KUALA LUMPUR: The Raja Muda of Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah today said there is an urgent need to improve ties between the West and the Muslim community.
Describing the current situation as serious and fragile, he said: “Relations between the countries and communities of the Muslim world and the West are in need of urgent repair.
“It is time to double efforts and try harder. Process is almost as important as outcome. The alternative would be to be swamped by the conflictual forces at work,” he told the participants of the International Conference on Global Movement of Moderates (ICGMM) here yesterday.
He said inter-civilisation dialogue had an important role to play in correcting the negative picture and perception between the West and the Muslim world.
To be more effective, he said it was important for such dialogue to address the political issues as well as the other dimensions of the problem.
Raja Nazrin said good dialogue should seek to exchange views, clarify issues and misconceptions, and find common ground.
“In this regard, dialogue that engage the countries and communities of the West and Muslim world are especially useful given the extensive ignorance, misperception, misrepresentation and prejudice that often prevail between the two sides.
“The misunderstanding is prevalent on both sides, which is odd given the vast treasury of knowledge available to all in this Internet and connected age,” he said.
The Raja Muda said inter-civilization dialogue could also contribute to promoting mutual understanding and cooperation.
Raja Nazrin also suggested that a movement of the moderates could advocate moderate values in addressing differences and moderate actions in resolving conflicts.
The movement 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, he added.
The session on “Inter-civilization Dialogue: A hope for the future” was moderated by Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad chairman Tan Sri Dr Munir Majid. — Bernama