Meguro UNESCO Short News
UNESCO Lecture, "Now, We Think about Peace."
On December, 1st (Saturday) at the Nakameguro Seishounen Plaza
The following is an outline of the lecture given by Mr. Eiji Hattori
(an advisor to the Meguro UNESCO Association). The lecture is planned and
executed by the Youth Activity Committee of the Meguro UNESCO Association.
The speech entitled "Cut off the Chain Reaction of Terrorism, Retaliation
and Hatred ‐ Rectify the Distortion of Civilizations" was dedicated
solely to the recent terrorist attacks on New York and Washington DC, and
focused on these questions;
"Is the world not the same as the one before September 11th, as
is said?" "What is the background of the terrorism?" and
"what should Japan do in face of this situation?"
Brief overview
Mr. Hattori first explained the history of the civilization of the Afghan
area, which is currently the center of world attention.
Buddhism, which came into existence at the mouth of River Ganges in 500
B.C. was spread as far west as Gandhara, in present day Pakistan. There,
Buddhism came into contact with three civilization; Zoroastrianism of Iranian
origin, which was brought from north, the Greek civilization or Hellenism,
and Brahmanism of Indian origin. This bred the greater vehicle Buddhism.
Around that time, an image of Buddha was built for the first time. The
brilliant Buddhist images at Bamiyan were gilded, which shows the influence
of Greek sculptures. No great statues of Buddha such as those could be
found anywhere else in the world. Moreover, it seems that they were built
as early as the fifth century. This indicates that Mahayana Buddhism came
in contact with the ancient Oriental civilization. Such a precious place
is now under fire of war. This is very sad. Afghanistan had been Xanadu
or a fairyland just until 30 years ago. It was a peaceful country though
it wasn't rich. In the height of the Cold War in the bipolar world with
the U.S. and the Soviet Union being the two biggest powers, the Soviet
army invaded Afghanistan, and after a fierce battle that lasted as long
as 10 years, the Soviet Union was defeated. However, a civil war that succeeded
the war as a result of power struggle after the withdrawal of the Soviet
Union drove away many refugees into the neighboring country of Pakistan,
where refugee camps were established. There, 10-year old boys studied in
a fine building through the aid of Saudi Arabia. However, they were taught
only the Koran. The theological students themselves who grew up, believing
in the Koran were future Taliban. When they came back to Afghanistan, they
established a base at Kandahar. They were very austere, pure, and complied
with the order, living by the teachings of the Koran. They appealed to
the people, and eventually fell within the Taliban led by Mr. Mullah Mohammed
Omar
At present, Japan took the side of the U.S. and European countries, and
the media is feeding information with a one-sided view. However, I think
you must see this with an impartial eye. When civilizations have been developed,
reason has played an important part. For at least one month starting on
the September 11th, the reason disappeared temporarily. The U.S. President,
who is supposed to be the world leader, has frequently been seen saying
words bereft of reason. "Vengeance" is a word prohibited by Christ,
being far from the Christian spirit. It transpired that this word was used
to justify war before we knew it. A "mind-homogenization" phenomenon
took place worldwide. No one can oppose it. On the other hand, some people
of several countries including Islam, China, and the Latin America whooped
with joy at the attack. The world was polarized. A big risk was carried
into the future. Homogenized mind can have an excuse to confine criticism.
To have various opinions is important and this leads to equilibrium. It
is very dangerous if there is only one opinion.
Worldwide cultural diversity is a treasure. This is the position of the
UNESCO. Terrorists do not show themselves. Retaliation for it is "the
terrorism which shows itself". Only Muslim people have a tendency
to be portrayed as villains. There are few people who know about Islam
in Japan. Where does the terrifying image of them come from though they
are in fact devout and pure people? Islam is a big civilization. Islamic
people have made great contributions to world culture. There was cultural
exchange via Silk Road, the re-discovery of ancient Greece, and the Renaissance
in Arabia.
However, the fact is these were erased from the textbook. Such a distortion
of history is in the background. The grudge against this has been in the
mind of people in the Islam society all the time. It can be said that when
an overwhelming value like the one America has now takes form, and tries
to dominate the world, a grudge is born at the bottom, which gives the
terrorists an excuse.
What should Japan do?
It is absolutely necessary to assume a firm attitude toward terrorism.
However, it does not follow that you should side with America. Japan can
take a different stance from the one that derives from the Western philosophy,
which is turning into self-righteousness. For example, Japan is the only
country in G 7 nations that can take the middle ground between those Christian
countries and Muslim countries. I think the proper part Japan should play
is to appeal to those countries for dialog and mutual respect between different
civilizations.
Written by Shimizu
(chairperson of the Training Program Committee)