Alliance of Civilizations (AOC)

Amrita Dani, Director

aoc@harvardmun.org

Topics

Topic A: Religious Education in the 21st Century

Differences on the basis of religion have come to divide the world in recent years, most prominently in the misunderstandings between Islam and the “West.” These perceived differences have had a major impact on foreign affairs, from the American war on terror to suicide bombings in Indonesia, from Turkey’s petition to join the E.U. to the Israel-Palestine crisis. The Alliance of Civilizations believes strongly that the way to improve inter-religious understanding is through existing avenues of education around the world, and to this end, it has made the diversification of religious education a high priority area. Religious education has the power to open new avenues of trust and understanding between people of different faiths, but it also has the potential to generate hatred, racism, and intolerance. In all of the major world religions, the latter has often overpowered educational discourse, and moreover, the diversity within religions has made it challenging to institute large-scale reform. It is the goal of this committee to attempt this rather daunting, though necessary, task by devising practical and creative educational initiatives that address both the similar concerns of all religious education systems and the unique considerations of various regional programs. Through these efforts, we will hopefully be able to remedy the political tensions of our era through grassroots outreach and social change in the realm of religion.

Topic B: The Politics of Migration: Veiling in Western Europe

Differences on the basis of religion have come to divide the world in recent years, most prominently in the misunderstandings between Islam and the “West.” These perceived differences have had a major impact on foreign affairs, from the American war on terror to suicide bombings in Indonesia, from Turkey’s petition to join the E.U. to the Israel-Palestine crisis. The Alliance of Civilizations believes strongly that the way to improve inter-religious understanding is through existing avenues of education around the world, and to this end, it has made the diversification of religious education a high priority area. Religious education has the power to open new avenues of trust and understanding between people of different faiths, but it also has the potential to generate hatred, racism, and intolerance. In all of the major world religions, the latter has often overpowered educational discourse, and moreover, the diversity within religions has made it challenging to institute large-scale reform. It is the goal of this committee to attempt this rather daunting, though necessary, task by devising practical and creative educational initiatives that address both the similar concerns of all religious education systems and the unique considerations of various regional programs. Through these efforts, we will hopefully be able to remedy the political tensions of our era through grassroots outreach and social change in the realm of religion.