JAKARTA, July 22, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The first Asia-Europe Interfaith Dialogue at the Bali International Convention Center wraps up Friday, July 22, with the results of the dialogue being formulated in a "Bali Declaration for Building Interfaith Harmony".

The two-day meeting, organized by the Indonesian and British governments, discusses means of promoting interfaith dialogue, barriers to interfaith harmony and the role of education, culture, the media, religion and society in promoting dialogue among the different faiths.

Opening the meeting Thursday, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said many interfaith dialogues had failed because the moderate religious voices, which normally formed the vast majority of any society, had not been given the exposure they deserved, according to Malaysian news agency Bernama reported.

"Hence, we must be sure, in the first place, to include the moderates," he said.

He maintained that moderation certainly did not mean compromising one's adherence to the fundamentals of one's faith but required a holistic approach to religious teachings, rather than a literal and narrow view, which often led to rigid practices and extreme behavior.

"Moderation means we have to refrain from imposing one's views on others and avoiding the use of violence."

The Indonesian President added that listening to the moderate voices doesn't mean to exclude the extremist religious voices, according to Agence France Presse (AFP).

"The dialogue should involve groups representing all faiths. Every voice including those from the so-called militant groups should be heard."

The Asia-Europe Interfaith Dialogue is attended by officials, intellectuals, religious leaders and journalists from 39 Asian and European countries.

"The basic problem is fear, out of prejudice and lack of knowledge," Belinfante said.

Addressing the meeting, Judith Belinfante, the sole Jewish participant, said the biggest obstacle to promoting interfaith dialogue was fear, which happened when people were prejudiced or when people stereotyped others and acted upon it.

"The basic problem is fear, out of prejudice and lack of knowledge," Belinfante, formerly a director of the Jewish Historical Museum, was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Post.

Belinfante, a former Dutch parliamentarian and currently head curator at the library of the University of Amsterdam, said people who attacked mosques in the Netherlands, for instance, had limited knowledge of Islam based on frightening images about Islam on television.

"It's fear, more than hate. They got scared."

The Muslim minority in the Netherlands has been the subject of racist attacks since the murder of controversial filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, blamed on a Dutch of Moroccan origin.

Din Syamsuddin, chairman of the Muhammadiyah movement, Indonesia's second largest Islamic movement, also said that global injustice was the root of violence donning the cloak of religion.

He added that wealth gaps, discrimination and the hegemony of certain powers led to tension and conflicts affecting the whole world.

On the sidelines of the Bali meeting, media role in strengthening relations between people of the different faiths was highlighted, according to the Jakarta Post said.

Addressing the Third Journalists' Colloquium of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), one of the side events in the prelude of the interfaith dialogue meeting, Arizal Effendy of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the media had a role to play in promoting not only interfaith dialogue, but also "intra-faith".

He said journalists, educators, religious leaders and civil society organizations are playing highly important role in promoting interfaith dialogue and defusing the threat of religious conflict.

"When leaders of different religions meet, they discover that they have more commonalities than differences. The question then becomes how do we mainstream these common values, how do we overcome barriers that exist by peaceful means."

He added that there is a lot of ignorance among people about the beliefs and practices of people of other religions, and often about the practices of people of the same faith.