Biuletyn Academic Forum For Peace

A MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROJECT ON INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE
ACADEMIC FORUM FOR PEACE
Poland | Wrocaw | November 14th-15th , 2011 www.peace.uni.wroc.pl

Wrocaw, 10 kwietnia 2010
Organizers: . . . . . . . Institute of Philosophy, University of Wroclaw Institute for the Study of Islam Sponsors: . . . . . . . . . Muslim League in Poland, Qualification Muslims Cultural Society in Poland, University of Wroclaw The Rector Magnificus of the University of Wroclaw, University of Wroclaw, Faculty of Social Sciences (Grant No. 1294/M/IF/11 Academic Forum for Peace ) Partners: . . . . . . . . . . University of Oxford (St Antonys College), Orthodox Peace Fellowship, Portland State University, Sociology of Islam and Muslim Societies Network Media patronage: Wydawnictwo Akademickie Dialog, Stowarzyszenie Arabia.pl, Stowarzyszenie Nigdy Wicej, Fundacja i Orodek Pogranicze - sztuk, kultur, narodw w Sejnach, Akademickie Radio LUZ, Cerkiew.pl, Przegld prawosawny, As-Salam Newsletter Editors: Agata Jakubowska, Katarzyna Jdrzejczyk-Kuliniak Consultation: Pawe Wrblewski, Katarzyna Osak Design: Grzegorz Jaszczyszyn
Special thanks to the Mayor of Wroclaw, Doctor Rafal Dutkiewicz and the Municipal Office of Wrocaw for help and support in organizing the Academic Forum for Peace
www.peace.uni.wroc.pl
a multidisciplinary project on intercultural dialogue ACADEMIC FORUM FOR PEACE
Introduction
Mankind was entering the 21st century with a mixture of optimism and concern. On the one hand, the end of the cold war seemed to remove the root cause of main tensions and hostilities present in the history of the short twentieth century. In addition, the rate of globalization and a fairly high level of economic growth, particularly in the last decade of the century, provided a hope for the future free from fatal disparities in development among countries and for the continuation of the process of modernization of societies. However, on the other hand, it was remembered that the cold war in some parts of the world from time to time took a form of open, hot confrontation. It still is a real threat, despite the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent slowdown in the arms race. Some reasons for the persistence of that danger were linked to the idea of the clash of civilizations, a prognosis of the progressive radicalization of ethnic, cultural and religious differences among societies and communities around the world, leading to the their fundamentalization. Empirical research has been carried out which very quickly invalidated the appropriateness of using that hypothesis as a new paradigm in the field of international affairs. However, the specter of tribal wars and tribalism could not be expelled. Moreover, one more factor emerged or reminded about itself that makes the prospects of universal peace very uncertain. The economic crisis affected numerous communities and groups, as well as families and even individuals, dividing and conflicting them effectively. Food Wars are becoming a disturbing reality.
Photo by C Jill Reed, http://www.flickr.com/photos/mu lmatsherm/2221224774/,Creative Commons license
To what extent is it appropriate, desirable or advisable to refer under the circumstances described above to reflections, discussions and debates among intellectuals? They failed to predict the collapse of the financial markets. And not infrequently these are intellectuals who propagate slogans of hatred, in the name of which many cleansings, pogroms and acts of terror are being committed. We believe, however, that the recent perplexities constitute a demand for more, and not less, intellectual reflection. Our Academic Forum is being designed as a multidisciplinary conference considering the relationship between the theory of peace and the broken realities of politics and international relations. To regard this matter only from an economic, juridical or strategic-defensive viewpoint is not sufficient. In this context, the theological and philosophical aspect cannot be disregarded, because all the sins against humanity war, violence, victimization of all kinds are the results of the resignation from a holistic and regulative vision of a world participating in the eschatological and transcendental Peace. This vision of heavenly Peace brings selfless love and forgiveness, but cannot be identified with any political system or social order. Thats why Christians and Muslims have failed to make society seems vague. Both of these religions are looking for a proportionality between the theory and praxis of peace. In this endeavour they will surely take into account all non-negotiable rights, principally religious freedom, which is an assurance of respect for all other freedoms. The Conference, featuring lectures and panels that focus on finding ways of building a more peaceful world, gives s\the opportunity for positive re-shaping interreligious and intercultural relations and it might be able to provide new models of coexistence and cooperation for ministries of peacemaking.
The meaning of our logo

A logotype that was designed specially for the Forum by renowned Polish artist Micha Staszczak combines all of the foundational assumptions of our academic project. The author used a circle, a symbol of sacrum, excellence and unity, to form a round table theme, and thus the place of encounter and dialogue. The round shape ensures equality and parity of partners, as evidenced by the even number of seats around the table. An olive branch motif, formerly associated with the victory, nowadays globally recognized as a symbol of peace and alliance, fills the circle, metaphorically becoming the main field of interest. The whole logo is maintained in sober, peaceful but fresh colours. Green symbolizes balance and stability. Moreover, it denotes also a recovery, return to the life and progress of the mind and body. It is a symbol of hope that accompanies the dialogue participants. By using white, author enriches the narration of such quality as innocence, purity and integrity. It is a space where you can breathe, what encourages to action and improvement. These colours complementing the form of harmonious whole, thereby effect positively on the audience.
About the project

The Academic Forum for Peace is being designed as a multidisciplinary conference considering the relationship between the theory of peace and the broken realities of politics and international relations. To regard this matter only from an economic, juridical or strategic-defensive viewpoint is not sufficient. In this context, the theological and philosophical aspect cannot be disregarded, because all the sins against humanity war, violence, victimization of all kinds are the results of the resignation of a holistic and regulative vision of a world participating in the eschatological and transcendental Peace. This vision of heavenly Peace brings selfless love and forgiveness, but cannot be identified with any political system or social order. Thats why Christians and Muslims have failed to make society in their ideal images. Both of these religions are looking for a proportionality between the theory and praxis of peace. In this endeavor will surely take into account all non-negotiable rights, principally religious freedom, which is assurance of respect for all other freedoms.
The Conference, featuring lectures and panels that focus on finding ways of building a more peaceful world, give the opportunity for positive re-shaping interreligious and intercultural relations and it might be able to provide new models of coexistence and cooperation for ministries of peacemaking. The keynote speakers of the Forum will be Metropolitan Kallistos Ware (Oxford), Professor Tariq Ramadan (Oxford) and Professor Horst Brkle (Munich).
Photo by BaerTierkel, http://www.flickr.com/photos/ sweetmojo/2349316636/, Creative Commons license
The Jubilee Medals

The Rector Magnificus of the University of Wroclaw, Professor Marek Bojarski, awarded the Jubilee Medal of the University to honorary guests of the Forum, Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, Professor Tariq Ramadan and Professor Horst Brkle, for recognizing their outstanding achievements in growth of science and of interreligious and intercultural dialogue. His Eminence Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, Professor Emeritus at the University of Oxford, is the most well-known and respected philosophizing theologian, called the Orthodox Newman. This most eminent contemporary Orthodox thinker became famous as a champion of peace and reconciliation. His Grace is a monk of the Holy Monastery of St. John the Theologian on Patmos under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, titular Metropolitan of Diokleia Archbishop of the Patriarchal Throne. Doctor Tariq Ramadan, Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at the University of Oxford, as the president of the European Muslim Network in Brussels is highly engaged in intercultural and interfaith dialogue in the international arena. In recognition of the enormous contribution of Professor Ramadan to the field of Islamic studies (theology, philosophy, law and jurisprudence, applied ethics, social justice, economy, politics) he is counted among the worlds top 100 contemporary intellectuals. Doctor Horst Brkle, Professor Emeritus of Comparative Religious Studies at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, a personal friend of Pope Benedict XVI and a disciple of Paul Tillich, Karl Barth and Romano Guardini, is a world-renowned and preeminent Roman Catholic expert on religious and mission studies, also a co-founder of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. The medals ceremony will be held on 14th November, 2011 in the Aula Leopoldina, University of Wroclaw.
Photos by Piotr Ziba
The Honorary Guests

METROPOLITAN KALLISTOS WARE (University of Oxford, UK) For the Peace from Above: the Understanding of Peace in the New Testament and the Orthodox Liturgy
His Excellency The Most Reverend Kallistos, Metropolitan of Diokleia (Timothy Ware), was born 11th September 1934 in Bath (Somerset, England). He was educated at Westminster School (to which he had won a scholarship) and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he took a Double First in Classics as well as reading Theology. In 1958, at the age of 24, he embraced the Orthodox Christian faith (having been raised Anglican), traveling subsequently throughout Greece, spending a great deal of time at the Monastery of St. John the Theologian in Patmos. He also frequented other major centers of Orthodoxy such as Jerusalem and Mount Athos. In 1965 he was ordained to the Diaconate, and in 1966, to the priesthood and was tonsured as a monk, receiving the name Kallistos. In the same year, he became a lecturer at Oxford, teaching Eastern Orthodox Studies, a position which he held for 35 years until his retirement. In 1982, he was consecrated to the episcopacy as an auxiliary bishop with the title Bishop of Diokleia, appointed to serve as the assistant to the Bishop of the Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain. Despite his elevation, Metropolitan Kallistos remained in Oxford and carried on his duties both as the parish priest of the Oxford Greek Orthodox community and as a lecturer at the University. Since his retirement in 2001, Metropolitan Kallistos has continued to publish and to give lectures on Orthodox Christianity, travelling widely. Until recently, he was the chairman of the board of directors of the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies in Cambridge. He is the chairman of the group Friends of Orthodoxy on Iona. He is the Chairman of the Anglican-Orthodox Theological Dialogue. Metropolitan Kallistos serves on the advisory board of the Orthodox Peace Fellowship. On 31st March 2007 he was elevated to Metropolitan, by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Metropolitan Kallistos is perhaps best known as the author of the book The Orthodox Church, published when he was a layman in 1963 and subsequently revised several times. More recently, he produced a companion volume, The Orthodox Way. But his most substantial publications have emerged from his translation work. His Grace Kallistos of Diokleia is perhaps the most knowledgeable, sensitive, and articulate spokesman for Orthodox Christianity in the West. As a writer of both popular and academic works, a translator of the highest order, a participant in countless theological dialogues, and an inspiring and genuinely enlightening speaker and pastor, Bishop Kallistos has raised the level of awareness of the Orthodox Church to new heights His Eminence Archbishop Demetios of America (from a cover of the book Abba: The Tradition of Orthodoxy in the West. Festschrift for Bishop Kallistos Ware, J. Behr, A. Louth, D. Conomos (eds.), St. Vladimirs Seminary Press, 2003).
Photo by Academic Forum for Peace
PROFESSOR HORST BRKLE (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany) Peace: A basic issue in the Christian Dialogue with Asian Religions
Horst Brkle born on 9th June 1925 in Nieder-Weisel (Hesse, Germany). In the years 1945-1952 he studied theology at the universities of Bonn, Tbingen, Cologne as well as at the Union Theological Seminary in New York, USA, where he defended his Masters thesis on the topic of Eschatology and the Understanding of Time. A Study of the Relation between Theological Eschatology and Philosophical Understanding of the Concept of Time in Contemporary Protestant Theology under the direction of profesPhoto by Academic Forum for Peace sor Paul Tillich (In 1910 Tillich was awarded a doctoral degree for his dissertation on the concept of freedom in Schellings philosophy written under the supervision of Eugen Khnemann at the University of Wroclaw). In 1956 he received a doctoral degree in theology for his dissertation entitled The Understanding of Time in the Early Dialectical Theology and the Concept of Time in the Philosophy of Martin Heidegger supervised by professor Helmut Thielicke at the Department of Evangelical Theology of the University of Hamburg, where subsequently he would hold the position of the Head of the Academy of Mission in 1959. Following that, in 1964 he obtained a postdoctoral degree and assumed a position of Privatdozent in the field of the studies of religion and religious missions. In the years 1965-1968 he was a guest lecturer at the International University of East Africa in Kampala, Uganda. In the years 1968-1987 worked as a professor and the Head of the Department for Mission and Religious Studies at the University of Hamburg. During this time he lectured as a Visiting Professor in Brazil, India, New Guinea, South Korea and Japan, among others. In 1987 under the influence of his friendship with Joseph Ratzinger he converted to Roman Catholicism. From 1988 until his retirement in 1991 he held a position of a Professor of Religious Studies at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, were he previously served as a deputy vice chancellor in the years 1973-1975. He is one of the founding members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts and sits on the editorial board of a German edition of Communio, a prestigious Catholic periodical co-founded by Joseph Ratzinger. He is also a member of the Theological Commission at the International Christian Network. For many years he served as a member of Grres-Gesellschaft Advisory Board. At invitation of the Pope Benedict XVI Foundation, he was one of the two guests who delivered a lecture in Castel Gandolfo during the annual meeting of Pope Benedict XVI with his former students in 2009. He is married and has two daughters.
PROFESSOR TARIQ RAMADAN (University of Oxford, UK) Requirements for Peace

Named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most important innovators of the 21st century, Tariq Ramadan occupies a unique place among leading Islamic thinkers. Representing a new generation of Islamic reformers, Dr. Ramadan advocates the exploration and application of Islamic traditions and values within a modern pluralistic context, calling on Western Muslims to embrace Western culture rather than reject it. Professor Tariq Ramadan holds MA in Philosophy and French literature and PhD in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the University of Geneva. In Cairo, Egypt he received one-on-one intensive Photo by SFU Public Affairs and Media training in classic Islamic scholarship from Al-Azhar Relations, http://www.flickr.com/photos/ sfupamr/5375501707, Creative Commons University scholars. license Tariq Ramadan is Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University (Oriental Institute, St Antonys College ). He is also teaching at the Faculty of Theology at Oxford. He is at the same time a Visiting Professor in Qatar (Faculty of Islamic Studies) and in Morocco (Mundiapolis) and a Senior Research Fellow at Doshisha University (Kyoto, Japan). Professor Tariq Ramadan is currently President of the European think tank: European Muslim Network (EMN) in Brussels Ramadan has written more than twenty books exploring the difficult issues of reinterpretation and reform within Islam itself and between the Islamic world and its neighbors around the globe. His books include Western Muslims and the Future of Islam (Oxford University Press, 2003), Islam, the West, and the Challenges of Modernity (The Islamic Foundation, 2000), To Be a European Muslim (The Islamic Foundation, 1998), and Jihad, Violence, War and Peace in Islam (in French only, Tawhid, 2002). He has also published a total of 700 contributions or articles in collective books, academic reviews, and magazines. Through his writings and lectures he has contributed substantially to the debate on contemporary Islamic issues, Islamic revival in the world and Muslims in the West. He is active both at the academic and grassroots levels lecturing extensively throughout the world on theology, Islamic law and jurisprudence, applied ethics, philosophy, social justice, economy, politics, interfaith and intracommunity dialogue. Last books : The Quest for Meaning: Developing a Philosophy of Pluralism, Penguin, UK, 2010,What I believe OUP USA (Nov 2009), Radical Reform, Islamic Ethics and LiberationOUP USA (Nov 2008).(www.tariqramadan.com/BIOGRAPHY.html, www.enlightennext.org/magazine/bios/ tariq-ramadan.asp)
The Prince Constantine Basil Ostrogski Prize has been awarded since 1989 by the Przeglad Prawoslawny (The Orthodox Review) for outstanding achievements in the development of Orthodox theology, thought and culture, as well as notable contribution to the process of reconciliation of Christians. The prize has been awarded irrespective of religious or country borders. Until 2009, seventy-seven people from thirteen countries were honoured with the Prince Ostrogski Prize.
MR JIM FOREST, General Secretary Of The Orthodox Peace Fellowship (Netherlands)

Born 2nd November 1941, is a writer, lay theologian, educator, peace activist. Since 1989, a year after his reception into the Orthodox Church, he has been international secretary of the Orthodox Peace Fellowship as well as editor of its quarterly journal, In Communion. In 1964, while still a Roman Catholic, he was a founder of the Catholic Peace Fellowship. In the late sixties and mid-seventies, he also worked with the Fellowship of Reconciliation, first as Vietnam Program coordinator and later as editor of Fellowship magazine. From 1977 through 1988, he was Photo by Academic Forum for Peace Secretary General of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, work which brought him to the Netherlands. He received the Peacemaker Award from Notre Dame Universitys Institute for International Peace Studies and the St. Marcellus Award from the Catholic Peace Fellowship. As a young man, Jim served in the U.S. Navy, working with a meteorology unit at the U.S. Weather Bureau headquarters near Washington, D.C. It was during this period that he became a Roman Catholic. His military service ended with an early discharge on grounds of conscientious objection. After leaving the Navy, Jim joined the staff of the Catholic Worker community in Manhattan, working close with the founder, Dorothy Day, and for a time serving as managing editor of the journal she edited, The Catholic Worker. In 1964, while working as a journalist for The Staten Island Advance, in his spare time he began the Catholic Peace Fellowship, working closely with Tom Cornell. This became a fulltime job for both of them in 1965, a time that coincided with deepening U.S. military engagement in Vietnam. The main focus of their work was counseling conscientious objectors. In 1968, while Jim working as Vietnam Program Coordinator of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, Jim and thirteen others, mainly Catholic clergy, broke into nine Milwaukee draft boards, removing and burning some of the files in a nearby park while holding a prayer service. Most members of the Milwaukee Fourteen served thirteen months in prison for their action. Jim had a long-term friendship with Thomas Merton, who dedicated a book to him, Faith and Violence. Jim also accompanied the famed Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh. A journalist and writer, his books include Praying with Icons, Ladder of the Beatitudes, The Road to Emmaus: Pilgrimage as a Way of Life, biographies of Thomas Merton and Dorothy Day, and several childrens books, including Saint George and the Dragon and Silent as a Stone: Mother Maria of Paris and the Trash Can Rescue. He and his wife Nancy, a translator and writer, live in Alkmaar, The Netherlands.
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THE CONFERENCE PROGRAM

Monday, November 14th, 2011 THE AULA LEOPOLDINA
Address: University of Wroclaw, pl. Uniwersytecki 1 (1st fl.), Wroclaw, Poland
10:00 AM WELCOME Rector Magnificus of the University of Wroclaw, Professor Marek Bojarski Rector Magnificus of the Christian Academy of Theology in Warsaw and President of the Polish Ecumenical Council, Archbishop Jeremiasz Anchimiuk Great Chancellor of the Papal Faculty of Theology in Wroclaw, Archbishop Marian Golebiewski Rector Magnificus of the Papal Faculty of Theology in Wroclaw, Monsignor Waldemar Irek Mufti of the Muslim League in the Republic of Poland, Imam Nidal Abu Tabaq Chairman of the Polish Parliamentary Group for the Prevention of Discrimination and Persecutions of Christians in the World, Senator Jan Filip Libicki Mayor of the City of Wroclaw, Doctor Rafal Dutkiewicz President of the Muslim League in the Republic of Poland, Mr. Samir Ismail AWARD CEREMONY OF THE JUBILEE MEDAL OF THE UNIvERSITY OF WROCLAW to HIS EXCELLENCY THE MOST REVEREND METROPOLITAN KALLISTOS WARE (University of Oxford, UK) THE HONORABLE PROFESSOR HORST BRKLE (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany) THE HONORABLE PROFESSOR TARIQ RAMADAN (University of Oxford, UK) by the Rector Magnificus of the University of Wroclaw, Professor Marek Bojarski AWARD CEREMONY OF THE PRINCE KONSTANTY OSTROGSKI PRIzE to MR. JIM FOREST, GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE ORTHODOX PEACE FELLOWSHIP (Netherlands) by the Editor-in-Chief of the Przeglad Prawoslawny Magazine (The Orthodox Review), Mr. Eugeniusz Czykwin Sacrum and Profanum for Peace Concert of the Orthodox Choir oktoich conducted by Fr. Protodeacon Grzegorz Cebulski and the Early Music Ensemble Viridarium conducted by Mrs. Agnieszka Drozdzewska 12:00 Break
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12:30 PM HONORARY GUESTS LECTURES METROPOLITAN KALLISTOS WARE (University of Oxford, UK) For the Peace from Above: the Understanding of Peace in the New Testament and the Orthodox Liturgy PROFESSOR HORST BRKLE (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany) Peace: A basic issue in the Christian Dialogue with Asian Religions PROFESSOR TARIQ RAMADAN (University of Oxford, UK) Requirements for Peace 14:00 PM Break 15:30 PM SESSION JIM FOREST (General Secretary of the Orthodox Peace Fellowship, Netherlands) The Challenge of a 20th Century Saint, Maria Skobtsova Mother Maria Skobtsova -- now recognized as Saint Maria of Paris -- died in a German concentration camp on the 30th of March 1945. Although perishing in a gas chamber, Mother Maria did not perish in the Churchs memory. Survivors who had known her would again and again draw attention to the ideas, insights and activities of the heroic nun who had spent so many years of her life assisting people in desperate need. Soon after the war ended, essays and books about her began appearing in French, Russian and English. A Russian film, Mother Maria, was made in 1982. Her canonization was celebrated in May 2004 at the Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Paris. Among those present at the event was Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, archbishop of Paris and Jewish by birth, who subsequently placed St. Maria on the calendar of the Catholic Church in France. One wonders if there are any othersaints of post-Schism Christianity who are on both the Catholic and Orthodox calendars? Every saint poses a challenge, but Mother Maria is perhaps among the most challenging saints. Her life is a passionate objection to any form of Christianity that seeks Christ chiefly inside church buildings. Still more profoundly, she challenges each of us to a life of a deeper, more radical hospitality, a hospitality that includes not only those who share our faith and language but those whom we regard as the other, people in whom we resist recognizing the face of Christ. Mother Maria was certain that there was no other path to heaven than participating in Gods mercy. The way to God lies through love of people. At the Last Judgment I shall not be asked whether I was successful in my ascetic exercises, nor how many bows and prostrations I made. Instead I shall be asked, Did I feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and the prisoners. That is all I shall be asked. About every poor, hungry and imprisoned person the Savior says I: I was hungry and thirsty, I was sick and in prison. To think that he puts an equal sign between himself and anyone in need.... I always knew it, but now it has somehow penetrated to my sinews. It fills me with awe.
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We can sum up Mother Marias credo in just a few words: Each person is the very icon of God incarnate in the world. THE REvEREND PROFESSOR EMERY DE GAAL (University of St. Mary on the Lake, USA) The Theological Category of Peace as a kerygmatic Imperative in the Thoughts of Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVIs understanding of the nature of peace is based on Scripture and Church teaching and heightened by Augustine and his personal experience of World War II. While the world is capable of defining and generating some kind of peace, human yearning for peace ultimately transcends the world. It finds its full definition in the Blessed Trinity. This enables a threefold perspective on peace. While the secular world, world religions and Christianity have their respective definitions of peace, theirs are not one of mutual exclusivity but one of progression. This allows Christians to labor for peace both with other religions and with the body politic. By following Jesus Christ and doing God the Fathers will Christians contribute to the cause of peace, mindful that only the eschaton will grant peace in its full sense. PROFESSOR NAJM AL-DIN YOUSEFI (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA) Reinterpreting Early Islamic History for Peace and Tolerance The paper will argue that the early biographies have placed disproportionate emphasis on a peculiar notion of jihad, hence contributing to a distorted image of Muhammads career as a prophet and a political leader. I will propose certain approaches that will help us arrive at a more realistic and more tolerant conception of Islam. I will also provide some insight into how this reinterpretation will foster a more peaceful relationship between Muslims and other nations, especially in the West. THE REvEREND DOCTOR IGNATIOS STAvROPOULOS (Secretary of the Holy Monastery Metamorfoseos in Nafpaktos, Greece) A just Peace in Europe: An Orthodox perspective The preservation of peace, a standing demand of all peoples, is a common good that all want to maintain or achieve, so much so that even some wars are conducted under the pretext of maintaining peace. Is it easy to have peace and indeed a just peace for all, not a peace that favours specific groups? Is peace something that is perceived in the same way by everyone? And how to achieve a just peace when the weak and unarmed negotiate with the strong and armed? Ultimately, it is possible to know the real will of decisionmakers today? Could it be that some do not actually want just peace? By telling his disciples Whosoever will come after me..., Jesus establishes the spiritual freedom of man. He thus establishes the obvious, that no one can achieve what he or she do not really want. By the same token, just peace for all cannot be achieved if it is not sought by all. In recent years, terrorism brought back fear to everyday European life. Nobody can rule out anything and nobody can reassure anyone. Let us just remember the recent tragedy in Norway. Peace to all is the fundamental prayer and invocation - blessing of every Christian priest, especially during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. This hope and prayer of the Christians is today necessary and perhaps more timely than ever.
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Conclusions: 1. For Christianity, peace as a spiritual goal is the highest spiritual good and command of Christ, who taught love and peace by sacrificing Himself and not others. 2. True and just undisturbed peace is a divine gift that is born in mans heart and extends to everyone. 3. Christianitys legacy on peace in Europe and the international community is a precious treasure, as it may form the basis for a just and thus sustainable peace on earth.
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Tuesday, November 15th, 2011 THE AULA OF THE OSSOLINSKI NATIONAL INSTITUTE
Address: ul. Szewska 37 , Wroclaw, Poland
10:00 AM SESSION (1st) Moderator: PROFESSOR TUGRUL KESKIN (Rutgers University, USA) PROFESSOR BRUNO DRWSKI (National Institute for Eastern Languages and Civilizations, France) Collective Security, Disarmament, Soft Power, Constant Wars.The Role of Ethical and Religious Communities and of Social Movements at the Time of the Crisis of the International Law After the Second world war, the great powers accepted the Charter of the United Nations and consequently the principles of general disarmament, collective security and non intervention in the internal affairs of each State. Even if these goals could not be fully realized, a tremendous diplomatic work was launched with important results on the legal ground so the danger of war seemed to be constantly diminishing from the beginning of the cold war up to the time of the peaceful coexistence and detente. But now humankind is witnessing back unending series of uncontrolled wars and foreign interventions, mainly but not only in the so-called Great Middle East, and Eastern Congo and surroundings countries have been the theater of the most bloody and silent conflict happening since 1945. This evolution seems to be the consequence of various factors : the end of the post-second world war balance of power, the crisis of the dominant economical system, the disintegration of the traditional values at the very same time with the crisis of the Leftist ideologies, etc. But simultaneously, we are witnessing very different forms of religious rebirth and the development of new forms of social activities taking into account ethical questions. This situation seems to open the road to new perspectives for a peaceful future. Under certain conditions we have to take this time into account. THE REvEREND PROFESSOR BOGDAN FERDEK (Papal Faculty of Theology, Poland) Oikoumene as an Instrument of Peace: Catholic-Orthodox Dialogue in the light of the Ravenna Document The dialogue concerning the issue of papal primacy has been conducted within the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. The present state of the dialogue is delineated in the Ravenna document entitled Ecclesiological and Canonical Consequences of the Sacramental Nature of the Church: Ecclesial Communion, Conciliarity and Authority. On the basis of this document we can answer the questions of how the Orthodox and the Christians understand primacy, of the extent to which they are already united in their interpretation, of what yet remains a matter of contention and of the possibility of future agreement. Being the icon of the Holy Trinity, the Church must at the same time be conciliar in nature and have its protos. Conciliarity and proteio must be visible on all planes of the Churchs life, i.e. local, regional and universal. According to the Ravenna document, primacy and synodality are interdependent. Therefore primacy at the different levels of
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the life of the Church must always be considered in the context of synodality and synodality, similarly, in the context of primacy. Primacy on the universal plane is recognized both by the East and by the West. The differences in understanding of papal primacy concern its exercise and its biblical foundations. A reinterpretation of the primacy of the Bishop of Rome could be conducted in a comparable manner to the correction to the matter of Holy Orders made in Sacramentum Ordinis from 1947. The Council of Florence in the Decree for the Armenians from 1439 established that an essential element in conferring the Orders was the delivery of the chalice with wine and the paten with bread. This gratuitous addition to the original sacrament was annulled by Pius XII. It meant a conscious return to the tradition of the Ancient Church and, by the same token, to the Eastern Orthodox Church. It was thereby an amendment to the Western tradition made in accordance with the norms of the Universal Church. The Western tradition of primacy could be likewise amended in the light of the tradition of the Ancient Church so that the Bishop of Rome would come to be recognized as presiding in love. PROFESSOR JAN KRASICKI (University of Wroclaw, Poland) Peace and Saint Peace: Considerations on the modern Project of Peace and its Limits In the paper I set forth the problem of the legitimacy and limits of the modernist project of peace. Having demonstrated that the project was founded on the ideals of the European Enlightenment, I try to prove that it involved not only the humanistic potential but also a hidden totalitarian threat. The argument is developed on the examples of Kant and other philosophers of the Enlightenment, Hegels political thought, Solovyovs project of ecumenical theocracy, and, finally, theses proposed by such critics of the concepts of Enlightenment and modernity as Adorno, Horkheimer, Foucault and Bauman. I conclude by stating that the answer to the question of the limits and perspectives of the project is connected not with politics or progress but is of anthropological and metaphysical nature as it refers to the perennial question of the nature and essence of man. DOCTOR JOzEF MATULA (Palack University of Olomouc, Czech Republic) The Concept of Tolerance as a Precondition for the Development of Peaceful Society: Some Historical Reflections In recent decades, one can point out that in spite of the roaring technological success of our civilisation we anxiously watch wars, conflicts and violence in various parts of the world. The global and virtual world is marked by both strong intercultural communication and at the same time by intercultural or religious conflicts. If a comprehensive peaceful order is to be accepted today in a global scale, it must by no means be dictated by one side. It opens the question of precondition of peaceful societies. The aim of the presentation is to show how the concept of tolerance in different historical periods of European history determined the concept of peace. The premodern period of European history has a reputation of being intolerant, which is connected especially to religious matters. The historical research of the concept of tolerance demonstrates that leading intellectuals of European thought have always paid attention to constitution of the theoretical roots of peaceful and prosperous society. Especially in times of global crisis and disasters and they mobilised their intellectual gifts to revise contemporary knowledge
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and education in favor of achieving peace for human society. The systematic elucidation and foundation of peace seems to be a fundamental part of great thinkers across the history of European thought. A closer look to the theories of tolerance and peace reveals the spirit of European culture: the rational ability to analyse the reality and to confront reality in reflection, to re-shape it into convincing principles and to plan the future. This capacity is positive and constructive but at the same time it seems to slide into destructive state through its concrete realisation and development. This rational aspect of European culture seems to be alienated in its substance which determined serious negative implications and deficits of European culture subject-centrism or alienation from religious matters which are the pillars of European identity. I believe that the aim of the researchers who deal with the history of ideas is to reveal various meanings of tolerance and peace concepts in different periods. The archeology of intellectual efforts in history provides us with different definitions of tolerance and peace in accordance with the historical and spiritual conditions of contemporary time. Our attention which we pay to intellectual efforts in different historical periods unveils a common characteristics of the leading intellectuals they try to project a tolerant and peaceful society. Their treatises, stigmatized by the conditions of their time, by the historical situation and specific philosophical-theological resources, are an important testimony to the search for tolerance as reconciliation of different worlds. Although they were leading intellectuals in the past history, their endeavour to build theoretical and institutional fundamentals for peaceful and tolerant society should be appreciated fully in our time when modern societies are threatened by intransigent fundamentalism or sophisticated suppression of human dignity. Tolerance is not moral indifference; it is rather the understanding of inner freedom and determination of man. Only through the understanding of this specific place of man education can become the area where true peace and true humanity is realized as well as the area which is the basis and presupposition of peaceful society. Only in this way the mutual respect and reconciliation can be born, respect and reconciliation which transcend the very sphere of man and understands the universe in its various and different manifestations as a part of common life. 12:00 Break
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12:30 PM SESSION (2nd) Moderator: PROFESSOR TOMASz STEFANIUK (Maria Curie-Skodowska University, Poland) PROFESSOR TAHIR ABBAS (FRSA, Fatih University, Turkey) Muslims in Britain: Challenges and Opportunities for Equality and Diversity The issue of Islamophobia has become rampant in the post-9/11 period with a particular focus on British Muslims as a threat to the existing social order, and where recent discussions have focused on the securitisation of multiculturalism rather than eliminating structural inequalities. This talk provides a socio-historical context in relation to this challenge, focusing on the social, economic, and political issues that have affected post-war Muslim migrants and communities in the UK context. Although a generally discursive concept, Islamophobia does have precise analytical purchase. Nevertheless, it remains hotly contested with many who voice the view that by constantly focusing on the significance of Islamophobia, deep-seated socio-cultural community characteristics that are potentially damaging to integration as well as the well-being of young people in particular remain under-exposed. Based on research that has concentrated on patterns of discrimination facing young British South Asian Muslims and a focus on the cause of political radicalism among these very young people in more recent periods, it is argued that a particular form of Islamophobia has become embedded in society which persistently characterises young Muslims as anti-integration, misogynists, violent, reactionary, bigoted and culturally regressive. While these are indeed problematic assertions that add to existing patterns of disadvantage, aspects of the experiences of British Muslim communities remain under-discussed in public discourses, much the determinant of Muslims and wider society in general. Moreover, in the global multicultural context, the importance of dialogue and co-existence has been overlooked. In order the meet the challenges of diversity, a more robust discussion of the concepts of diversity and equality is required, as well as a more open rationalisation of the problems and opportunities at hand. While the UK experiences particular problems in the current period in relation to downward pressures on public finances, historically it is been the most progressive in relation to multiculturalism and diversity management. Muslims in Britain are actively shaping a presence in society, and with greater consideration of the wider and specific issues at play the UK can once again become a leading light across Western Europe in relation to multiculturalism. PROFESSOR ADAM CHMIELEWSKI (University of Wroclaw, Poland) Faith and Fallibilism The author addresses the issue of the place of religion in the public life of contemporary Western societies. He argues that the state based on religious laws has proven itself to be incapable of preserving peace and tolerance between citizens professing different religions. He also argues that since it is unreasonable to expect a fallibilist humility and moderation from religions, it is the task of the state to ensure a framework in which individuals may be able to live in peace whatever religion they profess. In conclusion, he harks back to the famous speech by Clermont-Tonerre in which he proposed to refuse to accord a collective recognition of other ethnic groups, while offering full range
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of right to their individual members. Accordingly, he proposes that the solution will have to be based on two distinctions simultaneously: one, between the positive and negative recognition, and the other, between the individual and collective recognition. Accordingly, the liberal states policies toward religion is to stem from the juncture of these two distinctions: the state is to extend its negative recognition to those forms of groupings of its citizens which have proven themselves incapable of observing the principles of toleration of others, and, simultaneously, a positive recognition to the civic right of all as individuals. This solution naturally involves a presumption of the validity of a third distinction, the one between the private and the public. Even though the distinction between the private and the public is permanently undermined by the fact that all private is political and, from an agonistic view of the political, it cannot be defined precisely once and for all, it nevertheless points to a political measure which has to follow from an awareness that a legitimate state cannot become a safe-haven to all religions professed by its citizens if it does not transcend all their incompatible claims to incontestable truth. This cannot be achieved by a state that proclaims it own complete fallibility versus religions. PROFESSOR DEEPA KUMAR (Rutgers University, USA) Islamophobia and the Politics of the War on Terror This lecture will examine the historic encounter between the East and the West, looking at both moments of conflict and cooperation. I will argue that contrary to the myth that a clash of civilizations has characterized the relations between the West and the Muslim world, history shows that the East-West encounter has been both complex and dynamic. Such a historical analysis is particularly important in order to situate the war on terror and the emergence of a new Muslim enemy. The presentation will focus on the US context and discuss the rise of Islamophobia after the events of 9/11. PROFESSOR TUGRUL KESKIN (Portland State University, USA) The increasing Trend of Islamophobia in Liberal Discourse in the US The definition of a modern state within liberal discourse is understood to be the existence of a system of law, equality, citizenship, and tolerance, and the constitutional rights of its citizens. Racism and discrimination however, have been an undeniable part of the modern US and European state socio-political experience in the 20th century. The characteristics of todays modern states, according to the definition provided, appear to be diluted in the example of modern European and US history. Nowhere is this dynamic more obvious than in the case of the Jews and the so-called Jewish Question in Germany, and in Europe more broadly between the years 1850 and 1933. At the time, Jews were integrated into German and European society possibly more than Germans from poorer or more rural areas of the country. In fact, there is possibly no other minority ethnic or religious group that has been as integrated as the Jews were in Germany during at the time. Most of the Jewswere financially well-off, better educated than the general populace, spoke and wrote with greater fluency, and were more articulate than many of the German populace. Some had even converted to Christianity, but were still not accepted by German Society. If we look at Muslims in the US prior to September 11, 2001, there was a relatively small population of Muslims in the US, and one that was not very visible or well integrated within the American social, political and econo-
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mic spheres. After the 1990s, there was a dramatic population growth from increased Muslim migration to the US. This in itself made the Muslim population more apparent, in addition to September 11th. However, the expectation was that the American legal system and multicultural attitudes would be enough to protect Muslim immigrants and citizens. The challenge of Muslim integration into American society today has thankfully been quite different than the challenge of integrating Blacks into American society in the civil rights era and beyond. This is because the justice system today does play an important role protecting ethnic minorities from direct discrimination and racism. On the other hand, Muslims in the US are now subject to a different type of discrimination and exclusion, based on more insidious forms of social exclusion. In this paper, I examine the social, political and economic integration of Muslims in the US in the Post-September 11 era. THE REvEREND DOCTOR ALI ABI ISSA (Institute of the Study of Islam, Poland) The Idea and Foundations of the sustained Peace in Islamic Doctrine The source texts of Quran and sunna emphasize that the perpetual peace can be instituted only if the fundamental rights granted by God and enjoyed by all people are affirmed. The fundamental rights are acquired by an individual by virtue of his/her belonging to the human species, so that every man by nature has a status of a dignified/ noble being. Most scholars, basing their arguments on the source texts, maintain that the reason of granting human beings the elements of nobility is al-Fitra. Every human person is equipped with a nature that comes from God. Each item included in the composition of al-Fitra has a divine origin. The meaning of the word al-Fitra is roughly related to the original nature of man and his/her features which were given to him/her by God. The Islamic doctrine is to a certain extent similar to the ideas of some Sophists, e.g. Hippias (5/6 century BCE), who held that the natural law is grounded in the nature common to all human beings. According to the Islamic doctrine all humans are equal by nature whereas all the differences which divide people into particular groups and communities are only a foundation necessary for the development of specific institutions, faculties and practices (this is the meaning of the Quranic verse highlighting the multicultural aspect of Islam according to which God created human beings different so that they may know each other and complement each others knowledge). Further in the paper the Islamic doctrine concerning diversity and otherness is being examined as well as its stance towards the idea of perpetual peace and situations when the conflict (and thus the cancellation of peace) is justified.
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Sacrum and Profanum for Peace

Trumpet trio: Wojciech Lizurej, Mateusz Mszyca, Tobiasz Tyczka The Oktoich Choir of St. Cyril and Methodius Orthodox church of Wroclaw was founded in 1991. Their repertoire comprises hymns, liturgical chants together with their score derived from the Slavonic and the Byzantine tradition, which are recorded on eight albums The Oktoich Choir that have been released so far. The Oktoich Choir has performed in as many as 800 concerts in Poland as well as many reputed concert halls all over Europe, greeted by audiences in Moscow, London, Brussels, Budapest, Tbilisi, Chisinau, Bucharest, Prague, Berlin, Munich, Hanover and in France. The choir is a three-time winner of the International Festival of Orthodox Church Music organized in Hajnowka, Poland (taking first and second places in 1992, 1996 and 2006) and a winner of the International Festival of the Art of the Deacon in Moscow (special award in 1997). The choristers of the Oktoich were awarded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland, Ministry of National Defence and veterans associations with Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture as well as Pro Memoria Medal. In 2011 the choir is celebrating its 20th anniversary, the celebrations of which will culminate in a jubilee concert on the 8th of December in the National Concert Hall in Warsaw. From the day of its establishment, the choir is led by the protodeacon Grzegorz Cebulski. The Ensemble viridarium vocal group specializes in performing a capella music of the 16th and early 17th century. The group made its stage debut in 2011 performing a repertoire of the most famous European madrigal composers. Its interests also revolve around Silesian artists. The group is composed of singers from a number of artistic milieux in Poland, mainly solo artists and chamber musicians known also for their individual performances. The group is led by Agnieszka Drodewska, a singer and musicologist. Ensemble Viridarium will delight The Ensemble Viridarium you with sixteenth-century four and five voice madrigals from different countries. In these secular pieces love is the dominant theme. In the Renaissance they were composed to entertain and amuse the audiences. In the selected pieces we may trace many shades of renaissance love; we will hear not only the victorious love, as in the first piece, but also the tones of passionate and unrequited feeling. Some of the works will encourage us to join in playing and conviviality, other will extol the beauty of the surrounding nature.
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The organizers
UNIvERSITY OF WROCLAW INSTITUTE OF PHILOSOPHY

The University of Wrocaw, established in 1702, is the second-oldest state university in Poland. Founded by Leopold I Habsburg the university evolved from a modest school run by Jesuits into one of the biggest academic institutions in Poland. At the beginning of the 19th century the university had five Faculties: Philosophy, Catholic Theology, Evangelical Theology, Law and Medicine. Later it was expanded by numerous sections, laboratories and a natural museum which exists until today. After the Second World War a group of Polish professors, formerly from Lvov, started teaching and research activities at the University of Wrocaw. Initially they created the Faculties of Law and Administration, Arts, Natural Sciences, Agriculture, Veterinary, Medicine, Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. Some of these Faculties were soon transformed into other universities. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the University of Wrocaw produced 9 Nobel Prize winners, such as Theodor Mommsen, Philipp Lenard, Eduard Buchner, Paul Ehrlich, Fritz Haber, Friedrich Bergius, Erwin Schrdinger, Otto Stern and Max Born. Today, the first and foremost focus of The University of Wrocaw is scientific research. Our scholars have numerous links with their fellow researchers from other higher education institutions in Poland and throughout the world. The University of Wrocaw is the largest university in the region and teaches over 40,000 students and around 1,300 doctoral students at 10 faculties. 9,000 students graduate from the University every year.
INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF ISLAM

Institute for the Study of Islam serves as a forum for research and communication, whose primary aim is to create prospects for scientific research and dialogue understood as: exchange of ideas, communication and better mutual understanding, collective endeavors in carrying out specific projects aimed at developing partners societies and meetings of scholars, leaders and representatives of culture. Institute for the Study of Islam was founded on the belief that there is a lack of Polish research institution capable of diligent, unbiased and profound acquiring, developing and promoting knowledge about the Muslim world - its history, achievements and problems. An even greater challenge is to enable Polish people to understand the Islam religion and science as one of the most important spiritual and intellectual traditions of humanity. In practice, in Poland there is no research center that would be able to perform this task. At the same time, because of the growing interest in Islamic issues and its media-attractiveness promoted by the clash of the civilisations paradigm (often used by commentators and analysts of political and social life), existing scientific institutions (involved in language, literature and culture of selected aspects of some Muslim countries) provide both: consumers of information as well as opinion leaders in our country (journalists, publicists, politicians, scientists from other disciplines) with incomplete surveys, reviews and descriptions of the Muslim world concerning current events in the international arena.
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Notes
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Organizators:
Sponsors:
Partners:
Media patronage:
Special thanks:
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A MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROJECT ON INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE

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Poland | Wrocaw | November 14th-15th , 2011 www.peace.uni.wroc.pl

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PROFESSOR TARIQ RAMADAN (University of Oxford, UK) Requirements for Peace

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MR JIM FOREST, General Secretary Of The Orthodox Peace Fellowship (Netherlands)

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Sacrum and Profanum for Peace

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UNIvERSITY OF WROCLAW INSTITUTE OF PHILOSOPHY

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