Ninth Doha Conference on Interfaith Dialogue Declaration

With the events and expectations of the Arab Spring fresh in every one’s minds, over 242 participants from over 60 countries on six continents – Jews, Christians and Muslims – met at the Doha Sheraton Hotel from the Ninth Doha Conference on Interfaith Dialogue from 24 to 26 October, 2011. They acknowledged the generous hospitality of HH Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani and of the State and people of Qatar, and paid tribute to the organizers of the conference, the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue (DICID), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Qatar University. The Minister of Justice, HE Mr. Hassan Bien Abdulla Al Ghanim, at the opening session of the conference welcomed the participants and spoke for the need to make and to follow up concrete recommendations in the theme of the conference ‘Social Media and Inter-Religious Dialogue: A New Relationship’.

The Conference addressed five main themes: ‘the Emergence of Communication Technology, History and Development’, ‘The Benefits of Using Social Media in Interfaith Dialogue’, ‘Reflection of the use of the Social Media on the Communities’, ‘The Pros and Cons of the Social Communication in Serving Interfaith Dialogue issues’, and ‘Developing Religious Framework and Ethical Regulations to protect Societies from Misuse of Social Networking Tools’.

The Plenary sessions were complemented by workshops on theory and use of social media at introductory and intermediate levels, and strengthened the contribution of young people made at many points during the conference as they take the responsibility to build a world with more justice and peace.

1. Building on previous Doha conference, we call on Religious and education Authorities to encourage a climate of trust, truthfulness, freedom and mutual respect among people of different religions.

2. Building on the concerns of the present Ninth Doha Conference we call on men and women of all generations to explore ways to use social media for genuine communication and consequent cooperqtion.

3. We call especially on young people to bring forward their concerns and visions for improved understanding and collaboration in many fields – social, personal and spiritual.

4. The conference urges DICID to develop codes of conduct and suggestions for responsible use of social media, in order to implement authentic dialogue and cooperation, and to communicate these codes and suggestions to different religious Authorities as widely as possible, such as the UN and UNESCO.

5. We encourage DICID to develop a forum using electronic social media in order to enhance interfaith dialogue to local, regional and international levels.

6. We invite DICID to develop further effective communication with religious authorities and with women and men of good faithall over the world that will result in respect of religion and its symbols and prevent misuse of social media.

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