No clash but a dialogue of civilisations - de Marco

The history of sharing and exchange that epitomises the Mediterranean as well as the proximity of nation states within it make the idea of a clash of civilisations not only outlandish but counterproductive, President Emeritus Guido de Marco told youngsters from all over the region on Friday during a Euromed Movement Malta activity.

Professor de Marco was referring to the book Clash of Civilisations by Samuel Huntington in which the author argues that people's cultural and religious identity will be the primary source of conflict in the post-Cold War world.

The idea was actually developed by Bernard Lewis, Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, in an article published towards the end of 1990 titled 'The Roots of Muslim Rage'.

The theory gained increasing currency after 9/11, the Madrid and London bombings. Using the Israeli/Palestinian conflict as the basis for his argument, Professor de Marco emphasised that the conflict in the region is an abnormal state of affairs.

The very presence of the Church of the Nativity, a Christian symbol embedded in a region peopled by Jews and Muslims, is a testament to the exchange that is intrinsic to the history of the civilisations that emerged from the Mediterranean, he pointed out.

"Certainly there will always be problems between neighbours but... civilisations complement each other," he emphasised. Professor de Marco's words were received well by the audience, which included young Israelis, Palestinians, Turks, Bosnians, Croatians, Serbs and Maltese, among others.

Continuing on the theme of the clash of civilisations, he pointed out that the mistake of colonialism was that colonisers always took on the role of the 'teacher', assuming other cultures needed to be tutored without really understanding the richness of the cultures they were meant to be superior to.

Asked about the status of emergence of nationalisms in the context of this dialogue which is meant to take place between cultures, Professor de Marco pointed to the EU as a reference point in this regard.

The EU is a union of states which have opted to share aspects of their nationhood, by way of a common market, freedom of movement, for instance.

This does not mean they should relinquish their identities but rather that they should share aspects of it. "We have to be careful when dealing with the nation state.

"There cannot be peace without justice and there cannot be justice without forgiveness, and we have a lot to forgive each other."

The event, held at the Fortina Spa Resort in Sliema, is part of the Mediterranean Youth Vision for 2020 initiative which combines resources of the EuroMed Movement Malta and the Leo Savir Foundation of a Mediterranean Vision 2020 within the Peres Centre for Peace. The event was also supported by the Strickland Foundation.