the moderates to emphasise the importance
of keeping everything in perspective when
one is engaged in heated political or religious
discussions, either within borders or across
them.
The Global Movement of Moderates
claims no exclusive ownership of the idea of
moderation other than the emphasis on joint
cooperation. Although the Secretariat of GMM
may in the interim operate out of Malaysia, it
seeks to work with like-minded governments
and NGOs in the pursuit of moderation.
ICGMM 2012
Contents
4
5
Foreword From The Prime Minister
Of Malaysia and The Patron Of The
Foundation
Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak
Foreword From The Conference Director
Khalek Awang
6 The Five Themes of the Conference
8 Keynote Address Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak,
Prime Minister Of Malaysia
17 First Plenary Session
Finding The Moderate Voice Within
23 Second Plenary Session
The Future For Diversity, Dialogue &
Peaceful Coexistence
29 Third Plenary Session
Social Justice: Balance Between Profits & Greed
35 Fourth Plenary Session
Between Moderation & Extremism: Challenges & Responses
41 First Townhall Session
United States Of America & The Muslim
World: Charting A Sustainable Future
47 Fifth Plenary Session
The Role Of Education In Nurturing
Moderation
53 Sixth Plenary Session
Global Moderation: Coalition Of The
Willing
59 Second Townhall Session
The Role Of Superpowers In The
Realignment Of Global Power: Between
Realpolitik & Soft Power
65 Seventh Plenary Session
Conflict Resolution: The Need For A New
International Paradigm
71 Special Panel Address
Democracy & Moderation
75 First Luncheon Session
The Hon. Dato’ Sri Anifah Aman,
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Malaysia
79 Second Luncheon Session
Dr Marty Natalegawa,
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Republic of
Indonesia
83 Third Luncheon Session
Admiral (Retd) Dennis C. Blair, Former US Director of National Intelligence
87 Special Royal Address
His Royal Highness Raja Dr Nazrin Shah,
Crown Prince of Perak
91 First Dinner Session
YABhg Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad,
Former Prime Minister of Malaysia
95 Second Dinner Session
YABhg Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi,
99 Closing Speech
Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Haji Hassan,
President Of International Islamic University
Malaysia
103 Closing Keynote Address
The Hon. Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin,
Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
108 List Of Speakers
115 ICGMM In Pictures
ICGMM 2012
Foreword From
The Prime Minister
Assalamualaikum
I
t is indeed a great honour to have so many
men and women of distinguished credentials
from various fields to be here in Kuala Lumpur
to support a truly global movement that seeks to
find solutions, take real action and deliver real
change. In this period of great calamity where
acts of extremism reign supreme and somewhat
captures the imagination of the masses, a
concerted effort involving both state and nonstate actors is imperative. The threats facing
our civilization at the moment recognises no
geographical, religious or cultural boundaries.
It is time for the moderates of all countries, of
all religions to take back the centre, to reclaim
the agenda for peace and pragmatism, and to
marginalise the extremists.
The International Conference on Global
Movement of Moderates aims to provide a
platform for all of us to learn from each other
and foster understanding in this time of great
disarray. Indeed history has shown us that the
greatest civilizations had to overcome greater
struggles. However, at this critical juncture of our
material progress, although conflicts and clashes
persist, the room for dialogue and peaceful coexistence had grown even broader. Hence,
it is imperative that we incorporate a vision of
mutual trust based on a mixture of methodical
arguments and normative aspirations.
As a country that espouses moderation in all
its domestic and global adventures – managing
differences in a land with divergent worldviews
and ideologies – Malaysia stands at the
geographical crossroads of major civilizations
and religions of the world. In strengthening
our own process of national unity, I have
introduced a philosophy known as 1Malaysia
that calls for the acceptance of diversity as a
source of greater unity and bring all our people
together in a just and harmonious relationship.
We, therefore, would like to play our part
in promoting a truly global understanding,
harmony and tolerance.
Again, I would like to welcome all of you
to Kuala Lumpur, a city that has grown from
strength to strength, which I hope would serve
as a catalyst for civilizational progress that would
be attained in years, decades and centuries
ahead of us. The future for mankind’s destiny
is indeed within our hands and I hope that the
Global Movement of Moderates would be the
very genesis of the perpetual peace that our
future generations would once again preserve.
The Hon. Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak
Prime Minister of Malaysia and Patron Of the
Global Movement Of Moderates Foundation
ICGMM 2012
Foreword From
The Conference Director
I
IUM Alumni Association in collaboration with
the International Islamic University Malaysia
is proud to welcome our esteemed and
honourable speakers and delegates to the
inaugural International Conference on Global
Movement of Moderates. We are immensely
proud to host such an important conference
where matters of civilizational importance will
be deliberated by the best of minds across
different disciplines from around the world.
IIUM Alumni Association is an independent
non-governmental organisation that is home
to more than 50,000 graduates from over 100
countries across the globe. There are currently
40 IIUM Alumni chapters across Asia, Europe
and Africa that help connect alumni with the
University and fellow graduates through a
wealth of academic, trade and educational
programmes. As we move boldly into our second
decade of establishment, we are confronted
with the issue of extremism that now permeates
into our daily affairs, be it in education, politics,
economics or religion.
The idea of having this Conference was
conceived when the Prime Minister of Malaysia,
The Hon. Dato’ Sri Mohd. Najib Tun Razak
delivered a speech calling for a ‘movement
of moderates’ at the 65th Session of the United
Nations General Assembly in New York. From
there, we saw the opportunity to globalise this
idea that is based on the pursuit of collective
action. We are indeed very delighted that our
effort to organise this Conference received
overwhelming support from the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Razak School of Government
and Institut Terjemahan dan Buku Malaysia.
With 850 delegates from over 70 countries, I
hope this Conference would serve as a beacon
to the growth of civilisations premised on an
enduring and just peace. Again I would like to
welcome all of you to this inaugural International
Conference on Global Movement of Moderates
and to the city of Kuala Lumpur. With the
presence of guests from the government,
civil society, non-governmental organisations,
media and academia, I hope the deliberations
would go across boundaries that have so far
isolated us from one another.
And may I say “Selamat Datang” – Welcome
to Malaysia!
Khalek Awang
Conference Director,
International Conference on
Global Movement of Moderates
Cum
President of IIUM Alumni Association
ICGMM 2012
The Five Themes of the
Conference
Introduction
Although the traditional concept of moderation
has primarily been understood in the context of
religious extremism and political violence, the
powerful idea can be applied to a variety of
challenges that we currently face in light of
our increasingly interconnected world. The
idea of the Global Movement of Moderates
was mooted with the notion that extremism
can manifest itself through various guises and
mediums, and a more open, inclusive and
expansive framework of moderation is arguably
more suited towards dealing with the multilayered, complex issues facing us today. To that
end, moderation as envisioned under the rubric
of the Global Movement of Moderates seeks
to address extremism in at least five sectors:
Peaceful Co-Existence, Democracy and Rule
of Law, Finance and Economy, Education and
Conflict Resolution.
Peaceful Co-Existence
Diversity is a key characteristic of the globalized
world. With diversity comes the responsibility to
protect the fabric of multicultural identities and
lives. How this is done is contingent on different
stakeholders having regular dialogue on their
differences and commonalities. Peaceful coexistence is a concept that seeks to extend
the terms and meaning by which all can live
and conduct themselves responsibly. The
aim of peaceful co-existence is to establish
a baseline where all sides, having found the
creed to respect each other, can enhance
and enrich their respective philosophical and
religious traditions. This is achieved by adopting
moderation as a way of life steeped in the
search for justice, equilibrium and equity.
Democracy and Rule of Law
Democracy is often seen as the bedrock of
modern civilized society. As a system that seeks
the middle path between the tyranny of the
majority and the absolutism of despots, our
understanding of the nature of democracy has
often been tempered by our experience with
the rule of law, and how effective legal regimes
that accommodate the needs of society and
the desire for justice serve to lubricate the
engines of good governance while serving
the will of the people. Understanding how
the workings of democracy and rule of law
are underpinned by the ideals of moderation
constitutes the core focus of research in this
theme.
Finance & Economy
The international financial system has been
marked by serious ruptures and fluctuations.
The Asian Financial Crisis (1997-1998), the Global
Credit Crunch (2007-2008) and the Euro Zone
Crisis (2012) have made the world more unstable
politically, economically, and socially. Before
these impacts could be mapped out, and
ICGMM 2012
systematically understood, there is a need to
understand the excesses that have proliferated
in the financial system first. This is to allow one
to understand the intensity and regularity of
the financial crisis in future. Whether Islamic
banking can be a good alternative needs to
be examined in consonant with the problems
exhibited in the current international financial
system too.
Education
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) affirmed in
1945 that ‘wars begin in the minds of men and
it is in the minds of men that the defences of
peace must be constructed’. Education has
tremendous impact on human perception,
beliefs and values. It is through education
that human misperception and prejudice
are deconstructed and where diversity is
accepted and embraced. Thus, equitable
access to quality basic education is critical for
international peace and security.
Conflict Resolution
Although conflict may perhaps be as old as
time itself, the field of conflict resolution that
seeks to discover the ways and means by
which workable and sustainable solutions can
be applied to address complex and seemingly
intractable issues arising from the rise in ethnic
tensions, hyper-nationalism, income disparity
and economic declines, to name a few,
continues to be relevant to global society today.
The principles and practice of moderation
facilitate the identification of the causes of
conflicts, the mediation of discussions between
opposing groups, and the investigation into
potential strategies to address and resolve
conflicts, and provide the basis for research into
this theme.
ICGMM
2012
Keynote Address
Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak
Prime Minister Of Malaysia
ICGMM 2012
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim
Your Royal Highness, your excellencies, ladies
and gentlemen, distinguished guests.
I
am delighted to join all of you today at the
very first conference of the Global Movement
of the Moderates – I know many of you have
travelled thousands of miles to be here, and
I want to thank you for your dedication and
commitment to our common cause. We have
a saying in Malaysia, tak kenal maka tak cinta,
which means “we can’t love what we don’t
know” – and it is my sincere hope that over the
next few days we will come to both know and
love each other better, and to put that mutual
empathy and understanding into the service of
facing down extremism in all its forms.
Here in Malaysia, moderation has always
been our chosen path. It is a testament to how
we gained our independence from the British
back in 1957; how we restored our relations with
Indonesia in 1965; and how we helped build
ASEAN in 1967, recovered from the tragic events
of May 1969, engaged with China in 1972, and
forged the ground-breaking ASEAN security and
economic communities in 1993 and 2009. Each
was a significant moment for our country, and
all were gained through reasoned discussion
and debate.
But over and above Malaysia’s own
achievements, moderation is the fitrah, or
Keynote Address
essence, of humanity’s greatest heights; the
solid bedrock on which all of the world’s
civilisations have been built – for without it, we
would long ago have succumbed to epicurean
pleasures and delights! Yet moderation stands
not just in the defence of willpower, discipline
and restraint but of acceptance, freedom,
tolerance, compassion, justice and peace.
Being moderate is not about being weak,
about appeasement or about institutionalising
mediocrity. And it is not about doing halfheartedly those things that are worthy of our
fullest measure of devotion. Far from being
an ideology of enfeeblement, as some would
have us believe, moderation empowers us to
go forward and to leave a mark for good –
attending to the needs, frustrations and anxieties
of others at the same time as attending to our
own.
In the words of Robert F. Kennedy, “it is from
numberless diverse acts of courage and belief
that human history is shaped. Each time a man
stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the
lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he
sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing
each other from a million different centres of
energy and daring, those ripples build a current
which can sweep down the mightiest walls of
oppression and resistance.”
That, ladies and gentlemen, is the current
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we are here to build today – and let us make
no mistake, we come together at a particularly
troubled juncture in our global history. New
faces of war, the global financial crisis and
natural disasters on a previously unseen scale
present us with challenges the like of which we
have never had to face before. But face them
we must, and the way we choose to deal with
these changes will have a crucial bearing on
the future of our shared civilisation.
The scale and speed of the events that
unfolded across the Middle East and North
Africa in 2011 at times felt almost overwhelming,
but as the chaos and confusion gives way to
calm the whole world is united in the hope that
– rather than falling victim to an extremism and
intolerance that closes in to fill the void – these
countries and peoples can forge a peaceful,
democratic moderation that will grant them
more freedom of expression, not less.
Elsewhere, Nigeria has recently borne
witness to deadly clashes between its Christian
and Muslim communities. But the Nigerian
government has made it quite clear that such
behaviour will not stand and that there will be
consequences for those who seek to hijack faith
for violent ends. Because the real divide is not
between Muslims and non-Muslims, or between
the developed and developing worlds, it is
between moderates and extremists.
So we have, each one of us, a choice to
make: the choice between animosity and
suspicion on the one hand and a sustained
attempt to apprehend each other’s world views
on the other. Certainly, we should never assume
that the oceans and gulfs that divide us grant
us immunity to the conflicts of others. Tensions
in Africa or harsh words uttered in the Americas
can have consequences not only for those who
live there but for us all. In today’s world of the
information superhighway such conflicts travel
quickly – and no-one has a monopoly on truth.
Of course – much as it would be nice to
claim the credit! – calls such as my own for a
ICGMM 2012
Global Movement of the Moderates are nothing
new. Moderation is an age-old value, and one
that runs right to the heart of the great religions.
In Islam, the Prophet Muhammad counsels
that “moderation is the best of actions”; in
Christianity, the Bible says “let your moderation
be known unto all men”; and in Judaism, the
Torah teaches that moderation in all things
is a “way of life” in the truest sense of Jewish
custom.
But if moderation has long had a home
within the world religions, then the reverse is
also true: extremism has never been welcome
inside our mosques, churches, synagogues and
temples.
Perpetuating hatred is, by its very nature, a
lonely pursuit, flying in the face of widely held
morality – and it is this dangerously untethered
animus, coupled with a head-in-the-sand
refusal to acknowledge the views and the
values of others, that makes extremism such a
potent threat.
And yet, time and again the side of
righteousness has triumphed. History has been
made not by those who espoused extremism but
by those who, without surrendering their beliefs,
stayed true to the path of moderation. We are
all familiar with the extraordinary strength of will
and leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson
Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi, but you don’t
have to be a world leader to be an inspiration.
Moderates can make a difference wherever
they make a stand – and it is time for the massed
ranks of the moderates everywhere to stand up
and to say to the extremists with a single breath
a firm, resounding “no”.
Because one thing is clear: we cannot rid
the world of extreme views by force. Violence
begets violence – so we can best foster
tolerance and understanding not by silencing
the voice of hatred but by making the voice of
reason louder. Persuasion, negotiation and cooperation: these must be our weapons in the
face of enmity and malice.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The range of speakers and delegates here
today is diverse in every sense, embracing
experts and thought leaders from all continents
and walks of life. This can, I think, mean just
one thing: that extremism has at some point
affected every country, every profession and
everyone. No-one is immune, nowhere is out of
bounds and nothing is off limits – for the simple
reason that extremists, with their totalising world
views, are reluctant to leave any institution,
sacred or secular, untouched.
Extremists, we know, are driven by orthodoxies – a set of messianic ideals characterised
by crass simplifications, misrepresentations
and outright lies. Rather than celebrating the
sanctity of life, as is required by all religions,
extremists emphasise the glory of the afterlife.
Rather than seeking out and embracing
difference they espouse ignorance, intolerance
and introspection. And rather than embracing
change they fear it and all who drive it, turning
their backs on progress and seeking refuge in
an idealised world that always stays the same.
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Keynote Address
The essence, and perhaps the attraction,
of extremism is its apparent simplicity – so it falls
to movements and gatherings like this one to
interrogate these easy truisms with subtlety,
intelligence and vigour.
Talk of extremism and extremist acts
conjures up terrible images of murder, mayhem
and human suffering, but extremism isn’t always
violent – and I believe we literalise it at our peril.
Take, for example, one of the most extreme yet
ostensibly non-violent events in recent history:
the global financial crisis.
Compared to the shockingly violent images
that were beamed around the world in the
wake of 9/11 – scenes of devastation on an
epic scale that scarred a generation and
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seared the collective conscience of the world
– the pictures taken outside Lehman Brothers
on another September morning some years
later were much more ordinary, familiar even.
A young woman, tense and anxious, carries her
belongings out of the firm’s headquarters in a
box. A disgraced executive, walking quickly,
climbs into his luxury car and speeds away.
Nothing too unusual or untoward – and yet,
without a single bullet fired, the extremes and
excesses of Wall Street would in a matter of
days take the world as we knew it to the brink.
Fast forward four years and it is clear there
is no end in sight. The eurozone is still in crisis.
Countless millions have lost their jobs, their
homes and their security. And in addition to the
human cost, some US$14 trillion has so far been
ICGMM 2012
spent on the rescue plan – ten times the cost of
the wars in Afghanistan and in Iraq combined.
So if my call for moderation is idealistic, it is
hard-headedly realistic too. Many great Islamic
scholars have been concerned with how Islam
as a religious, cultural, political, ethical and
economic worldview can help solve some of
the biggest challenges we face today, and
these are also questions that interest me – how
moderation can solve not only the problem of
violent extremism but can guide us through this
global economic crisis.
Thomas Jefferson once said that “the selfish
spirit of commerce knows no country, and feels
no passion of principle but that of gain.” It is a
sentiment that has been revisited many times in
the years and months since Lehman’s fell.
No less a figure than the Pope has blamed
the global financial crisis on “the lack of a solid
ethical foundation for economic activity.”
Britain’s Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks has
written of the need for employers, bankers and
shareholders to be “guided, even if no-one is
watching, by a sense of what is responsible and
right.” And for Muslims like myself, the structures
and principles of Islamic finance have long put
public good ahead of individual gain.
So how do we create a truly moderate
global economy that works in the interests of
the many not the few? How can we devise
a system that delivers fairness for “the 99 per
cent”, not just those at the top? Quite simply, we
can no longer allow the workings of the markets
to be value-free or value-neutral. Markets, we
all know, are the only route to rising global
prosperity and sustained, stable growth – but we
must do away with the unjust, unfair outcomes
they can produce when left unchecked, and
with the kinds of reckless economic practices
that brought our global financial system to its
knees.
Massive overleveraging. Mind-boggling
credit default swaps. Subprime lending. Like
the monstrous creation of some crazy scientist,
these new and poorly understood financial
practices rampaged out of Wall Street and left
the devastated lives of millions in their wake.
But what of the men and women, the
bankers and the traders, who went about
their work with such abandon and with so
little thought for anything beyond their own
enrichment? A line of mug shots of the culprits
would look very different to the “rogues gallery”
of extremists we have grown accustomed to
in recent years – sharp-suited, desk bound
and clean shaven rather than dark skinned,
bearded and combat-trained.
This flies in the face of everything we have
been told about extremism – but it also raises
the important question: what do extremists
look like? How can we come to know them?
The answer, of course, is that extremists, like
extremism itself, take many forms – and we can
only know them by their acts.
It is something I believe the world would do
well to remember, for too often in recent times
we have seen extremism and Islam discussed in
the same breath. In the aftermath of 9/11, for
example, Southeast Asia came to be regarded
as a ‘second front’ simply because it had the
highest number of Muslims in the world. And yet
terrorism has never gained the same grip here
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Keynote Address
that it has secured in other parts of the world.
And when a great evil visited Norway last
year, so-called experts filled the airwaves to
assert that the attack bore all the hallmarks of
Muslim extremists. We swiftly discovered that the
awful truth was very different, yet around the
world politicians, journalists and commentators
remain committed to the idea that terrorism
and Islam are two sides of the same coin.
After Timothy McVeigh brought mass
slaughter to the streets of Oklahoma City,
nobody suggested that all Christians were
somehow responsible. To do so would rightly
have been seen as absurd, yet that is the
situation the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims find
themselves in today.
How did this happen? How did acts of
extremism by a tiny minority of Muslims come
to be seen as a true reflection of the whole
of the Islamic faith – and to overshadow the
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extremism that is being perpetrated right across
the world, day in day out, by people of all faiths
and none? Such pernicious views cannot be left
unchallenged – and it is not enough to say, as
many have done, that the solution to extremism
is simply for more Muslims to speak up and
speak out. We need to hear from moderates
of all religions in all countries and from all walks
of life – and when we do, the prize of peace is
there for all to see.
Malaysia has long been synonymous not
with extremism but with moderation, tolerance,
inclusivity and even acceptance. In a
predominantly Muslim country with substantial
communities of Hindus, Buddhists, Christians,
Taoists and Sikhs, we know well the “dignity
of difference”. We have many ethnic groups,
many religions, but we continually strive to be a
harmonious and truly united nation predicated
ICGMM 2012
on the values of moderation and the spirit of
1Malaysia.
We know that we are best and we are
strongest when we actively embrace our
differences rather than just putting up with them
– and it is in that spirit that we come together at
the first ever meeting of the Global Movement
of the Moderates. But a truly global movement
cannot be imposed from above – so we must
awaken in all our countries and communities
the triumph of truth over ignorance, falsehood
and fear.
Ladies and gentlemen,
To advance our common cause, I am
pleased to announce today the formation
here in Malaysia of an Institute of Wasatiyyah,
operating as part of the Prime Minister’s Office,
to further the pursuit of moderation and balance
in all its aspects – respect for democracy, the
rule of law, education, human dignity and social
justice. In the words of the great scholar AlImam Ibnul Qayyim, wasatiyyah – moderation
or ‘balance’ – “neither being too lenient nor too
extreme is like an oasis between two mountains”,
and to encourage many more such scholars in
the future we will also be creating an academic
Chair of Wasatiyyah, operating under Universiti
Malaya, with the postholder to be announced
in due course.
To spearhead this work at an international
level, I am delighted to announce the launch
of a new Global Movement of the Moderates
Foundation as a centre of first resort for the
consolidation and dissemination of information
and campaign materials to all those who want
to join the fight against extremism, governmental
and non-governmental bodies alike. Certainly it
is essential that, rather than being an exclusive
initiative by Malaysia, the GMM complements
other initiatives for global dialogue and coG l o b al M ove m e n t o f M o d e r ate s Fo u n dat i o n
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Keynote Address
operation such as the United Nations Alliance
of Civilisations.
It will not be a campaign for the faint
hearted, but we cannot allow this moment to
be overtaken by extremists, with those who
shout loudest gaining the most. In the words
of that great advocate for peace, Mahatma
Gandhi, “an eye for an eye makes the whole
world blind” – so it is for moderates everywhere
to stand firm and stand proud, to dissipate
the pull of the extremes and to deny those at
the margins a foothold on the middle ground,
ensuring that frustrations, wherever they are felt,
are heeded and that voices, wherever they
speak out, are heard.
Certainly, I hope this inaugural conference
will provide an opportunity for us to brainstorm,
debate and explore some of the practical
challenges ahead – questions like: What does
it take for a set of ideas and values to become
a truly global movement? How can we inject
moderation into our foreign policy decisions
and domestic economic measures? And what
16
can we learn from each other in the promotion
of understanding, tolerance and peace?
Ladies and gentlemen
Maybe I am naïve to hope for a world
without terror, intolerance and all of the hatreds
and miseries that man inflicts on man – but the
price of failure if we dream too small is simply
too high to pay. So let us dare to dream big,
let us dare to imagine what was once thought
unimaginable, and yes, let us dare to answer
the clarion call to action. Oppression and
tyranny can only win out if good men and
women stand idly by, unwilling to turn rhetoric
into action and opinions into deeds.
So let us here, today, together, commit
ourselves to change and begin the task of
building a new coalition of the moderates for
our times – and may I thank you once again
for coming and wish you well in your discussions
over the next few days. There has never been a
more important conversation, and it is one that
we must undertake with temperance, fortitude
and courage.
ICGMM
2012
First Plenary Session
From Left:
Professor Dr Maurits S. Berger
Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al Madani
Distinguished Professor Tan Sri Dr Muhammad Kamal Hassan
Dato’ Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir
17
Finding The Moderate
Voice Within
MODERATOR
Chief Minister, State of Perak
SPEAKERS
H.E. Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al Madani
President, Islamic Development Bank
Professor of Islam in the Contemporary West, Sultan of Oman Chair of Oriental Studies,
Leiden University
Distinguished Professor Tan Sri Dr Muhammad Kamal Hassan
Former Rector of International Islamic University Malaysia
M
oderated by the Chief Minister of
the State of Perak, Dato’ Seri Dr
Zambry Abdul Kadir, the first plenary
session sought to define the values related to
moderation. These values, related to respect and
care towards the world, need to be analyzed.
The Islamic classification of moderation as
stated in the Qur’an refers to justice, goodness,
safety, strength and unity. The moderator then
posits whether we have enough to make sure
that this voice is heard. The session brought
together theological scholars and the head of
a regional financial institution.
His Excellency Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali
Al Madani opened the discussion by saying
that all parts of the world are suffering from
extremism and no single nation is excluded
from this disaster. However, at the same time
the world is undergoing a wave of change that
seeks justice and inclusive development. In his
view, the finance world needs to find innovative
business or developmental models themed
18
ICGMM 2012
around moderation. The idea must be rooted
in equitable development distribution and that
the three main pillars of inclusive growth are
supply, demand and intermediation.
On the pillar of supply, a vibrant financial
sector is needed. Banks are an instrument and
not an end in itself. The world needs to change
the immoral conventional banking system into a
trusted and ethics-based banking as espoused
by the current Islamic banking model. On the
part of demand, there needs to be a healthy
dimensioning of the real economic sector, and
the private sector must assume an increasing
role in inclusive development. The private sector
needs to be more ethical and embrace social
responsibility.
The definition to include moral responsibility
in governing corporate behaviour needs to be
further expanded and Ibn Khaldun strives for
human capital development as the precursor to
inclusive development. In his view, moderation
is a desired behaviour and a way of life. It is
about finding the middle ground. The answer
lies in a win-win situation. The media plays a
pivotal role in stimulating moral behaviour.
Such transformation would lead to a trusted
and value-based economy that promotes
moderation from within. Human satisfaction no
longer lies merely in the material of things. As
described by Maqasid Syariah, the answer lies
in the path of development that is sustainable.
Beyond this, Professor Dr Maurits S. Berger
19
stated that too much attention has been given
to extremists and too little to the moderates. In
his opinion, the voices of the moderates need to
be heard and they need a worthwhile platform.
After the tragedy of September 11, 2001, he
theorises that the West was desperately seeking
for answers but little response was sought from
moderate Muslims. This disconnection between
the tragedy and the real cause resulted in
Muslims being reluctant to open up. Hence
20
Muslims too need to be introspective in order to
make sense out of this senseless environment.
He then questioned how we define moderation
and that clarity is very important.
In his view, moderation as a subject is,
unfortunately, quite dull. It needs to be lived
to the full distance, it needs to embrace the
notion of justice and love and it needs to
speak the language of the young as they are
the majority in the Muslim world. Apart from
that lies the irony of “one person’s moderate
is another’s extreme”. And this would lead to
moderation running the risk of becoming a
source of censorship and this may become a
stifling blanket.
In his last point of argument, he called for
Muslims to “walk the talk”. In theory, Muslims
go to great length to proclaim moderation
and justice. However in practice, it is quite
the contrary. Acts of violence committed in
the name of Islam persists, making Islam guilty
by association. Concluding his presentation,
Professor Dr Maurits S. Berger stated that we all
must bring Islam’s teachings in line with Muslim’s
actions. Moderation should be a quality of
action and interaction.
Distinguished Professor Tan Sri Dr Muham-
ICGMM 2012
mad Kamal Hassan spoke on the delicate
issue of subjectivity and bias in the rebranding
and reframing of Islam and Muslims. These
are concocted by people who see Islam
from their limited perspective. He pointed out
that moderation, as championed by Islam, is
derived from the Qur’an and Sunnah as there
are plentiful verses and quotes emphasising
and describing this concept. As an example,
The Malay-Muslim community in South East
Asia has put in place a democratically powersharing arrangement with non-Muslims for the
past 60 years. He then quoted Muhammad
Asad describing the Malay-Muslim community
as a “middlesome community”.
In this sense, justice, gentleness and kindness
are advocated. Continuing his presentation, he
stated that extremism is indeed prohibited in
all religions and this needs to be practiced by
practitioners of other religions. As an example,
the Muslims around the world say that the
West must improve their relations with the
Muslim world and they must be moderate on
what they say and how they view Muslims and
Islam. He summarised by saying that there are
exceptions such as the surge of extremism in
South East Asia which is due to a long history of
injustice by the powers that be.
Asked whether the world is witnessing unjust
practices of development in the Muslim world,
the panellists argued that the implicit argument
lies in whether Muslims are just as capable of
committing injustice as are also done by the
non-Muslims for there are 23 Least Developed
21
Countries (LDC) members in the Islamic
Development Bank. Apart from the financial
institutions, this is also the duty of Ulamas and all
Muslims to combat corruption.
It is also important to develop a social
construct that allows for differences of views
rather than suppressing them. The panellists also
agreed that the precepts on wasatiyyah have
not been emphasised. It needs to be identified,
socialised, internalised and adopted through
education. This could be realised through
“Ijtihad” and must be met by authoritative
leadership of knowledge. Apart from that it
could also be met through the “Syura”, the
pursuit of justice and “Waqi’iy” which is the
understanding of the realities in ground/local
context.
22
ICGMM
2012
ICGMM 2012
Second Plenary Session
From Left:
Distinguished Professor Datuk Dr Shamsul Amri Baharuddin
His Excellency Professor Ayatollah Sheikh Mahdi Hadavi Tehrani
Dr Ernest Bower
Mr Bunn Nagara
23
The Future For Diversity, Dialogue
And Peaceful Co-existence
MODERATOR
Bunn Nagara
Associate Editor and Columnist, The Star
SPEAKERS
Distinguished Professor Datuk Dr Shamsul Amri Baharuddin
Founder and Director, Institute of Ethnic Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Ernest Bower
Senior Advisor and Director, Center for Strategic and International Studies
His Excellency Professor Ayatollah Syeikh Mahdi Hadavi Tehrani
Founder and President, Porch of Wisdom Cultural Institution
M
oderated by Mr Bunn Nagara, the
editor of Malaysia’s most influential
newspaper “The Star”, this panel
session delved into matters of diversity, dialogue
and co-existence and how dialogue is very
important even before conflicts break out. In his
introductory remark, Mr Bunn Nagara stressed
that a strong sense of leadership is needed
apart from political vision in order for future
conflicts to be averted. This session questioned
as to what will be the future for diversity and
how would the future of this inter-connected
world be assured. This session brought together
a religious scholar from Iran, a social cohesion
expert from Malaysia as well as a respected
International Relations scholar from the United
States.
Distinguished Professor Shamsul Amri
Baharuddin started his presentation by stating
that an initiative such as the Global Movement
of Moderates is not the first of its kind. At the
height of the Cold War, Indonesia hosted the
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ICGMM 2012
Bandung Conference in 1955. In 1961, Josip
Broz Tito along with four other leaders from the
developing world founded the Non-Aligned
Movement in reference to the two major power
blocs. And in 1969, the establishment of the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation attempted
to safeguard the interests and ensuring the
progress and well-being of Muslims. Professor
Shamsul then inferred that the problem lies
with 1% of trouble makers who are given 99%
attention, and posits that the real argument lies
in how does the other 99% moderates deal with
this.
In continuing his presentation, he stated
that there should be a state of equilibrium
for any society to develop. However, he
emphasised that it is not the state of equilibrium
that produces moderates or moderateness
in Malaysia, rather it is the phenomenon of
social cohesion that leads to moderation
and moderateness. In expounding further on
the point of social cohesion, he argued that
politically fragmented society has the capacity
to rise above differences in embracing peace
and reject any form of violence. Of course
there will be grievances but it is done so in the
context of social cohesion whereby people
with different interests agree to disagree.
Professor Shamsul also theorises that
social cohesion is not unity but it is the path
and preconditions to unity. The economics
of political conflict in Malaysia and Sri Lanka
25
confirms this theory whereby social cohesion
needs to be packaged in a way where there is
fluidity in the interaction between society, state
and market. There needs to be the acceptance
and the institutionalisation of “power-sharing”
by all social groups, articulated in the form of
a coalition. Finally, Professor Shamsul suggested
that even in Malaysia, social cohesion is still
work in progress. Hence, a long term monitoring
mechanism must be put in place such as social
research & development instrument, an early
warning system for potential conflicts and a
social alignment index.
The Founder and President of Porch of
Wisdom Cultural Institution, Professor Ayatollah
Sheikh Mahdi Hadavi Tehrani focused on the
definition of global peaceful co-existence
26
through multiculturalism and intercultural
dialogue. He argued that diversity is a natural
phenomenon although some rejected this fact.
And in many instances, false interpretations
lead to extremism and it encompasses both
religious and non-religious spheres. He pressed
for the notion that religions were the source of
peaceful co-existence throughout the history of
mankind. In light of the negative perception that
has befallen Muslims, it was important to note
the features of Islamic moderation. It includes
openness and constant dialogue with other
cultures that is guided on universal wisdom and
humane quality. In conditions of political-legal
and religious pluralism within the framework of
Islam, the creators of the classical culture were
not only Arabs but also representatives of many
other peoples.
In elaborating the role of Muslim civilisation
in the global community, he argued that
historically Muslim civilisation was a component
part of Mediterranean civilisation. But the
strengthening of the political role of Islam from
the Arab-Israeli war of 1967, the growth of Islamic
“revivalist” movements after the Islamic Iranian
revolution of 1979, and the strengthening of
ICGMM 2012
the tendency of international Islamic solidarity
has caused in the minds of Western nations,
a sensation of danger and fear. Accordingly,
there has arisen aversion and hostility to what
in western literature is called “militant Islam
or fundamentalism”. For Muslims, this has
generated in response a rebirth of a feeling of
dignity of religious traditions and piety.
Hence, for the Global Community to be
realised in a multicultural world, there needs to be
common principles which can be materialised
in different situations. These common principles
should be based on human nature. In gauging
Muslim’s capability for intercultural dialogue,
His Excellency Professor Ayatollah Sheikh Mahdi
Hadavi Tehrani cited Gallup’s largest study of
Muslim populations which is based on more
than 9,000 interviews in nine Muslim countries.
The research suggests that conflict between
Muslims and the West is not inevitable and in
fact, is more about policy rather than principles.
Before he ended, he suggested that grounds
for sincere and lasting dialogue must be put
in place and this includes monotheism as a
common denominator between the world views
of Islam and Christianity and agreements on a
limited set of meta-values as smallest common
denominator for peaceful co-existence and
among those is the principle of mutuality.
The Senior Advisor and Director of Centre
for Strategic and International Studies, Dr Ernest
Bower postulates that the Southeast Asian region
needs to answer existential questions so as to
assert itself and find useful ways in dealing with
27
great powers surrounding the region. Dr Ernest
Bower affirmed that the issues of governance,
politics, foreign affairs and trade are the most
important issues surrounding South East Asia’s
tour de force. The expansion of the middle
class in Southeast Asia is the most hopeful force
for delivering moderation and peace. The
common threads of basic ambition that bind
men around the world together are the love
of a family, friends, and country, the innate
urge to earn a better life for one’s children,
the need for education, infrastructure, good
health and ultimately, freedom to pursue these
goals. Successful governments, international
frameworks, regional architecture and enduring
strategies will have to take the moderating
force of the voice of the voters to be effective
and survive in the 21st century.
As political systems open, extreme ideas
and ideologies will be brought to the table. That
is part of embracing diversity. The challenge for
Southeast Asia and the countries that make up
the Asia-Pacific community is how to support
moderation, diversity and engender dialogue
and peaceful co-existence. To achieve these
goals, governments must establish a foundation
of openness at home, work hard to create
international institutions that embody these
objectives and advocate without hesitation or
fear for other societies to hold up these universal
values. Southeast Asia is positioned to be the
foundation of regional economic and security
frameworks that will provide the construct for
a grand strategy of nations for the coming
decades.
Southeast Asia needs a strong China, but
it needs a confident neighbour willing to work
together in developing rules and guidelines within
the new Asia-Pacific frameworks. By doing so,
China will build trust and champion peace and
prosperity. In that context, supporting political
28
and economic reform in Myanmar would be
an ideal entrée. Myanmar’s reforms offer AsiaPacific countries a substantial opportunity to
strengthen ASEAN as a foundation for building
new regional trade and security architecture
that will encourage China to come to the table
and work with other countries to establish rules
governing trade and security that will promote
regional peace and prosperity, and de-conflict
areas of concern such as the South China Sea.
On the question of a shift in approach
in terms of radicalism for United States, the
panellists agree that there exist some strange
ideas that arbitrarily targets Muslims and Arabs.
However, a system of good governance
can always protect the government from
implementing these strange ideas. Following
through on that point, the panellists also agreed
that moderation and human compassion are
important in matters of foreign policy. Foreign
service and diplomatic architecture for nationstates need to understand different religions
and cultures so as make it easier to turn ideas
of moderation into reality, which is now, the
biggest challenge.
ICGMM
2012
ICGMM 2012
Third Plenary Session
From Left:
Professor Dr Ahmet Akgunduz
Mr Ian D. Edge
Professor Dato’ Dr Mohd Azmi Omar
Mr Yoshihiro Watanabe
Dato’ Dr Nik Norzrul Thani
29
Social Justice: Balance
Between Profits And Greed
MODERATOR
Dato’ Dr Nik Norzrul Thani
Director, Al Rajhi Bank (Malaysia)
SPEAKERS
Mr Ian D. Edge
Co-Director, Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
Professor Dato’ Dr Mohd Azmi Omar
Director General, Islamic Research and Training Institute,
Islamic Development Bank
Rector, Islamic University of Rotterdam
Managing Director, Institute for International Monetary Affairs
M
oderated by Dato’ Dr Nik Norzrul
Thani, Director of the world’s largest
Islamic bank, Al Rajhi Bank, this plenary
focused on the current economic debacle
which has stalled the global economy. The
subprime crisis in 2008 and the sovereign debt
crisis that hit the Eurozone recently have proven
yet again that the market cannot regulate itself.
Stemming from that crisis, many called for an
ethical and just economic system that places
social justice as an embodied element and
that strives for the rightful balance between
profits and greed.
Mr Ian D. Edge, the Co-Director of the
Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law from
the School of Oriental and African Studies
remarked that the year 2011 was a critical
point. The mainstream economic and political
institutions are bankrupt of ideas as greed and
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ICGMM 2012
corruption is seen overriding other economic
motivations. The top five enjoys more that 75%
of the total earnings while the bottom five
enjoys less than 2%. He further commented that
the guiding philosophy for the market is for the
deregulation of the market and that “Greed is
Good”. However, this only increases volatility
and instability in the market.
Mr Edge proposed six ways that could help
embody the principles of social justice and it
includes a better financial regulation, better
rules of corporate governance, reforming the
taxation system, commitment to fight corruption,
promoting employment, particularly among
the young and the increased expectation
and promotion of philanthropy. He concluded
by saying that society is a partnership not
only among those who live today but also for
generations after.
Professor Dato’ Dr Mohd Azmi Omar, the
Director General of the Islamic Research and
Training Institute, Islamic Development Bank,
started his session by looking at the history of
economic crises. There are 7 major crises within
the last 20 years. Looking at the subprime crisis
that hit the United States, Professor Azmi stated
that in Islam, it is the duty of the government to
provide houses but not the private sector. The
consequence of that is the massive securitisation
of subprime mortgage.
Securitisation, in itself, is not a problem as
Islam has “Sukuk” but the problem lies with the
31
instruments that are issued which are retooled
and reissued and in turn create heavily
excessive speculation called “Gharar” in Islam.
Another instrument that is akin to gambling is
credit default swap. These instruments have led
to the moral failures of banks and its personnel.
In many instances we see that banks privatise
their profits and socialise their losses and by that
it shows how greed plays an important role. He
summed up his presentation by saying that the
principles of “Maqasid Syariah” should be used
as a basis to moderate the current financial
systems.
Mr Yoshihiro Watanabe, the Managing
Director of the Institute for International
Monetary Affairs, is of the view that after the
fall of the Soviet Union, United States became
the sole superpower in promoting the market
economy. The shockwave spread globally
in a globalised economy. From then on, the
prosperity of the economy was achieved but
security is compromised. In a market oriented
economy, people are encouraged to pursue
profit but profit maximisation moved by greed
cannot be sustainable and could cause crises.
In Japan, Mr Watanabe pointed out that
banks are managed soundly for the public to
contribute to the national economy. Prudence
32
and oversight are the most important issues.
Hence Japan’s current rate of development is
due to the financial security that is very much
emphasised by the government. In the 1980s,
people and corporations in Japan focused
so much on domestic real estate and that
created a bubble which was unsustainable. He
concluded by saying that the five major values
that shaped the Japanese market is diligence,
savings, human resources, practical mindedness
and awareness of market limitations.
Professor Dr Ahmet Akgunduz, the Rector
of Islamic University of Rotterdam compared
conventional finance to Islamic finance. He
pointed out that “Zakat” and “Waqf” could be
the bridge between profits and greed. Through
ICGMM 2012
alms-giving or “Zakat” and social assistance
“Waqf” hunger and poverty could be
eradicated and prohibition of earning without
working or “Riba” could also be reduced.
Professor Akgunduz pressed further by saying
that the global community must not allow
the creation of an unbridgeable rift between
the poor and the rich as is happening in most
capitalist civilisations.
Greed is deceitful – as Professor Akgunduz
quoted Prophet Muhammad S.A.W – and it
causes dissatisfaction, disappointment and loss,
and causes the destruction of sincerity. Before
he ended his presentation, he drove home the
point that restrictions and limitations for rate of
profit is an important matter such as in Islam,
33
profits are not allowed to exceed the 10% rate
via “Mu’amalah”. There are 3 very important
principles that need to be exhibited which are
trust, justice and honesty and mutual respect.
In summary, Professor Akgunduz emphasised
that there is no difference in proficiency among
people and we must derive the principles of
justice from Islam.
Asked whether are there alternative
economic systems that could replace the
current system, the panellists argued that
change could not happen overnight and there
is a need for more corporate governance from
bottom up. In the short term, suggestions to
improve the current system must be made by
all stakeholders but definitely not to deny the
importance of alternative systems such as the
propositions of the Islamic financial systems.
34
ICGMM
2012
ICGMM 2012
Fourth Plenary Session
From Left:
YB Nasharuddin Mat Isa
Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein
Mr Hajime Ogawa
35
Between Moderation
And Extremism:
Challenges And Responses
MODERATOR
The Hon. Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein
Home Minister of Malaysia
SPEAKERS
YB Nasharuddin Mat Isa
Malaysian Member of Parliament
Mr Hajime Ogawa
Former Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan
M
oderated by The Hon. Dato’ Seri
Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, the
Malaysian Minister of Home Affairs,
this session delved into the question of
moderation and extremism and how it has
shaped both religious and political discourse.
Emanating from this discourse, the world is
getting more polarised and there is a need for
a holistic outlook towards finding the median in
potential conflicts. This session brought together
a Member of Parliament from Malaysia and a
former Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign
Affairs from Japan.
Member of Parliament from Malaysia
YB Nasharuddin Mat Isa stated that the two
challenges facing Muslims right now are modern
extremism and generalization of Muslims. On
Muslims being associated with extremism, YB
Nasharuddin theorises that post September 11
changed people’s mind-set about Islam and this
was because non-Muslims failed to understand
the religion. This has led to Islamophobia or
obtuse generalisation that paved the way
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ICGMM 2012
towards unfair treatment of Muslims across the
world. Even with these negative developments
regarding Muslims and Islam, YB Nasharuddin
posits that Islam should be a strong cohesive
force for the world order. As an example, the
past history showed how Islam protected other
religions under the Muslim administration.
This was also corroborated with the failure of
the concept of nation-states in ensuring global
stability. He then quoted the Qur’anic concept
of Wasatiyyah that could be used for promoting
interstate cooperation. History has shown that
Muslims had built successful civilizations based
on a sound theory of good governance such as
seen in the “Hudaibiyyah Treaty”. He concluded
his presentation by stating that Muslims must
be a good example to others in order to foster
better interaction with non-Muslims and this
includes the ability to rule better, profess their
faith confidently, reduce the crisis of thought
among themselves and propagate Islam as a
way to free humanity from the state of greed.
For Mr Hajime Ogawa, the former
Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs
of Japan, the Japanese experience towards
peace could be an example that is very much
needed by the international community. He
pointed out that presently, Japan continues to
experience sustained peace for more than 65
years. This was due to the internal and external
policy of the government. The policy started
after the four major wars experienced by the
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ICGMM 2012
country with China, Korea, Russia and World
War II. In addition to that, the peace policy
continued to be adopted by the government
even though there were changes in the ruling
parties.
He continued by saying that the policy
was strongly supported by the majority of the
people in Japan who prefer the moderate
and stable regime. Among the measures to
maintain peace in the country include instilling
awareness among the people about peace
and justice, guaranteeing income equality and
promoting economic and social fairness. In
managing cooperative policy with neighbouring
states, the Japanese government provides
financial and technical assistance especially
in public welfare and welcomes support from
its neighbours during the earthquake in 2011.
Finally he suggested that peace could be
promoted through actions rather than mere
promises and through patience in settling the
dispute by negotiation, mediation and others.
On the question of appropriating policies
in fighting extremism, the panellists agree
that preventive measures is needed but they
disagreed with too much use of the same
measure. However, education is still the most
effective strategy to handle this problem and
this could lead to further exchanges of views
and ideas. Both panellists also agreed that
peace education is essential as a practical
solution for peace.
39
40
ICGMM
2012
ICGMM 2012
First Town Hall Session
From Left:
Professor Emeritus Dr W. Scott Thompson
Datuk Hamidon Ali
41
United States Of America
And The Muslim World:
Charting A Sustainable Future
MODERATOR
Datuk Hamidon Ali
Chairman of National Authority for Chemical Weapons Convention
SPEAKER
Professor Emeritus of International Politics, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
M
oderated by Datuk Hamidon Ali,
Chairman of the National Authority
for Chemical Weapons Convention,
this interactive Townhall Session focused on the
priorities of the United States’ foreign policy and
how it has pivoted on the Muslim world in the
last three decades. Datuk Hamidon then posed
whether subsequent foreign policies of United
States represent the plurality of attitude of her
people and vice versa, and how does the
United States gauge the attitude of the Muslim
world towards its foreign policy.
Dr W. Scott Thompson, Professor Emeritus of
International Politics at Fletcher School of Law
and Diplomacy started his argument by stating
that there are a lot of Muslims in the United States
and for policies to be implemented according
to their worldview, they need to speak out. He
continued by saying that although it looks quite
simple in terms of proactively participating in the
democratic process, it is still complicated as the
plurality of attitude among Americans towards
Muslims tended to see it through the lens of
support of the United States towards Israel. For
example, the American Israel Public Affairs
Committee, a Pro-Israel lobby group which
42
ICGMM 2012
raised 64% from the total donations received by
the Democratic Party, is very extreme.
Dr Thompson commented that this does
not match with the plurality of the American
interest. Many has argued that America’s blind
support of Israel is detrimental towards United
States’ security. He continued by saying that in
Israel, although the Orthodox constitutes only
1% of the total population, many of the policies
are influenced by their hawkish worldview.
According to Dr Thompson, the Israeli
government is not interested in moderation
and it is indifferent towards the consequences
of its extreme policies.
Significantly, Dr Thompson pointed out that
foreign policy elites in the United States support
the Israel agenda and are very influential in
most foreign policy discourses. Being critical
towards Israel could be labelled as anti-Semite
and this stifles constructive and open discussions
regarding the Muslim world. Dr Thompson
concluded his remarks by stating that if Muslims
in the United States could get more organised,
perhaps the policy and the perceptions would
be changed. He later questioned whether the
Muslim world’s expectations towards the Unites
States’ foreign policy are realistic.
During the question and answer session,
Dr Thompson argued that the United States
has the capacity to become an honest broker
when they are able to break the strangling of
American foreign policy by lobbyists. On the
43
44
ICGMM 2012
issue of the United States practicing double
standards in its foreign policy, he argued that
there is a substantial number of organisations
that are reaching out to the Muslim world.
Unfortunately, these efforts by moderates are
overshadowed by groups such as the AIPAC.
He continued by saying that the United States is
not as strong as before and to get America to
listen to the plights of the Muslim world, therein
lies the problem of principle and real politics.
Stakeholders should not look only at declaratory
policies but also operational policies.
On the question of the United States
supporting dictators in its pursuit of strategic and
security relations, Dr Thompson commented
that although the United States supported
a lot of dictators, it also took risks to support
democratic movements all over the world.
Finally, on the comment regarding the United
States’ anxiety towards Iran, Dr Thompson
stated that President Barack Obama wants to
prevent further conflict. However both Iran and
the United States have the responsibility to work
it out together.
45
46
ICGMM
2012
ICGMM 2012
Fifth Plenary Session
From Left:
Professor Kishore Mahbubani
Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Wan Mohd Zahid Mohd Noordin
Datuk Dr Syed Ali Tawfik Al-Attas
Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Khoo Kay Kim
Professor Tan Sri Dato’ Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
47
The Role Of Education
In Nurturing Moderation
MODERATOR
Vice-Chancellor, Al-Bukhary International University
SPEAKERS
Dean, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Wan Mohd Zahid Mohd Noordin
Chairman, Universiti Teknologi MARA
Advisor, Al-Bukhary Foundation
Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Khoo Kay Kim
Chancellor, KDU University College
M
oderated by Professor Tan Sri Dato’
Dzulkifli Abdul Razak, Vice-Chancellor
of Al-Bukhary International University,
this plenary focused on the role of education
as the bastion for combating extremism and
also how the lack of it breeds extremism. This
session brought together Professor Kishore
Mahbubani and three other Malaysian
educationists, deliberating on how collective
desire for education is important in nurturing
moderation.
Professor Kishore Mahbubani, Dean of the
Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy stressed
that moderation is growing globally. Quoting
Steven Pinker, Professor Mahbubani pointed
out that less and less people are dying of
wars and violence. In the past 60 years, 30,000
people died of war but before that there were
half a million deaths a year. He concluded that
prospects of war are diminishing everywhere.
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He further argued that the explosion of the
global middle class has helped the case for
moderation and cited the correlation between
growth of middle class and peace. Among
the underlying factors, Professor Mahbubani
suggested that technology has essentially
shrunk the world and this has helped create
optimism.
On the role of education, he contended
that Asians generally have invested massively in
education and the derivation from the Western
education system has created Asian elites’
common language and frame of reference.
However, there lies the paradox whereby, while
American education has helped in educating
the non-West, it has failed to educate the West
themselves. Professor Mahbubani concluded
by stating that the time has come for Asians to
respect other Asians and indeed the time for
Asians to learn from each other.
Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Wan Mohd Zahid Mohd
Noordin, Chairman of Universiti Teknologi
MARA, stated that education is the creature
of the environment although it is regarded as
an agent of change. He then posed a question
whether the world through the intervention of
education has become saner? He commented
that since the beginning of the world there were
already conflicts and wars as hostilities take on
a disastrous course. There are also hostilities
among the learned because of ideological
differences.
49
Hence, he suggests that the environment
must do the needful to help education
discharge its function. Society must help change
education and not to expect that education
is the sole proprietor in changing society. Tan
Sri Dato’ Dr Wan Zahid then stated that the
education system is currently being debated
along the lines of cognitive and affective
domains. However he commented that the
purpose of a curriculum is to provide proper
educational experience and education should
be an experiential menu for students.
He then postulates that when cognitive
and affective domains are dealt with properly,
human beings can internalise knowledge and
become moderates. Yet educational institutions
50
have been adapting to the compelling
demands of the industry that, at times, the
affective domain is neglected. He concluded
his remarks by asserting that it is incumbent
upon society to create an environment that
helps balance education and that it should be
pursued with passion. Ultimately, a balanced
curriculum symbolises moderation.
Datuk Dr Syed Ali Tawfik Al-Attas, Advisor to
the Al-Bukhary Foundation, started his remarks
by pointing out that the world is rapidly evolving
as seen in the rebirth of ideas and revolutions
across so many fields. This is the impact of
higher education in these modern times. In
explaining the purpose of education Datuk
Dr Syed Ali affirmed that education should
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encourage dialogue as rightful actions that
spring from self-discipline and knowledge and
guided by wisdom. In this instance, universities
in the Muslim world are not doing enough in
teaching students to take the right action and
responsibilities.
Currently, universities are guided by market
needs and the original purpose of the refinement
of civilisation has lost its way. Moreover, the role of
madrasah which is to spread the Islamic tradition
has been marginalised by the modern state
and the growth of students is an added burden.
In continuing his presentation, he pointed out
that the ultimate prize of moderation requires
renaissance in higher education. Universities
need to develop the culture of learning and
51
develop a unique curriculum. As an example,
he stated that libraries in South East Asia do not
have libraries comparable to the West.
He suggests that if research is done in a
Muslim library, studies can be done to promote
moderation and it may be the impetus to
colloquia and seminars regarding the little
known manuscripts from the Muslim world. In
summarising his points, Datuk Dr Syed Ali stated
that the way forward includes educating the
youth in teaching the right action and social
refinement, expand learning to embrace
scholarship and translate knowledge into the
correct mode of action.
Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Khoo
Kay Kim, Chancellor of KDU University College,
examined this issue through the lens of educational development of Malaysia. Currently
Malaysian universities emphasise upon the
notion of materialism whereby entrepreneurship
is overtly encouraged. However, in Universiti
Malaya, the oldest university in Malaysia, the
Arts Faculty is dying and was told not to take
more than a certain number of students each
year.
Professor Khoo suggested that university
lecturers must first engage the students in
52
dialogue and not to tell the students what the
answers are. In the past, students are taught
to express themselves. It is important that the
values of moderation is imparted through
knowledge at a very young age as currently
the society is going through tremendous stress.
He concluded by stressing that the focus now
lies on the accumulation of soft skills.
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2012
ICGMM 2012
Sixth Plenary Session
From Left:
Datuk Johan Jaaffar
Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid
Dr Surakiart Sathirathai
Professor Dr K.S Nathan
53
Global Moderation:
Coalition Of The Willing
MODERATOR
Datuk Johan Jaaffar
Chairman, Media Prima Berhad
SPEAKER
Professor Dr K.S Nathan
Director, Institute of Malaysian & International Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand
Chairman, Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religion
M
oderated by Datuk Johan Jaaffar,
Chairman of Malaysia’s largest media
corporation, Media Prima Berhad,
this plenary session delved into the idea of
perpetual peace and how moderates from all
states could sit down and strategise points of
action. Datuk Johan suggests that the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan were fought under false
premises and that they were never fought with
a coalition of the willing. Datuk Johan then
posed the question on what constitutes global
moderation. This plenary brought together an
International Relations scholar, a former Deputy
Prime Minister and Chairman of a global interreligious group.
Professor Dr K. S. Nathan, Director of Institute
of Malaysian & International Studies at Universiti
Kebangsaan Malaysia explained that a real
coalition of the willing is important in dealing
with crucial issues and giving real commitments
in making progress for peace. According to
Professor Nathan, the ideologies that constitute
moderation are middle path, consideration
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ICGMM 2012
and sensitivity, certainty, predictability and
sustainability, mutuality of interest, enhanced
capacity for common good, avoidance of
absolutes about truth, genuine respect for
diversity and pluralism and lastly, dialogue &
compromise.
In outlining his vision, Professor Nathan listed
down the five terms of reference for the coalition
which includes national constitution, respect
and acceptance of pluralism as cornerstone
of moderation, freedom of worship, willingness
of interfaith dialogue and the avoidance
of absolute truth monopoly of the supremebeing. Among the potential candidates for this
coalition should include states with track record
of moderation, like-minded individuals, unions,
political parties, NGOs, academia and religious
organisations. Moving along, Professor Nathan
also stated that media is an important instrument
in promoting moderation. As moderation has
internal and external foundations, evolutionary
change is better than revolutionary change as
the former reflects success of moderation while
the latter represents failure.
Dr Surakiart Sathirathai, the Former Deputy
Prime Minister of Thailand viewed the discussion
from an economic point of view. He posed
that economic crises have common causes
such as flow of capital coming at a wrong time
to wrong places and for the wrong people.
In most cases, it is wrong because of choices
that leaders make. Market economy is such
55
a platform that allows one to exercise one’s
choice but greedy and ignorant decisions are
made at times. Nevertheless, Dr Surakiart stated
that it is still wrong because it often involves too
much or too little without regard to moderation.
He continued by saying that living moderately
must begin from within. Unfortunately it seems
to be overlooked due to free market without
considering possible negative consequences.
Profit maximisation due to greed is not
sustainable. There are three major principles
that should guide the market economy moderation, reasonableness and immunity.
He explained that moderation does not mean
saying no to progress. It just means not to
overspend, not to overinvest and also not to
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underinvest. This would guarantee sustainability
and provides immunity from financial mishaps.
Dr Surakiart then concluded that there is a call
for global financial governance that needs the
willingness of all to forge a middle path for all to
learn to be sufficient, to reduce too much stakes
on others and to think less of self-interest. Finally,
he affirmed that it is time the global community
take this middle path to promote sustainable
peace, happiness and prosperity.
Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid, Chairman
of Council for a Parliament of World Religion
stated that war and terrorism are directly
linked. Quoting the book of “Dying to Win”,
he explained that suicide bombing or other
measures of political violence have nothing
to do with religion. He continued by saying
that nearly all suicide terrorist attacks have in
common is a specific strategic goal which is
to compel modern democracies to withdraw
military forces from territory that the terrorists
consider to be their homeland. Imam Malik
then suggested that the Israeli occupation of
Palestine needs to be stopped immediately.
He then outlined that President George W.
Bush’s “War on Terror” unleashed extremism
in an unprecedented manner. The manner in
which extremism has risen is unabashed - hatred
towards Muslims increased and Islamophobia
reached an alarming stage. Imam Malik
then commented that United States needs a
movement of moderates as much as the world
57
needs it. However, he conceded that there are
100 million Americans who think positively of
Muslims and they must be engaged in the most
beautiful manner. The world now must invest
heavily in dialogue and conversation.
Asked whether this initiative would lead
people to take responsibility for the common
world, the panellists agree on the point that the
European Union was an amazing experience
whereby European states overcame hundreds
of years of prejudice through dialogue. On the
point of a model society based on moderation,
the panellists agree that the control of greed
must come from within. People need to live
sufficiently and society must modernise without
exploiting resources. Finally, all the panellists
affirmed that state or non-state actors cannot
be extreme in advocating moderation and
that is the way forward.
58
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2012
Second Town Hall Session
From Left:
Dr Charles E. Morrison
His Excellency Dr Surin Pitsuwan
Associate Professor Dr Hamidin Abd Hamid
59
The Role Of Superpowers In The
Realignment Of Global Power:
Between Realpolitik And
Soft Power
MODERATOR
Chief Executive Officer, Razak School of Government
SPEAKERS
His Excellency Dr Surin Pitsuwan
Secretary-General, ASEAN
Dr. Charles E. Morrison
President, East-West Centre
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ICGMM 2012
M
oderated by Associate Professor Dr
Hamidin Abd Hamid, Chief Executive
Officer of Razak School of Government,
this Townhall Session delved into the reimaging
of the global order. At the present moment,
with the United States plied with insurmountable
debt and the European Union’s economy
stagnating following sovereign debt crises, Dr
Hamidin expounded the role of real politics and
soft power in this very volatile period in modern
history. This session brought together the ASEAN
Secretary General and President of the EastWest Center.
His Excellency Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary
General of ASEAN recognised the fact that
extremism is no longer the practical way
forward. The dilemma of power is the fact
that the more you project it, the more you will
invite opposition. Quoting Samuel Huntington,
“We need a new way of managing the power
and managing the affairs of the world.” When
looking for a way in which we want to use
power with intelligence and use power smartly.
If we can use soft power to get what we want,
it is probably a better way of managing the cooperation and the relations among people.
The soft power or this smart power is going
to be more prominent than ever because all
the factors here are making the projection
of that power - newer, more complicated,
require more sensitivity and require better
understanding of what the realities are on the
61
ground in the region. “Dynamic equilibrium”
is not a direct competition of raw power but
accommodating to all stakeholders so that this
region can continue to be an engine of growth
for the global community. To date, the projection
of that power or the re-engagement has been
rather accountable and accommodating
towards the concerns of the countries in the
region. On a larger scale in terms of global
balance or new balance, state and non-state
actors need to make that contribution with
humility and with “reasoned debate.”
Dr Charles E. Morrison, President of EastWest Center started by saying that often the
word moderation is used because it juxtaposes
extremism with terrorism, that is, a subset of
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extremism. Moderates need to try to understand
why that phenomenon arises and recognise
the potential sympathisers. The problem has
been as in past civilizations, grievances and
oppression are not addressed leading to a sense
of hopelessness. As such if there is no hope then
terrorism gains sympathy and the problem starts.
Therefore the role of the global moderates is
to identify legitimate grievances and address
them. On the role of so-called superpowers or
large powers, they have a major responsibility
for the shape of the international system, and if
the international system is a system that seems
oppressive to people, it is also a system that
is going to breed extremism, discontent and
immoderate behaviour.
63
Now in a period where power is going to
be more diffused, it would harder to have
a common agenda. Another role of the
superpowers or the major powers is to maintain
their relationship with each other. Within any
international system there is typically a kind
of core area where there is a larger bond of
economic power, military power and perhaps,
soft power. If major powers in the core do not
maintain effective relations with each other,
this can lead to conflict and major breakdown
in international order. He concluded by stating
that handling extremism through a task force is
imperative in addressing particular causes that
are important to the global community
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Seventh Plenary Session
From Left:
Justice Sri Lankabhimanya Christopher G. Weeramantry
Professor Raul Pangalangan
Professor Timo A. Kivimaki
Professor S. Jayakumar
Mr Phar Kim Beng
65
Conflict Resolution: The Need For
A New International Paradigm
MODERATOR
Mr Phar Kim Beng
Fellow, CIMB Asean Research Institute
SPEAKER
Former Singapore Deputy Prime Minister, Senior Minister and Foreign Minister
Justice Sri Lankabhimanya Christopher G. Weeramantry
Former Vice President, International Court of Justice
Professor Timo A. Kivimaki
Professor of Political Science, University of Copenhagen
Professor Raul Pangalangan
Professor of Law, University of Philippines
M
oderated by Phar Kim Beng, Fellow
at CIMB ASEAN Research Institute,
this session focused on the need of a
universal norm in managing conflict resolutions.
Cooperation and non-adversarial process for
problem solving and relationship building –
through affirming the importance of empathy –
underscores the potentially positive role of nonofficial processes of dialogue and engagement
that may involve sentiments of communal
identity. This final plenary session brought
together a former Deputy Prime Minister, former
judge at the International Court of Justice and
two scholars from Finland and Philippines.
Professor S. Jayakumar, former Deputy Prime
Minister, Senior Minister and Foreign Minister of
Singapore states that there are three types of
conflicts; inter-state conflicts, intra-state conflicts
and situations within countries where there
are misunderstanding or simmering problems
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(falls short of a conflict, but because they are
sensitive, racial, linguistic or religious, these
simmering disputes have to be managed very
carefully). Advocating amicable settlement of
disputes with particular reference to third party
dispute settlements is in line with moderation
as it makes sure that a festering problem is
resolved amicably without upsetting the tenor
of the overall bilateral relations and being able
to go ahead with other areas of co-operation.
However, it may not be applicable in all
kinds of disputes, particularly territorial disputes,
for example, the intractable disputes in the
South China Sea or between China and Japan
or Japan and Korea. There are many reasons for
this. These disputes may get embroiled in local
politics, may be so sensitive and emotional in
the national psyche that governments find it
very difficult to be seen to compromise even
an inch of the territory. It is in the interest of
regional stability and security to ensure that
these disputes do not lead to conflict.
There are positive developments within the
region and ASEAN, and China have agreed on
a declaration on a conduct of parties and also
agreed on implementation guidelines, and they
have discussed on codes of conduct for the
handling of such disputes. Recently, ASEAN and
ASEAN Regional Forum have been discussing
how to move from the confidence-building
phase to preventive diplomacy. The Peace
Research Institute made a study of disputes
67
since 1945, and of the thousands of disputes,
they estimated that some 87% of the disputes
were internal conflicts. Traditional methods of
dispute resolution for inter-state conflicts may
not always be appropriate and there is a need
to look at new and creative ways.
As an example, the Aceh dispute was
resolved due to the efforts of former President
of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari, and the Conflict
Management Institute in brokering peace
talks between the Free Aceh Movement and
the Indonesian government that led to the
resolution of the dispute which had plagued
68
the country since the 1970s. In summarising his
points, governments have to nip the problem
in the bud through enactment of legislation
and non-discriminatory enforcement of the
legislation, promoting values which proscribe
and frown upon such mischievous extremist
attitudes.
Professor Timo A. Kivimaki, Professor
of Political Science from the University of
Copenhagen stated that it is important to look
into causes of conflict and prevention. Mistakes
in the international scene are that conflicts are
resolved only after the disputes have arisen
and often the causes are not addressed.
International conflicts happen because of the
vast amount of ignorance that prevails among
international communities about the problems
of other people. The way to have moderation
in international affairs is to have education at
every level. So it is vitally important that we
have a regime of peace education.
A peace education centre that is based
on three principles – peace education, cross
cultural understanding and using international
law as an instrument of peace – must be
established. International law is a discipline
based on common sense and sterling values that
every school child understands. He concluded
by affirming that moderation can only come
through understanding. Understanding can
only come through peace education
Justice Sri Lankabhimanya Christopher G.
Weeramantry, former Vice President of the
International Court of Justice said that a global
paradigm of conflict resolution requires the
economisation of South East Asia, ASEAN, and
East Asia’s experience of conflict intervention.
The common definition of moderation seen as a
concept in opposition to extremism is wrongfully
defined, as it juxtaposes moderation. He
elaborated that conflict prevention is not only
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resolution, but also creating an environment
where violent conflict does not arise in which
it does not need to be resolved. Taking the
East Asia experience into account, conflict
fatalities in East Asia has reduced drastically 95% battle deaths (including inter-state battles)
disappeared after 1979, 68% of conflicts
disappeared. (Conflict means that it kills at least
25 people).
The ASEAN and East Asia formula of
peace focuses on things that unite. The main
thing is development. If the focus had been
on things that divide, the disputes that arise
would make conflict resolution difficult. Facesaving is typical therefore wars do not end
in victories as there is the intention to find a
dignified solution. Development orientation has
addressed the basic needs, which the lack of it
creates a situation where violent conflict may/
can arise. Democracy is also a requirement as
a pre-condition of stability, regardless of the
contextual usage of democracy. The paradigm
of conflict resolution has been western-centric,
learning from experiences in Europe. There is a
need to find the middle path between inflexible
sovereignty thinking, cynical realism of power
politics and idealism.
Professor Raul C. Pangalangan, Professor of
Law at the University of the Philippines, stated
that law must be used as a paradigm for
conflict resolution. There is a classic argument
and a classic counter-argument that ‘war is
the vanishing point of law’, and ‘before the
guns of war, the law falls silent’. The paradigm
of the legal management of conflict began
through the development of both human rights
and humanitarian law as in the preamble of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
“Whereas it is essential that man is not to be
compelled to have recourse as a last resort, to
rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that
human rights should be protected by the rule
of law”.
Conflicts must be channelled to legal
institutions that could resolve them, not on the
basis of power, but on the basis of norms that
69
shift away from politics (bargaining, negotiation)
and toward institutions, and toward dispute
resolution on the basis of authoritative rules.
The other shift is away from the purely domestic
and into the international, that is to say, until
then how a state treated its own nationals was
treated as a completely domestic matter. That
was in fact the cornerstone of the post-World
War II international legal order.
Professor Pangalangan has criticised many
of the approaches in ASEAN to human rights and
he hoped that there will be dissenting voices in
this forum, that often when it comes to human
rights, the ASEAN way is to look the other way.
In the evolution of international human rights,
we have recalibrated the line that separates
the international from the domestic and the
domestic from the international. International
Humanitarian Law offers a minimum level of
protection to non-combatants.
However, this framework shifts in conflict
resolution, from power to rights, from politics
to institutions, and from the local to the
international, and calls upon the power of the
law as a brooding omnipresence twice over,
as a communal check on private power, and
as the national embodiment of international
law. There is a current trend to embody law
70
more deeply in domestic cultures. Finally he
stated that the international community must
come together to create a tribunal totally
disjoint from the community where the victims
reside, perhaps detached from the drama and
feelings of that national community, and would
render effective justice that would serve the
campaign to end impunity.
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Special Panel Address
From Left:
Mr Shaykh Muhammad Umar
Drs H. Muhammad Jusuf Kalla
Tan Sri Razali Ismail
71
Democracy And Moderation
MODERATOR
Former President of the United Nations General Assembly
SPEAKERS
Drs H. Muhammad Jusuf Kalla
Former Vice-President of Indonesia
Shaykh Muhammad Umar
Chairman, Ramadhan Foundation
M
oderated by Tan Sri Razali Ismail,
former President of the United Nations
General Assembly, this special
address sought to explain the nexus between
democracy and moderation and how it has
shaped the modern world. Tan Sri Razali opened
the discussion by explaining that democracy
and moderation are synonymous but it is not
72
necessarily so. Although there are many roads
leading to democracy, Tan Sri Razali stressed
that there shouldn’t be any authorship or
ownership of democracy.
Drs H. Muhammad Jusuf Kalla, former VicePresident of Indonesia started his address by
stating that democracy has many meanings;
it is a means to achieve higher objectives. He
emphasised that, although prosperity is to be
achieved through democracy, democracy is
not for differentiation. And in that sense, every
government has a different way. Since Suharto’s
fall – during the transition to democracy –
liberal democracy that was sought decreed
that winner takes all. But in this system, he
commented that there persist many problems
such as seen in Indonesia.
In reconciling over this paradox, Drs Jusuf
Kalla posed that democracy ultimately is about
how to bring equality to people. As an example,
he stated that since Independence, Indonesia
has had 15 conflicts and 10 of them are caused
by inequality. Even the demonstrations in Seattle
during the World Trade Organisation’s Ministerial
Conference in 1999 were about inequality
in international economy. In summarising his
address, he stated that democracy shouldn’t
only free people but should also bring about
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social justice which in essence is the middle
path.
Shaykh Muhammad Umar, Chairman
of Ramadhan Foundation continued the
discussion by reciting Hujarat: 13; the verse
that was revealed to counter-attack racism
in Mecca. The verse which made specific
reference to man of tribes and groups to know
and benefit from each other, serve as a hard
lesson for the disarray that is happening today.
He then expressed his wish for people from
different faiths and cultures to really learn and
benefit from each other. In that sense, people
should take that middle path.
Shaykh Umar then explained that
moderation in Islam or “Ummah Wasatan”
73
means community of the middle way. In
touching upon the image of Muslims in the
West, he stated that the chaotic nature of
the society is not so much because they are
religious but because of the lack of it. He then
continued by emphasising that all great religions
unite in questions of human courtesy. Interfaith
dialogue is important as all great religions are a
force of goodness and kindness. He concluded
his address by stating that ethical teaching of
religions must be revived.
Asked whether religion could potentially
polarise people, the panellists agree that conflict
that persists is not about religion but because of
political differences and sheer extremism. There
needs to be a distinction between religion
and violence as the narrative that links them
is a fallacy. In regards to religion as a personal
74
matter, the panellists also agreed that it is not
always valid in a world where religion has a
strong influence in people’s behaviour.
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2012
First Luncheon Session
Speaker:
Dato’ Sri Anifah Aman
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia
Moderator:
Tan Sri Jawhar Hassan
Chairman, Institute of Strategic and International Studies
75
Malaysia’s Foreign Policy:
Moderation In Action
I
n this Luncheon Address, Malaysia’s Minister
Of Foreign Affairs, Dato’ Sri Anifah Aman
lauded the idea of the Global Movement
of Moderates (GMM) put forward by the
Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Sri Najib Tun
Razak, just over a year ago and emphasised
the growing support for the concept of GMM
as a clarion call for all moderates to step forth,
reclaim centre stage and fight extremists.
“For those of us who have been part of this
since its inception, nothing gives us greater
pleasure than its realisation. I take great pride
in being part of this transformation and I thank
everyone for their support and commitment to
the cause. We stand witness to the rise in racist
and religiously-motivated violence as well as
violence motivated by biases based on gender,
sexual orientation and disability.
“The
international
community
has
witnessed anti-Muslim violence propagated
by Islamophobia – the stereotyping and
generalisation of Muslims, and the attachment
76
of collective responsibility to all Muslims for acts
of terrorism. We have witnessed attacks on
people of other faiths and religion because of
racism and intolerance.” Anifah also cited the
Durban Declaration and Programme of Action
which stresses that racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance “are
obstacles to friendly relations among peoples
and nations, and are among the root causes
of many internal and armed conflicts, including
international armed conflicts. Year in, year out,
extremists thrive on the fear of others.
Quoting
writer
Malcolm
Gladwell’s
description as “the tipping point”, where
something can spread through the population
aggressively, Anifah said that this is noticeable
in the form of widespread extremism all over
the world and it is now time to strive for a
positive tipping point and start, in Gladwell’s
words “positive epidemics of our own” - to
effect change through moderation and see
the decline of extremism. “From the beginning
of civilisation and throughout its development,
war seemed to be the way of the world. Leo
Tolstoy once said, “men are so accustomed
to maintaining external order by violence that
they cannot conceive of life being possible
without violence”.
“The devastation caused by World War I and
II is a painful reminder that extreme measures
such as the use of force and violence will never
lead to desirable results or solutions. Premised
upon the prevention of such calamitous events,
the United Nations was established - the world
decided for a “moderate way” of dealing
with international relations particularly conflicts
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and disputes through peaceful settlement and
refrained from the use of force.” The Minister of
Foreign Affairs also acknowledged that while
pessimists may argue that conflict, disputes
and violence are unavoidable, despite this,
the manner in which we choose to resolve it
– through negotiations and dialogue is what
makes the difference.
“We choose the middle path, the path
of moderation. Moderation is not a novel
concept, it has developed through religion,
faith, culture, practice and experience since
ancient times. In the conduct of international
relations, moderation is part of state practice
for a majority of nations including Malaysia. Ever
since Independence, Malaysia has worked to
achieve and maintain the very same objectives
espoused at our admission as a member of the
United Nations – that of friendly relations with all
friendly nations. We have done so through the
crafting of foreign policy geared towards this
specific end, while at the same time ensuring
that our national interest is served. Moderation
is the bedrock of our policies, domestic or
foreign, and it encompasses social, political
and economic aspects.”
“In layman’s term, for us being moderate
in the promotion of our foreign policy means
that we are not ruled by our emotions, no
matter how strong they may be. We emphasise
objectivity and strive for the collective good
of all. Being motivated by emotions such as
anger is a surefire way of committing ourselves
to course of action that not only we may regret
but could possibly result in endangering the
lives of innocent people. Fighting violence with
violence can never be the answer as history
has taught us. Mahatma Gandhi, whom I look
up to as the embodiment of moderation in an
individual, sagely remarked, “an eye for an eye,
ends in making everyone blind”.
Hence, Anifah stressed, that Malaysia’s
foreign policy is premised upon three main
considerations: credible, enlightened and,
consistency and coherence. With these
considerations as the backbone, Malaysia’s
foreign policy is strengthened and given effect
by the establishment of the rule of law as the
basis of international relations. For this reason, the
promotion and adherence to international law
has been the basis of Malaysia’s foreign policy
since Independence. In short, the way in which
Malaysia conducts business in international
relations today – through the application of
rules, constructive engagement, negotiations,
dialogue and extensive discussions – are all tools
of moderation, which, according to Anifah,
have been tried, tested, and proven successful
over the years.
The Minister acknowledged that Malaysia is
not without its differences and problems whether
within its communities or with its neighbours, but
the point of the matter is, Malaysia resolves
them amicably without resorting to extreme
measures. “We choose to speak through wellestablished democratic processes instead
77
of resorting to extremism and violence. This
the mark of moderation in action. This is the
nature of our bilateral diplomacy and we will
continue to uphold and defend this because
it has worked for us and for our neighbours. The
value and practice of moderation we share
with neighbouring societies helped us avert
possible disastrous outcome in many situations.
This common value and practice in fact, is the
hallmark of success of our regional grouping,
ASEAN. ASEAN’s policy of non-interference is
designed to promote trust and confidence
within the grouping itself.”
The enormity and gravity of the acts
committed by extremists, should have,
according to Anifah, jolted the silent majority
into action a long time ago but insisted that,
today, if the moderates stand united, the
symphony of their voices will not only be heard,
but it will drown the voices of extremists. “When
New York’s World Trade Centre collapsed in
2001, the extremists rejoiced. But not because
they had managed to bring down the World
Trade Centre, nor was it because they had
managed to infiltrate a superpower. They
rejoiced because they had managed to
capture the world’s attention. They created
crippling fear among the world’s population.
The next ten years after 2001, proved to be
a decade of hijacked global agenda – an
agenda of terror. A series of attacks with tragic
consequences followed such as in Bali, Madrid
and London.
“The solution to this problem is not taking up
arms which would only result in the exacerbation
of the situation. We have to counter the basis
of extremist ideology, to counter it from being
translated into violent acts and we can do so
by preaching and practising moderation. Being
moderate does not mean being average.
Treading the path of the moderates does not
78
mean that we lack passion, or drive, or ambition.
It means that we end up with innovative ways of
striking a balance between two extremes.” On
the subject of human rights, Anifah suggested
that it is littered with caveats and provisos.
The freedom of speech, for example, can be
exercised only insofar as it does not impinge
upon the rights of others, or create a situation
in which the existence of a whole community is
put in jeopardy.
Even the right to life, which seems to
be absolute, must be balanced with the
community’s rights to a safe and secure
environment, free from fear. The most sociable
right of all, the freedom of assembly, must also
be balanced with the disruption to public order
and to the livelihood of the man on the street.
This is why, despite the seemingly absolutist way
in which the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights is presented, its drafters saw the need to
insert what was to later become Article 29 of the
Declaration, allowing limitations to be made by
each and every democratic society.
“This is where moderation is the key,”
said Anifah. “One side would advocate total
freedom, and in so doing, condemn us to
Hobbes’ state of nature where every man is
against every man in a state of war. The other
side would advocate full communal rights,
and in so doing negate those individual rights
that give us a sense of self-worth. The path of
moderation that Malaysia has taken in respect
of this area is one which many countries share.”
In the conclusion of his address Anifah stated
that regardless of one’s political ideologies,
philosophical persuasion or spiritual beliefs,
there are moderates in all of us and the time has
come for moderates to garner more support
and strenght for the cause. ”The time has come
for us to marshal our collective will and move
forward in the marginalisation of extremism.”
ICGMM
2012
Second Luncheon Session
Speaker:
His Excellency Dr R.M. Marty M. Natalegawa
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Republic of Indonesia
Moderator:
Tun Musa Hitam
Former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
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Managing Differences And
Competing Interests:
The Indonesian Experience
M
oderated by Tun Musa Hitam, the
former Deputy Prime Minister of
Malaysia, this luncheon address
illustrated Indonesia’s success story on
managing differences and competing interests.
His Excellency Dr. R.M. Marty M. Natalegawa
started the speech by congratulating the
Honourable Prime Minster on the launching of
the book, ‘Global Movement of Moderates’,
which would bring a refreshing boost to the
cause of moderation. As an advocate of
peace among nations and within nations,
Indonesia welcomes the initiative of Global
movement of Moderates. In outlining the vision
for moderation, His Excellency mentioned that
Indonesia has too carried out initiatives such as
the Global Inter-Media dialogue to enlist the
power of mass media to promote the cause of
moderation and mutual tolerance among all
faiths and culture. Hence, Indonesia is an early
and natural part of the Global Movement of
Moderates.
His Excellency posed that Indonesia’s
diversity is not a problem to be managed but
as an asset to be celebrated and built upon.
Indonesia is home to more than 300 ethnic
groups, and more importantly, a home to
the world’s largest Muslim population and
other humankind’s great religions including
Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism and the
various denominations of Christianity. A broad
spectrum of political persuasion has allowed
Indonesia to flourish in diversity in all aspects, at
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the same time nurturing national unity. Diversity
has become the national character and an
important asset for Indonesia. In turbulent
times, Indonesia has coped with separatist
threads, ethnic tensions, and religious conflicts.
Fortunately, the overwhelming majority of the
people remained committed to unity. By doing
so the people adopted a new approach and
overcame challenges. Through the resilience,
perseverance and commitment from all
Indonesians, Indonesia as a whole has learned
from its troubling journey throughout modern
history and transformed itself into an emerging
world power.
His Excellency Dr. R.M. Marty shared two
basic conclusions drawn from the Indonesia
experience. First, democracy is an effective
response to the competing interests and
agendas within society. The Asian Crisis of 1998
exposed that the New Order Era, which the state
can superimpose its will on disparate interest,
did not work in the multicultural Indonesia. In
the wake of the crisis, Indonesia embraced
democracy to make sure that all interests are
now taken into consideration in a genuine
search for common ground. While empowering
the citizens, they have developed a sense of
ownership of the actions of the state and feel
that they are making a contribution to the dayto-day conduct of governance. Therefore the
citizens of Indonesia regardless of race and
religion have become more certain on the faith
of the national motto, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, or
“We are many, we are one,” His Excellency
further expressed that the Indonesian people
are also more firmly committed to Pancasila, the
five principles of the national philosophy, which
prescribes respect and mutual understanding
among all on the basis of belief in God and the
values of humanity, national unity, democracy,
and social justice. It is supported and nourished
by the core values of Islam and other faiths in
Indonesia by their own distinctive cultures and
social standards.
Democracy is also the best response
to competing interests at the global level,
81
which also a move of democratisation of
global governance. He then urged that the
global community must now earnestly look
for common ground as decisive changes can
have a profound impact on global order.
These changes included the growing role of
the developing world in the global economy.
The rise of the emerging economies and their
call for the reforms of the international financial
architecture, as well as their willingness to
work with the developed world to solve global
problems represent a unique opportunity for the
democratisation of international governance.
Indonesia is a living proof to the world that
Islam, democracy, and modernisation can
flourish together, and that democracy pays
political, social and economic dividends. Within
13 years, Indonesia has emerged as a vibrant
economic power with regional and global
outreach. His Excellency sincerely believed
that the democratisation in Indonesia can
be replicated at the global level to address
82
competing nation interests, and by carrying
this out, the benefits for all humankind will be
tremendous.
His Excellency concluded the speech by
urging the moderates of the world should not
feel isolated from one another for there is no
lack of forum and process for dialogue among
the faiths, cultures, and civilisations. Although
there are still outbreaks of violence in many
parts of the world that stem from prejudice and
intolerance, there is still room for further inclusion
of moderation in managing differences and
competing interests. Cited from the Honourable
Prime Minister, “we have to make the voice
of reason louder than the voice of hatred, to
take risks, and summon every bit of courage
within ourselves and exercise it,” His Excellency
is optimistic about the Global Movement of
Moderates and its tremendous capacity to
promote dialogue, and moral courage in true
moderates is what it takes to change the world
for the better.
ICGMM
2012
Third Luncheon Session
Speaker:
Admiral (Rtd) Dennis C. Blair
Former United States Director of National Intelligence
Moderator:
Dato’ Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
Defence Minister of Malaysia
83
Moderation As A Strategic
Necessity
M
oderated by The Honourable
Dato’ Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi,
the Defence Minister of Malaysia,
this luncheon address sought to enlighten
the audience with a deliberative analysis of
extremism and exploring ways to contribute for
a comprehensive architecture for the agenda
of moderation. Admiral Dennis Blair started
by sharing the Honourable Prime Minister’s
conviction that extremist views and agendas
should not be allowed to dominate the politics
within countries and on the international arena.
At crucial times, radical thinkers have often been
useful across the centuries to analyse problems
and provide new ideas and approaches for the
84
overall acceptance and adoption. However,
radical ideas must win acceptance through
civil discourse, by convincing the majority that
they can offer widespread advantages.
When extremist groups seize political
power and put their radical ideas into practice
directly, the result has invariably been violence
and suffering. The passion and commitment
of moderation must match with those of
the extremists as we uphold the moderate
principles in which we believe. He quoted Tom
Payne, a fiery American patriot famously stated
that moderation in temper is always a virtue;
but moderation in principle is always a vice.
The appeal of extremism cannot be defeated
ICGMM 2012
by simply preaching submission, small actions,
and actions. Thus, an alternative plan must be
offered based on the principles of moderation,
and an agenda of hope, but also an action plan
that is more appealing than the exhortations of
extremists.
It is no surprise that calls for moderation
should originate here in Southeast Asia, a
region that, for the past 40 years, has followed
a course that has been moderate and
progressive in its policies and successful in its
economic development. He then illustrated a
contrast between two regions of Asia; East Asia
and West Asia. East Asia is relatively moderate,
and it is generally peaceful and prosperous.
On the other side of the continent, extremist
ideologies and groups have greater influence,
resulting in more violence and less prosperity.
He reminded us not to forget how the region
progressed throughout history, that it was not
always so in this part of the world. In the 20th
century, this part of the world was a cauldron
of hatred and violence. Many parts of East Asia
had suffered western colonialism and World
War 2. Colonialism is a radical construct based
on the superiority of one race over another.
World War 2 in this region saw Japan’s
story of one nation in action with radical ideas
about its own racial superiority and its national
identity. The cold war had also played a major
role in the violence, death and suffering in the
region; the Korean War and Vietnam War,
resulting in death of millions, were the few
examples to mention. With the end of the postcolonial wars in Southeast Asia in 1975, the
security architecture of the region had reached
equilibrium, with issues solved or stalemated,
and racial ideologies discredited and defeated.
From that time, the past four decades have
been relatively peaceful and prosperous for
East Asia. The stable security architecture of the
region, pointed by Dennis, was underwritten
by the military and economic influence of
the United States. American alliance and its
forward on providing forces in Japan, Republic
of Korea, Philippines, and conditional security
guarantee to Taiwan, all provided a foundation
for secure maritime borders in the region, and
security from major power aggression.
Open America markets and a peaceful
region made it possible for countries in East
Asia to undertake an export-driven economic
development that then widened into a regionsustained economic development, raising the
prosperity and improving the lives of hundreds of
millions in the region. A spirit of consultation and
85
consensus is very valuable and commendable.
However, it can only reach its full effectiveness
when based on a strong regional security
architecture and sustainable economic
foundation that bring better living standards to
people on a wide scale. He expressed his regret
on the situation in Middle East which seems to
lack many of the factors that enabled East Asia
to enjoy prosperity. The security architecture of
that region has yet to reach a stable condition.
For example, the Palestinian issue is neither been
resolved nor is there a stable military balance
that deters conflicts. Iran, previously kept in
check by Iraq and Saudi Arabia, has taken
steps towards a nuclear weapons capability.
Other geographical issues, such as the
Afghanistan-Pakistan border and the SyriaIsrael border, are also unresolved. Furthermore,
the standards of living in many countries in the
region are still extremely low, with no over positive
trend. The basis of wealth in these countries
of high GDP per capita is often dominated
by oil, without a balanced economy or an
equitable distribution of wealth throughout the
population. Under these conditions, the voices
of moderation are drowned out by those
advocating simple, hateful declarations. He
then argued that moderates cannot simply
86
criticise radicals who express the legitimate
anger of oppressed people and simply counsel
them to remain reasonable and restrained,
instead an alternative means should be offered
by which they can change their condition. The
world saw this positive moderate way in the
events of the Arab Spring, the latest in a line of
triumphs for non-violent resistance movements
stretches back through Mahatma Gandhi
in India and Martin Luther King in the United
States.
The false dogma of extremists is that true
revolutionaries are men with gun who attack
the security forces of the oppressor regime until
they prevail. He then pointed out that most
of the successful revolutions which replaced
oppressive regimes with representative
governments that serve the people. Out of the
67 transitions of power in autocratic countries,
70% had succeeded with generally non-violent
means. Non-violence works, and brings sustained
success, much better than violence. He also
renewed his belief that moderates have an
agenda for action that is more heroic, realistic,
respectful for other, and more appealing than
any of the extremists. He called for unity to
attack and discredit extremism, whether it is
based on religion, race, or tribe, and we should
attack it both on moral and practical grounds.
In addition, we should and can offer
practical assistance to those who wish to
improve their condition through non-violent
means. He concluded the speech by calling
the audience to commit to the hard and noble
work of strengthening the forces of moderation
around the world, using the Southeast Asia’s
approach of moderation with consultation and
consensus. He also acknowledged and thanked
the Honourable Prime Minister for taking the
initiative to call for a Global Movement of
Moderates and convene the conference in a
deliberative manner.
ICGMM
2012
Special Royal Address
Speaker:
His Royal Highness Raja Dr Nazrin Shah
Crown Prince of Perak
Moderator:
Tan Sri Dr Munir Majid
Chairman, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad
87
Inter Civilisational Dialogue:
A Hope For The Future
P
olitics, rather than religion, culture or
civilisation, is the root cause of poor
relations between the Muslim world and
the West, said Raja Dr Nazrin Shah. “Relations
between the countries and communities of
the Muslim world and the West are in need
of urgent repair. All it takes is a terrorist attack
in a major city of the West or a grave slight
against one’s religion to inflame emotions and
88
aggravate sentiments,” said the Crown Prince
of Perak, stressing that dialogue and mutual
collaboration are all the more important in such
circumstances.
“When the situation is grave, it is not time to
abandon hope and sever communication and
engagement with the other. Instead, it is time to
double the efforts and try harder. The process is
almost as important as the outcome. The root
ICGMM 2012
of the problem is clearly politics, rather than
religion, culture or civilisation. It is necessary for
such dialogues to address political issues without
ignoring the other dimensions of the problem.
“Many dialogues have not been as effective
because they deliberately skirt discussion of the
key political issues, with the important exception
of terrorism. It would be more productive too if
agenda-setting is balanced and addresses the
concerns of all sides. It will not be easy to discuss
tough political issues. With good stewardship
and mature interlocutors, it will be possible to
articulate positions and air differences without
being unpleasant and disagreeable. This, of
course, demands mutual respect and mutual
tolerance as well as acceptance of the other
as an equal.
89
“These are the fundamental prerequisites
for meaningful dialogue.” The Crown Prince
believes that the moderates of the world could
be a potent force against extremists of all forms
in every country and community and across
cultures, beliefs and nationalities. He said a
movement of moderates could also help build a
stronger culture of peace by promoting greater
commitment towards the universal values of
mutual respect, compassion and respect for
life, and towards the universal principles of
international law, justice and non-use of force,
except in defence.
90
ICGMM
2012
First Dinner Session
Speaker:
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad
Moderator:
Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department of Malaysia
91
Global Finance: Building A New
International Architecture
F
ormer Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir
Mohamad reiterated his call for the use of
gold to back world currencies, for better
control and stability in the global financial
architecture.“It’s a proven system,” he said at the
dinner session of the International Conference
on Global Movement of Moderates in Kuala
Lumpur. “Go back to gold. The world should
re-look at valuing their currencies against the
precious commodity instead of the US dollar,”
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad told economies
entangled in financial crisis.
92
He added that the price of gold has been
rising while the US dollar suffered devaluation.
If the world needed a new financial blueprint,
said Dr Mahathir, reviewing the Bretton Woods
system would be the best thing to do. “You
don’t really have to exchange gold but to
value your currency against it. Then you can
have a business based not on speculation or
manipulation, but on real value,” said the senior
statesman.
The Bretton Woods Agreement is an
international trade agreement signed after
World War II, which benchmarked the
currencies of its signatory countries against
gold and the US dollar. Earlier in his speech, Dr
Mahathir blamed the global financial crisis on
manipulation and abuses by certain players in
the financial market.
He said there were people who made huge
sums of money at the expense of the world.
“Malaysia became poor because of the abuses
in the financial market during the 1997-98 crisis.
ICGMM 2012
Paper currency has little value. But an ounce of
gold at one point was worth US$35. Its current
price for the same weight is US$1,700.”
Speaking about a uniformed currency for a
region or even global level, he said that it would
not work. “Some countries, such as Greece,
are now a bankrupt after they adopted the
common European currency, the Euro. Their
initial cost of living was low. After using the Euro,
everything was marked up. Cost went up. They
started to pay more in wages and their cost
of production increased. To make up for the
imbalance, they started to borrow in expensive
currency. The repayment would be very difficult
later because they borrowed in expensive
currency but productivity was still at their old
and cheaper currency.”
He also explained that productivity did not
correspond with the cost, which was artificially
escalated due to the adoption of a single
currency for different levels of economies. Tun Dr
Mahathir opened his speech by briefly explaining
the decision to peg currencies against gold for
post-World War II global financial architecture.
The Bretton Woods system was adopted. Later,
economies such as the British’s, found that their
products were too pricey because of their high
cost of production, one of which is high wages.
Lowering wages would mean that the workers
were hoodwinked. Instead, they devalued their
currency and later it became a problem.
The former Prime Minister’s outside-the-box
solutions against the1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis,
particularly, ‘Capital Control’ and pegging the
93
RM against the US$, initially surprised the world
financial and capital market community. It was
against the tide of the International Monetary
Fund’s rescue package, which came with a
lot of conditions. However, the unorthodox
approach was later proven to be successful.
“We all became poor in the hands of the
currency traders. But they didn’t learn anything
from the Asian Financial Crisis,” he said.
He explained that the recent Subprime
Crisis in the West, especially in the United States,
which they did not recover from even after
two years, was caused by the introduction of
new instruments and financial products. “There
was no real physical economic growth and
new economic activities. They borrowed and
speculated in stocks and even money, which
they considered a ‘commodity’. They made
tons of money! In East Asia, people were very
creative in creating new and better goods. In
the West, they were creative in creating new
financial and capital market instruments. They
were borrowing from themselves and expanded
it.”
He explained when the bubble burst,
industries had to close down due to a drop in
market demand and the inability to provide
service, let alone repay loans. “Common
people lost jobs and as a result, they lost their
homes as well. It affected so many people. We
need a new (financial) architecture by revising
the old architecture. We need to ensure money
has its worth, with gold as the backing. There
is no new blueprint to deal with the current
global financial crisis.” In short, the global
financial system is now being ‘attacked’ by
greedy manipulators which he described as
‘extremists’.
94
ICGMM
2012
Second Dinner Session
Speaker:
Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Moderator:
Tan Sri Hasmy Agam
Chairman, Human Rights Commission of Malaysia
95
Human Capital Development:
The Key To Moderation
M
oderation or ‘’wasatiyyah’’ can
eliminate and cast aside extremism
that can lead to aggression, said
Former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi. While poverty and extremism were
the two arch enemies of moderation, he said
moderation could pave the way for friendship,
cooperation and mutual understanding that will
create a motivating environment or condition
for economic development.
“Poverty is certainly not a problem afflicting
only poor Muslim countries. Global poverty is
a grave threat to global stability for it provides
a breeding ground for extremism. I strongly
believe that the elimination of poverty and
the provision of good governance are critical
in the fight against extremism and violence,”
he said in his speech entitled “Human Capital
Development: The Key to Moderation” at the
International Conference on Global Movement
of Moderates Conference Dinner.
He said the Quran emphasized the
importance of ‘’ummatan wasatan’’, which
means Muslims were meant to be “ummah”
which is well balanced in nature - between
the legal aspect of religion and the spiritual
dimension, as well as between the internal and
the external aspects of life.
“Wasatiyyah is not something new. It has
been in the Quran, and when the six mus’haf
(the early copies of the Quran) were sent to
various centres of learning, people read the
Quran, and sought to be guided by the Quran,”
he said.
Abdullah said unfortunately, today it seems
96
ICGMM 2012
that Muslims were fighting among themselves
although God had showed the way to live in
peace, stability, harmony and prosperity by
giving the Quran. “Yet, the Muslims continue to
dispute and to fight and to wage war among
themselves. To those people, I like to ask, ‘Have
we forgotten the Quran and its teachings?
Have we forgotten Allah?’’’, he asked.
He said however, in his view, wasatiyyah
must have content for it to be able to be
promoted and to eliminate extremism. “I want
to say this, wasatiyyah must have a manhaj a guide, and the manhaj is Islam Hadhari,” he
added.
Indicating accurately that moderation plays
a strong role in socio-economic issues, Abdullah
stressed that it also implies proper development
of the mind and the soul through the
appropriation of knowledge and wisdom. This
necessitates a systematic process of education
and training by which man can nurture and
accentuate the virtues of moderation in his
own self.
Sufficient
and
relevant
knowledge
corresponding to the intellectual, spiritual and
emotional faculties must also be acquired
in order for man’s psychological state to be
appropriately balanced and just. Hence, when
considering the context of development of any
nation, a process that systematically inculcates
the virtues of moderation in each and every
citizen at every level is essential, thereby
making this a key element in human capital
development.
97
98
ICGMM
2012
Closing Speech
Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Haji Hassan
President Of International Islamic University Malaysia
99
Closing Speech
I
n his closing address for the ICGMM, Tan Sri
Mohd Sidek Haji Hassan began by quoting
a study by famed psychologist and linguist
Steven Pinker which points to the decline of
violence, and that the deliberate killing of
civilians has shown a downward trajectory.
Pinker argued that we have been lulled into
a false sense of insecurity and there are fewer
instances of deaths from terrorism than ever
was before. Whilst Professor Pinker is spot on in
his analysis – as battle deaths per 100,000 of the
world population have shrunk from 300 during
the height of the World War II, to less than one in
the 21st century – Mohd Sidek raised the question
of taking these numbers at their face value.
“What do they really mean and what do they
represent? Why are extremist acts plastered all
100
over the pages of newspapers and footages of
terrorism dominate our current affairs?”
The President of International Islamic
University Malaysia (IIUM) also raised questions
on the meaning of an argument by the TIME
magazine’s editor-at-large, Mr. Fareed Zakaria
– who was not able to attend this conference
– that we are living in the time of “the rise of
the rest”. “It is where traditional applications of
national power that we have been accustomed
to, have given way to empowered groups and
individuals. Traditional wars between nations
are replaced with economic battles. In short,
there is a diffusion of power from states to
other actors and we are now still grappling
with this shift. Current reading of the situation is
that the dynamics are ever changing and this
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adjustment setting has allowed terrorists, drug
cartels, insurgents and militias of all kinds to
explore spaces to operate within the cleavages
of the international system,” he said.
This is where, according to Mohd Sidek,
the Global Movement of Moderates comes in.
“For the past three days, we have collectively
put on our thinking hats and opened our
hearts to understand the gravity of our
current predicament. During the course of this
Conference, we attempted to make sense of
this great transformation that has reshaped
international life – the political, economic and
culture,” he said. “It is undeniable that historical
timeline has indicated that there are fewer
quantifiable lives lost during conflict, but it has
not decreased any impact of any lives so lost
and displaced. Remnants of war continue to
cause tremendous misery and unfortunately, it
affects generations. With the issues of poverty,
radicalism and poor governance interspersed in
too many failed societies, I feel that the reason
why we are gathered is that we are all here to
confront these challenges.”
Mohd Sidek proceeded to commend
the IIUM Alumni Association for their efforts
in initiating such a momentous International
Conference and also congratulated the
supporting organisations such as the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Razak School of Government
and Institut Terjemahan Negara dan Buku
Malaysia for providing immense support to the
Conference. Subsequently, the IIUM President
shared with the audience the main philosophy
101
Closing Speech
behind the establishment of the University
which is through integrating the qualities of faith
(iman), knowledge (ilmu), and good character
(akhlak) to serve as agents of comprehensive
and balanced progress as well as sustainable
development in Malaysia and in the Muslim
world.
“The University undertakes the special
and greatly needed task of reforming the
contemporary Muslim mind-set and integrating
Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human
Sciences,” said Tan Sri Mohd Sidek. “In this
regard, the IIUM can be seen as one of the
leading institutions in cultivating and nurturing
the movement of moderates in Malaysia, as
well as at the international level. The promotion
of a set of ideas within both the spiritual and
scientific sphere has to be intellectually and
102
practically accepted by the masses. In similar
vein and spirit, it is hoped that the inception of
the Global Movement of Moderates will further
enhance intercultural understanding and foster
inter-civilizational dialogues in Malaysia, as
well as in other communities of the world,” he
continued.
“In order for moderation to become the
catalyst for world peace and humanity, the
creation of an environment which supports and
encourages life-long commitment for learning,
and a deep sense of social responsibility
amongst members of the community is in dire
need. The Global Movement of Moderates, in
short, should be an important platform to remind
us of our own commitment and responsibility in
addressing extremism in every sphere of our
daily life,” he concluded.
ICGMM
2012
Closing Keynote Address
Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin
Moderator:
Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal
Minister of Rural and Regional Development of Malaysia
103
T
he Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
opened his address by welcoming all the
international delegates and speakers to
the conference and proceeded to mention
the historical context in which contemporary
discourse about moderation and the moderates
emerged. He stressed on the fact that the
image of Islam as the religion of peace and
moderation was hijacked by violent aggressions
of militant Muslims and their network of terror
while the global war on terror led by Western
superpowers has pitted the West against the
Muslims in a scale that has never been felt
before.
104
Muhyiddin stated that the virtue of
moderation was expounded in Islam by a key
verse in the Qur’an (Surah Al-Baqarah; Verse
143) which describes Muslims as an ummah
or community justly balanced and classical
Muslim scholars agreed that being ummah
justly balanced means essentially possessing
a combination of interconnected attributes
of justice, goodness, avoidance of extreme
laxity or extravagance and being in the
middle position. Apart from this, the Qur’an
also emphasises (Surah Al-Anbiya’; Verse 107)
the role of Islam as the harbinger of mercy and
compassion to all mankind.
ICGMM 2012
For muslims, said the Deputy Prime Minister
of Malaysia, religious and cultural differences
should not be the root cause of hatred and
enmity as the Qur’an itself accords spiritual
recognition to social plurality and cultural
heterogeneity which is part of human nature.
Apart from religious injunctions, Muhyiddin
stated that the political, social and economic
realities that we are facing today necessitate
the practice of moderation. On the economic
front, Western countries are major trading
partners of the Muslim world.
As much as the West depends on Muslim
countries for natural resources, Muslim countries
105
rely on economic prosperity of the West as major
importers of goods and services to accelerate
the process of economic development at
home. At the same time, growing population
of Muslims in the West has changed the social
and cultural demography of Western society.
Muhyiddin also mentioned that as Muslims are
making inroads into the West, bringing together
their values and social practices into the fabric
of Western societies, the social and political
values of the West are also increasingly being
embraced by Muslims.
106
The political, social and cultural interactions
between the Muslim world and the West,
which is now being reinforced by the forces of
globalisation, brings about new perspective on
the relationship between Islam and the West.
The future path of global peace and prosperity
must be built upon mutual understanding
and respect between communities which
represent the world major civilizations. Be it
Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism,
Taoism and other world major civilizations, all
must work for the perpetuation of peaceful co-
ICGMM 2012
existence between people of different religions
and cultures.
The Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia went
to stress on how fortunate we are that all major
religions and civilizations advocate moderation
as a way of life and If we can see the nature
of religion through the prism of moderation,
we will be able to identify a common shared
value that runs through all religions. That value is
peace, harmony and true happiness which will
materialize when the followers of every religion
avoid excessiveness in religious practices and in
the conduct of worldly life.
Moving on to Moderation in Malaysia,
Muhyiddin stressed on how this has been the
pillar of Malaysia’s success in dealing with
ethnic and religious diversity. Malaysia promotes
moderation through active involvement of the
government and the civil society in educating
the people about the values of moderation and
peace. The government working together with
religious communities and the civil society have
been actively promoting religious harmony as a
main pillar of national unity.
He proceeded to launch a book by
Distinguished Professor Tan Sri Mohd Kamal
Hassan, a renowned professor of Islamic studies
from the International Islamic University Malaysia,
titled “Voice of Islamic Moderation From the
Malay World”, which compiles evidences from
the Qur’an and prophetic traditions which
extol the essence of Islam as the religion of
moderation.
He concluded his address by stating his
belief that the value of moderation will continue
to provide lasting peace, harmony and stability
for Malaysia and for the world community and
hoped that the conference and the actions
that will follow from it will provide avenues for
the moderates from all major civilizations of the
world to work hand in hand in the promotion of
just and lasting peace for the wellbeing of the
global community.
107
ICGMM
2012
List Of Speakers
108
ICGMM 2012
International
Admiral (Retd) Dennis C. Blair
Former United States Director of National
Intelligence
Dean, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy,
Singapore
H.E. Dr. Surin Pitsuwan
Secretary General of ASEAN
Mr Hajime Ogawa
Former Parliamentary Vice Minister for
Foreign Affairs of Japan
The Hon Dr Marty Natalegawa
Foreign Minister of Indonesia
Former US Assistant Defense Secretary &
Professor Emeritus,
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
United States
Drs. M. Jusuf Kalla
Former Vice-President of Indonesia
Former Deputy Prime Minister,
Senior Minister & Foreign Minister of Singapore
109
List Of Speakers
Former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand
The Honourable Justice Christopher
Weeramantry
Former Vice President,
International Court of Justice, Sri Lanka
Dr Charles E. Morrison
President, East-West Center, United States
H.E. Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al Madani
President, Islamic Development Bank,
Saudi Arabia
Dr Ernest Z. Bower
Senior Advisor and Director,
Centre for Strategic and International Studies,
United States
Managing Director,
Institute for International Monetary Affairs,
Japan
Shaykh Muhammad Umar
Chairman,
Ramadhan Foundation, United Kingdom
H.E. Prof. Ayatollah Sheikh Mahdi Hadavi
Tehrani
Founder & President,
Porch of Wisdom Cultural Institution, Iran
110
ICGMM 2012
Professor of Islam in the Contemporary West,
Sultan of Oman Chair of Oriental Studies,
Leiden University, The Netherlands
Chairman,
Council for a Parliament of the World’s
Religion, United States
Professor Timo Kivimaki
Professor of Political Science,
University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Dr Ian Edge
Co-Chair,
Centre for Islamic & Middle Eastern Law,
School of Oriental & African Studies,
United Kingdom
Rector,
Islamic University of Rotterdam,
The Netherlands
Professor Raul C. Pangalangan
Professor of Law,
University of Philippines, The Philippines
111
List Of Speakers
Malaysia
Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Raja Nazrin Shah
Ibni Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah
Raja Muda of Perak
Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Bin Haji Hassan
President,
International Islamic University, Malaysia
Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin
Professor Tan Sri Dr Muhammad Kamal Hassan
Distinguished Professor,
International Islamic University, Malaysia
Dato’ Sri Anifah Aman
Foreign Minister of Malaysia
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad
Tun Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi
112
Professor Datuk Dr Shamsul Amri Baharuddin
Founder and Director,
Institute of Ethnic Studies,
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dato’
Dr Khoo Kay Kim
Chancellor, KDU University College
ICGMM 2012
Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Wan Mohd Zahid
Mohd Noordin
Chairman, Universiti Teknologi MARA
YB Nasharudin Mat Isa
Former Deputy President,
Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party &
Member of Parliament for Bachok
Professor Dr K. S. Nathan
Director,
Institute of Malaysian & International Studies,
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Tun Musa Hitam
Chairman, Sime Darby &
Chairman, World Islamic Economic Forum
Advisor, Al-Bukhary Foundation
Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussien
Home Minister of Malaysia
Professor Datuk Dr Mohd Azmi Omar
Director General,
Islamic Research and Training Institute,
Islamic Development Bank
Dato’ Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
Minister of Defence, Malaysia
Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcob
Minister at the Prime Minister’s Department,
Malaysia
113
List Of Speakers
Chief Minister, State of Perak
Tan Sri Hasmy Agam
Chairman,
Malaysian Human Rights Commission
Former President,
United Nations General Assembly
Datuk Johan Jaafar
Chairman, Media Prima Berhad
Tan Sri Mohamed Jawhar Hassan
Chairman,
Institute of Strategic and International Studies
Vice-Chancellor,
Al- Bukhary International University
Tan Sri Dr Munir Majid
Chairman, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad
CEO, Razak School of Government
Datuk Hamidon Ali
Former Malaysia’s Permanent Representative
to the United Nations
Mr Bunn Nagara
Associate Editor and Columnist, The Star
Datuk Dr Nik Norzrul Thani
Director, Al-Rajhi Bank Malaysia
114
Mr Phar Kim Beng
Fellow, CIMB Asean Research Institute
ICGMM In Pictures
115
ICGMM In Pictures
116
ICGMM 2012
117
ICGMM In Pictures
118
ICGMM 2012
119
ICGMM In Pictures
120

MoDeRATIoN - GMM - Global Movement of Moderates

Transcription

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