Religion and politics in the public sphere
Promoting peaceful coexistence among political actors with different worldviews
Who are we?
The project was carried out jointly between the Cordoba Peace Institute – Geneva (CPI) and the Swiss Federal Department for Foreign Affairs (FDFA) CPI works in the arena of violence prevention, conflict transformation and peace promotion. From 2011, following the wave of popular uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East, CPI concentrated on accompanying those countries facing profound political and social changes. The engagement of the Swiss FDFA in the field of peace and security promotion is among the four strategic priorities of the Swiss Foreign Policy Strategy 2016-2019. One of its specific areas of engagement is the transformation of violent conflicts with a religious dimension.
Context
The interaction of religion and politics in the public sphere remains at the heart of the political transition, seven years after a wave of uprisings swept the MENA region in 2011. This upheaval has shaken the political, social, and economic affairs of the North Africa area, with consequences for the landscape of political participation.
An important ideological contention in North Africa is between political actors with different worldviews – especially secularists and Islamists. While their differences have been a source of tension for many decades, the opening of the political space to actors with religious references, the participation of new Salafi political actors, and the rapid gains of Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated parties in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco, entrenched this tension in the public sphere. In the regional context of fragile political transitions, these strains were seen to have the potential to lead to authoritarian forms of government, or even violence and civil war.
Countries
Affiliations
Approach and aims
Between 2016 and 2017, CPI and the Swiss FDFA jointly facilitated an inclusive process to explore a possible coexistence of different value systems in North African societies. By ensuring confidentiality, the process provided a physically and ideologically safe space for dialogue and building working relationships; allowing both secularist and Islamist groups to adopt an inclusive approach to actors of different worldviews.
The process brought together actors with diverse backgrounds and distinct worldviews from 11 countries. Religious scholars, human rights activists, government and opposition politicians, opinion leaders and civil society actors all sought to establish a common space for practical actions, in which everyone could engage, while respecting different references and ideologies.
Results
Participants broached thorny issues including religion and politics in the public sphere, democracy and sharia, freedom of expression and blasphemy, and the basis of citizenship. This allowed for a change in participants’ attitudes, as antagonistic viewpoints of secularists and Islamists were alleviated through dialogue and a more nuanced understanding of the others’ views.
Using conceptual tools drawn from Islamic tradition (the Medina Charter) and Western tradition (John Rawls Theory of Justice), participants successfully identified possibilities for cooperating in a shared civic space.
(circa. 622 CE) was drafted by the Prophet Muhammed and set out a framework for peaceful coexistence in a diverse society of distinct religious and tribal identities. The John Rawls Theory of Justice (1971) proposed that society should offer liberty to all members, provided that the liberty of one does not limit that of any other. THE MEDINA CHARTER
Participants’ testimonies acknowledged a shift in their own views of “the other”. Very motivated by these changes and this new perception, they show a strong desire to continue the process and focus on working together on concrete issues. Tunisian and Moroccan participants recommended the launch of initiatives in their respective countries, with the support of CPI and the FDFA. In Tunisia, a series of mediation spaces between Islamists and secularists seeks to alleviate ideological and political tensions, safeguarding the nascent democratic transition; specifically, the prevention of political violence. This encompasses the exclusion of some political actors, such as participative Salafis, as well as direct violence. A process in Morocco addresses prevalent physical violence and confrontations between secularist and Islamist student groups on university campuses, building a shared understanding of the roots of this conflict and an inclusive mediation mechanism.
Thematic discussions
Participants in this process published a joint communiqué entitled Towards a Common Space for Interaction and Joint Action, signed by 45 representatives from 11 countries. This demonstrated that it is possible for actors with apparently incompatible worldviews to come together, to discuss contentious topics and to develop an understanding of different perspectives, without altering their own values. It also highlighted the importance of:
– Guaranteeing confidentiality, offering a physical and emotional safe space for a respectful exchange;
– Surpassing ideological debates to focus on practical aspects of peaceful coexistence;
– Accepting that differences of worldviews cannot necessarily be ‘resolved’ as much as reconciled.
This mediation process for North African opinion leaders, decision-makers and leading activists, has multiplied its effects to sensitising the regional political community, promoting the accommodation of a more representative cross-section of worldviews in the public sphere.
Further reading
Experts’ Conclusions Memorandum: Towards a Common Action Space
The Interaction of Religion and Politics in the Public Sphere
Complementary information
| For more information on the Cordoba Peace Institute – Geneva and its activities: | Contacts Cordoba Peace Institute – Geneva | Federal Department for Foreign Affairs |
|---|---|---|
| www.cpi-geneva.org | info@cpi-geneva.org Tel. +41 22 734 15 03 | Directorate of Political Affairs -Human Security Division pd-ams@eda.admin.ch |
