The Report of Closing Session held on 13th of March

Rapportour: Kazuko Shiojiri

This is a report of the open discussion held after the Report Presentation, and of the two speeches given by Dr. Itagaki and Dr. Al-Rumaihi.

For the open discussion, more than 15 opinions and proposals are raised. Major of them are as follows.

1. To establish the effective dialogue, it is necessary to continue the cultural meeting and to exert ourselves to make the balance of the cultural standard.

2. Suggestion about making up the Systematic Organization or the Cultural Center for continuity of the fruitful dialogue, and about broadening the participants of the dialogue to China, Korea, and other Asian countries.

3. Though there are many kinds of seminars held after the 9/11, this seminar of the dialogue between Islamic countries and Japan is an unique and special trial.

4. We need the publication of the papers and results of the seminar, so that the complete documents of this seminar could contribute much to build the good relationship among other countries, too.

5. It is necessary to build up the dialogue among the youth, new generations, to increase the future possibilities rather than to argue the past.

6. Most Arabic Islamic people know little about Japan and Japanese people, and we need more dialogue with Japan.

7. One of the difficulties at present is the lack of good materials for Japan-Arab Dialogue, and translation of Japanese books into Arabic is essential for this dialogue. Now, the role of “Japan Association for Middle East Studies” is very important for the development of the Asian League of the Middle Eastern Studies.

8. “The Japan Association for Middle East Studies” has been running the Web-Site, and we need more Web-Sites for the dialogues and studies to collect and exchange the latest information.

9. To exchange students is one of the important way to obtain the good man-power for the significant dialogue between Islamic world and Japan, and it is much desired that the student who study in Japan should be recognized as 1st class-students as of the same standard as the students who study in the West, for studying in Japan is very difficult in both academic and living circumstance.

10. We should establish the annual meeting, the annual publication, and the systems of exchange of students constantly between the Islamic countries and Japan.

11. This seminar is a part of the “Dialogue among the civilization with the world of Islam” initiated by the former Japanese Foreign Minister, Mr. Kono, and now the seminar should be broadened to other Asian countries so that the discussion for the dialogue might be deepened.

12. For the proposal of the next session to be held in Japan, we request the financial help and human aid form Japanese government in order for the participants from the Islamic countries to meet many Japanese and to exchange the opinions.

13. It is essential to build up the follow-up Committee where governmental officials could join as core members with the scholars or specialists.

Then we had two speeches given by Dr. Yuzo Itagaki and Dr. Muhammad G. Al-Rumaihi.
Dr. Itagaki addressed that this seminar, Nadwah, had been designed as quite new one. As the process and the atmosphere of this seminar were different form the usual conferences, all of us could relax ourselves in exchanging our opinions. Now he was sure that the people to people understanding” was possible in the cultural diversity among us, not in international diversity but in the universal diversity. Civilizational dialogue is imperatively urgent at present and it is understanding of “Tawhid” as pluralistic understanding. It is the Islamic thought that has built the system for the dialogue through the long history.

Dr. Itagaki concluded his speech with thanks to the participants saying that there we found the Bolonte General to realize the continuous follow-up and to reach to the next meeting in Tokyo, Japan.

Dr Rumaihi addressed that as we were living in a small planet, the globalization is urgent subject. After the attack of the 9/11 the impact was very obvious against the political Muslims but not against the every Muslims. There is a keen question why that indent happened, but the fundamentalism is not the Muslim phenomenon but the phenomena for all the religions. It is true that the 9/11 opened the deep discussion.. however there is misunderstanding of the terminology about Islam and Muslims. Muslims differ depending on the areas and the countries, and we need the programs of the comparative studies for religions and cultures. There we find the misunderstanding even about Muslim culture among the Japanese who have sometimes the stereotype of Muslim feature, and the same misunderstanding about the Japan vice versa.

Dr. Rumaihi emphasized that the long-term educational system should be built up in order to realize the constant exchange of the students and the scholars, the publication of the books, and etc.

For the procedure of these academic activities, we need the definition of the adequate terminology, for Japan is almost a country of monoculture while Muslim world is sub-cultural society with big diversity in it.