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Round Table: Dialogue among Civilizations United Nations, New York, 5 September 2000 Provisional verbatim transcription

Address by Wole Soyinka (Nigeria)

Mr. Soyinka: I wish to thank Ms. Lewis for pointing out the obvious fact that dialogue does not mean one versus the rest X not the West versus the rest, or the East versus the West. Neither the West nor the East is the answer, nor is Africa or Asia or Australasia the answer. That is the essence of the whole notion of dialogue. I want to take this opportunity to emphasize what was said during this morning's session that the internal dialogue is every bit as crucial as dialogue between not only nations and civilizations but between religions. It is a dialogue of the entire concourse of humanity. That is the significance of choosing the end of a millennium to hold this dialogue. It is supposed to be a dialogue different from any other.

A very useful example was given earlier by Ms. Inayatullah when explaining the original meaning of jihad. In an internal dialogue a very important monumental culture in a religion like Islam would have to ask what has happened in the meantime that the concept of the jihad has become one of a provocative, aggressive war. That is what will ensue from a dialogue. A Christian can say, "oh, you have the crusading spirit", but that word "crusade" is redolent of horrors that have been perpetrated on humanity on the intellect, inquiry, the Inquisition, the index. When one hears about the Christian crusade something has happened to that word. The origin of the word may have been noble but we know very well what horrors the major religions, the major so-called civilizations of the world, have inflicted on other parts of humanity. Many of them do not even believe, as my brother here said, that African cultures exist. They destroyed these cultures. They do not even know the meaning of African religions because they came as religions and civilizations of conquest and domination. That is the whole essence of dialogue, to look into the entire history of civilizations, the impact of their contacts with one another and then see whether it is not about time to begin a dialogue of equals. I believe that this is what will result from a genuine dialogue at this turn of human existence, a dialogue of equals as opposed to a dialogue of domination.

Mr. Picco: Professor Van Gingel.

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