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Beyond Dialogue: Possible Areas of Cooperation
– to say the least – to have dialogue with them and find acceptable compromises. I would therefore rather concentrate on the long term cooperation in the field of spreading knowledge – to term it very generally. The strive for knowledge is one of the noblest duties for Muslims, but despite this – according to different Arab human development reports - the Arab world is lacking behind in development in the modernized world more and more. This is definitely not true for countries like Qatar, which has recognized the utmost importance of investing in education and higher education. Many people are demanding a more intensified interfaith dialogue. My experience is that believers do not have problems understanding each other, and it is not really a problem of different religions. We therefore must focus on inter-societal dialogue and cultural interaction. We have to learn more about each other’s cultures and value systems, but more than anything else we need an intensified cooperation in the field of education and higher education. The actual crisis we are witnessing in parts of the Muslim world is also a crisis of modernization and search for an adequate answer to the challenges of globalization. A full exchange of knowledge about each other must in the 21 st century incorporate the electronic media, T.V. and particularly also the internet. Germany has built up an Arab language website (www.qantara.de), which is professionally edited and provides sophisticated background information on all related issues. We broadened our Arab language programs for the Voice of Germany and established a German information centre in Cairo, which is providing Arab language information about all German activities in this field. In the field of higher education the German Academic Exchange Service will increase its activities. More scholarships, more joint programs, training programs for teachers and training programs for university professors
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