Promoting “Religio-Citizenship” and “Inter-Cultural Citizenship” against Religious Extremism in Asia: Religious fundamentalism including Hindu and Islamic extremism is another threat as it is digging and spreading more and more into Asia as a whole. Let’s take India as an example of a case of such extremism first. The current Prime Minister Narendra Modi who took power by gaining support from Hindu nationalism, is pushing far-right nationalism to the extreme, rallying far-right Hindus who use Muslims and Christians as enemies and oppress them. The new polity has recently confronted lots of protests from Muslims and other religious followers too. Another example of religious extremism is in Indonesia. According to the media, Islamic extremist forces such as IS (Islamic State) have recently expanded to Southeast Asia including the largest Islam country in the world. Indonesia has been getting better in terms of economic growth and political stability, but there is still a huge gap between the rich and the poor due to its crony capitalism and corruption between political parties.
In this situation, it is important for religious circles including Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs) as a part of
civil society in Asia to advocate religious pluralism, fight corruption, and help the poor so that they do not
support nor follow extremist forces such as IS and Hindutva. Religious people have joined forces with civil society to prevent the spread of religious extremism and protect moderate majority Hindus and Muslims. That is never smaller than any civil society’s role in empowering religious and cultural pluralism which is a basic unit of their daily life for nearly all peoples in Asia. Therefore, if religious people who teach interreligious tolerance meet each other to revive mutual tolerance and harmony in their religious traditions in Asia that recognize pluralism in truth, it will greatly help all civil society and activists trying to weaken influence of the extremist religious forces. In the continent living religious and cultural diversity and pluralism as its people’s lifeline, ‘‘good religious people’ must be ‘good citizens’ for peace in Asia where religions and cultures are deeply and intimately intertwined one from another. That is one of reasons why ALL Forum should put the ideas of “Interreligious/intercultural citizenship” and “Intercultural spirituality” into practice with more focus on proper formation programs for youth.
Citizens and religious followers in Asia, therefore, should interact with each other to create a dynamic model of civil and religious dialogue in Asia which must fit the condition and reality in a specific region or a country. In the continent of diversity where religious and cultural pluralism is considered as life itself by most of Asians, it is important to overcome religious fundamentalism, sectarianism, and extreme nationalism, and to seek being a ‘citizen’ in an Asian way as the center for peace between religions, and races. In this regard, all religious followers should support “religio-citizenship” or “intercultural citizenship” in Asia, a possible hypothetical but empirical concept inspired by the idea “religious humanism” by Asian thinkers like Aloysius Pieris, which embraces freedom, equality and fraternity clearly manifested in French Revolution on the one hand, and is based on promoting religious-cultural pluralism, diversity and religious tolerance on the other.
The question is now about how such religio-citizenship is to be educated and trained for religious followers from diverse religious traditions. That should be sought anew through cross-religious/cultural dialogue and cooperation which is a common and urgent task for many countries in Asia. ALL Forum, therefore, should more focus on educating and training young leaders to be an actor promoting religio-citizenship in Asia interreligiously and interculturally. That is a basic and fundamental idea to promote “Intercultural and Interreligious Citizenship”.
Based on that some scholars, NGO activists, the community leaders from Indigenous Peoples have succeeded in creating 4 “Intercultural Universities” in Mexico since some 10 years ago. There has been a move to build collaboration and solidarity between scholar-actors in this field in Latin America and Asia in which ALL Forum needs to be a part. There is another thing we should keep in mind. Considering Western power’s colonization and post-colonization has still affected many parts of Asian people’s life as of today including many religion-based conflicts, it is essential for ALL Forum to educate young leaders from Christianity interreligious first. It is because relics or effects of colonialism have been interwoven into most of the conflicts in Asia in which Christianity has been deeply involved historically for a long time.
Therefore, Asian Christianity, a part of civil society from a sociological point of view, should be reformed from within to heal the wounds done in the past and today, and prevent and get over religious extremism by appreciating and promoting religious and cultural diversity and pluralism on the one hand. For being reformed from within, Asian Christianity has to put “Synodality” or “Synodal Church” which is the ecclesiology of the “People of God”, the representative model of the church that Vatican II revived into practice. But the synodal church is only possible and meaningful when it includes “structural changes” focusing on laypeople’s participation in the decision-making process at all levels from parishes to dioceses, national, continents, and even to the Vatican. It is also important to recognize that Christianity as an institution equipped with rich and good materials and manpower could be transformed into a useful regional tool suggesting dialogue and collaboration with other religious groups for peace and helping those who are in need and suffering, especially at the time of Covid-19. If Asian Christianity including FABC would not turn its direction this way nor implement religious pluralism, reformation of its structure, nor concrete action plan of reconciliation with other religions and cultures first neither, religious conflicts or fundamentalism would hardly end or stop. This is the point where ALL Forum has to focus on.
Main themes: “Youth for Interreligious/Intercultural Dialogue and Collaboration for Religio-Cultural Pluralism and the Public Good”
Date: 2nd week of August, 2022
Venue: Pastoral Center, Bishop House, Mymensingh (?)
Local Host: Bangladesh Catolic Students Movement (BCSM)
Arrival
Day 1: Orientation / Exposure (Field Visit)
Day 2: Workshop 1 – Vicious Circle of Poverty and Corruption in Bangladesh: What Could
or Should Youth do about it?
(*** Each session should be followed by group discussions and activities.)
Day 3: Workshop 2 – Youth for Promoting “Synodality” or Synodal Church for Human Rights and Interreligious Dialogue/Cooperation and
(*** Each session should be followed by group discussions and activities.)
Day 4: Workshop 3 – Human Development and Sustain Development Goals (SDGs)
Day 5: Departure
