Faith dialogue focus on social media sites

The growing usage and popularity of social media sites in getting together people from different walks was in focus yesterday at the 9th Doha conference on Interfaith Dialogue.
Speaker stressed the urgent need to better address the challenges of this medium to avoid misuse and destructive consequences resulting from extremism.
As these sites were used to help people in the Arab Spring come together and realise their long awaited aspiration, these can be better utilised to enhance mutual religious understanding and appreciation among followers of different faiths.
Rev Jesse L Jackson, Sr, from the US, pointed out how social media sites played a great role in the drive of the Arab Spring.
“Time is always on the side of the people and change will eventually come, people’s power overcomes bullets and strong minds will always break strong chains,” he commented.
“Beyond traditional forms of communication and media, social media brought together organisers, protesters and ordinary people from remote and disparate groups and locations, previously disconnected and unaware of each other’s action, to support a common cause.”
However, he warned that social media is only a tool and cannot replace traditional face to face interaction.
He however regretted that “coexistence and peace are dismissed as unrealistic and soft. So we do not pursue it vigorously”.
He also discussed the various human discrepancies such as the theory and practice of democracy, concentration and distribution of wealth and spending on war and ignoring peace.
Dr William F Vendley, secretary general of World Conference of Religions for peace, observed that “social media will continue to evolve and its reach and influence will expand. Our fundamental failure will be to fail to grasp its potential.”
He also noted that many governments have a presence on social media site with “many agencies of Western governments having blogs, Facebook pages, and twitter accounts. So do most religious organizations and most multi-faith and inter-religious groups.”
Dr Vendley talked also about how religious communities offer prayer services via Facebook, and ask followers to help the unfortunate via twitter as well as broadcast religious ceremonies on YouTube.
Rabbi Marc Gopin from US discussed the challenges of social networks for global change.
“It may emerge from further study that the early networks of religious and cultural networks and transformation must lay the groundwork for path-breaking political negotiations,” he said.
“Perhaps only when the two dynamic processes of change, social networking and formal negotiations, work together with greater mutual respect, will we begin to witness the birth of forms of diplomacy and conflict resolutions that are more irresistible, more attractive to the critical masses of people in conflicting situations around the globe.”
Social communication as an effective tool of better interfaith understanding was presented by Prof Akhtarul Wasey from India.
He saw that what is disturbing is how extremist and terrorist groups exploit the Internet to promote their cause and find new recruits through luring audio-video means with easily accessible technology.
Yet, this destructive usage is only one side of the image.
There are various “online initiatives to promote positive and constructive coming together of different faith communities represent a growing urge globally to bring different faiths closer and lay firm foundation for interfaith understanding and co-existence,” he pointed out.