Preparatory Workshop for ASEM People's Forum

THE RISE OF RELIGION-BASED POLITICAL MOVEMENTS IN ASIA: 
A Threat or a Chance for National Development?

Preparatory Workshop for the ASEM People’s Forum Beijing October 2008

University Utara Malaysia
Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia
July 16, 17 and 18, 2008


OBJECTIVE AND TARGETS

The workshop is to be organised for two objectives: strengthening the co-operation between civil society organisations in Asia for peace and security, and preparing the Asian contribution for the Asia-Europe People’s Forum that will take place in Beijing in October 2008. More precisely, the workshop is to be held for two following targets:

1. Identifying the reasons of the rise of religion-based political movements and their consequences on the national development based on Human Rights, and formulating recommendations on the matter for the actors of development, especially the civil society organisations and the government agencies.

2. Disseminating the result of the workshop to the public through publication.

GEOGRAPHICAL AREA

Geographically, the study is to be focused on the countries where there is a chance that religion is to be used as mobilising reference for political movements or where the phenomenon is perceptible. The countries and the religions concerned in Asia are:

1. Bangladesh (Islam)
2. China (Buddhism, Islam)
3. India (Hinduism, Islam)
4. Indonesia (Christianity, Islam)
5. Japan (Buddhism, Shintoism)
6. Korea (Buddhism, Christianity)
7. Malaysia (Islam)
8. Myanmar (Buddhism)
9. Pakistan (Islam)
10. Philippines (Christianity, Islam)
11. Srilanka (Buddhism, Hinduism)
12. Thailand (Buddhism, Islam)


BASIC QUESTIONS

In term of subject of study, the workshop is to be focused on three basic questions around:

1. Historical Perspective
How did religion-based political movements appear? Why? What was their role in national history?

2. State of Affairs
In what way and in what extent the religion-based political movements rise today? Why?

3. Future Perspective
In what sense the religion-based political movements are or are not compatible with the UDHR? What is to be done by civil society organisations and governments with the rise of religion-based political movements?

COORDINATORS AND COORGANISERS

Dr Darwis Khudori (initiator and international co-ordinator)
GRIC (Group of Research on Identity and Culture)
University of Le Havre
25, rue Philippe Lebon
BP 420 Le Havre 76057 Cedex
FRANCE
E-mail: darwis.khudori@univ-lehavre.fr / emdeka@free.fr

Associate Professor Dr Mohamed Mustafa Ishak (national co-ordinator)
Faculty of International Studies
Universiti Utara Malaysia
06010 Sintok, Kedah
MALAYSIA
E-mail: mustafa@uum.edu.my / ishakmustafa@yahoo.com

STEERING COMMITTEE

Dr Darwis Khudori (co-ordinator) — Architect and Historian, University of Le Havre and International Network on Development and Civilisation LEBRET-IRFED, France
Associate Professor Dr Mohamed Mustafa Ishak — Political Scientist, University Utara, Malaysia
Professor Dr Musdah Mulia — Scholar of Islamic Studies, Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace, Jakarta, Indonesia
Dr Thaveesak Putsukee — Scholar of Education Sciences, Thaksin University, Songkhla, Thailand
Dr Albert E. Alejo, S.J. — Priest and Anthropologist, Mindanawon Initiatives for Cultural Dialogues, Ateneo de Davao University, Davao City, Philippines