Khatami's Proposal on Dialogue -
The speaker is Iran's secular head of state, a philosopher and a human being:
``In dialogue among cultures and civilizations, great artists should undoubtedly get due recognition together with philosophers, scholars and theologians. For artists do not glance at the sea, mountain and the forest as mere mines and sources of energy, oil and fuel. For the artist, the sea embodies the waving music of a heavenly dance; the mountain is not just a mass of dirt and boulder; and the forest not merely as inanimate timber to cut and use. By excluding the artist's "innocent" understanding from the political and social realm, human beings fall down to the ranks of the tool-making working animal. Such a being would surely look with disdain at the possibility of dialogue, and any empathy or compassion that may result from it. A world so thoroughly controlled by political, military and economic conditions inevitably begets the ultimate devastation of the environment, and the eradication of all spiritual, artistic and intuitive havens.
``This would result in a dreary world in which the human "soul" can find no solace and no refuge. The inevitable fate of such a world is nothing but nihilism. Rational thinking of the philosopher, the learned language of the scholar, and the earnest efforts of the social engineer cannot suffice to remedy this nihilism. We need the magical touch and spell of the enchanted artist and the inspired poet to rescue life, at least part ofit, from the iron clasp of death and to make possible the continuation of life.
``Poets and artists engage in dialogue within and through the sacred language of spirit. This language has remained safe from poisonous winds of time, and in the very cold and merciless season of faithlessness it still brings us good news of original human ideals. It still calls people to persist on the path of hope and faith. As some thinkers have emphasized, the present situation of man in nature is indeed a tragic one. The sense of solitude and monologue and the anxiety rooted within it embody this tragic world. Our call to dialogue is aimed at soothing this sense of tragedy. We do not want to trivialize deep-rooted and genuine human pains, nor to propose a superficial panacea for profound human questions concerning the meaning of life and death. However, in the course of dialogue the way in which various cultures and civilizations embrace and encounter grounds for tragedy should beneficially be discussed.
``In addition to poetic and artistic experience, mysticism language or dialogue. Mystical experience, constituted of the revelation and countenance of the sacred in the heart and soul of the mystic, opens new existential pathways onto the human spirit. A study of mystical achievements of various nations reveals to us the deepest layers of their 'life experience' in the most universal sense. The unified mystical meaning and content across cultures and the linguistic parallelism among mystics, despite vast cultural, historical and geographical distances, is indeed perplexing. Promoting a dialogue the bed rocks of understanding between cultures and civilizations.
``The proposal for a dialogue among civilizations builds upon the study of cultural geography of various fields of civilization. Yet the unique and irreplaceable role of governments should never be overlooked in this process. In the absence of governmental commitment to their affirmative vote to the resolution on dialogue among civilizations cannot maintain high hopes for the political consequences of proposal. Member states of the United Nations should endeavor to remove barriers from the way of dialogue among cultures and civilizations, and should abide by the basic precondition of dialogue. This fundamental principle rejects any imposition, and builds upon the premises that all parties to dialogue stand on essentially equal footing.
``The symbolic representation of Themis - goddess of divine Law and Justice - has already gained virtually global acceptance, as its statue appears on judiciary courts of many nations. It is now time to ask Themis to remove her blindfold. Let us ask her to set aside the lofty scale that currently weighs political and economic might as the sole measure. Instead, she should call all parties to an open discussion in various domains of thought, culture and civilization. She ought to look observantly at the evidence with open eyes, and by freeing herself from any prior obligations, she should finally charge citizens of the world with the task of making political, economic and cultural decisions..."
Matchball to human beings...
Peace & Salaam - M.StC. -
