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1.The practice
2. Hints for an evaluation
2.1 Strenghts
2.1.1 The organisation perspective
Many Muslims attended the debates. The closing debate attracted 1,500 people. The debates were held on a large scale, with hundreds of participants each time. In total, over 5,000 persons attended the small and large-scale debates. The majority opinion in the Rotterdam City Council is that the cycle of Islam debates was useful and successful. In the council debate held on the subject, there was particular praise for the professional approach and the public response.
Considering the scale, also representing of Muslim communities admit that they were very well organised.
The huge attendance allowed, in the Administration opinion, the setting up of a platform for channelling both tensions and positive emotions. Furthermore, the sense of community was given an impetus and the importance of everyone participating and speaking a common language emerged clearly.
2.1.2 The Interculture Map perspective
The Project represents a unique attempt to set up a real dialogue between Muslim and natives. In other contexts the debates on other cultures or on inter-religious dialogue were univocal organised and represented mostly the interest of an illuminated elite of intellectuals, researchers, professionals. The interesting element is the involvement of Muslim communities and the work done to give them the chance to be represented in public debates. Muslims were given the opportunity to play a role in this debates and to enhance their status and their self-awareness.
2.2 Critical Points
2.2.1 The organisation perspective
The debates often had a rather aggressive tone. So there was communication, but sometimes it was not of the kind that contributes to greater understanding.
Dialogue and mutual understanding should be stimulated on a smaller scale, close to all the people concerned, in their neighbourhood.
Both Muslim representatives and the Social Integration Bureau staff had the impression that most of the people present were mainly young, well-educated Muslims. Attendance was much lower among the non-Muslim inhabitants of Rotterdam, who were also expressly invited.
In the opinion of the municipal executive, however, certain issues were not featured enough. These "painful areas" are cultural topics which are (or can be) linked with Islam:
- Arranged marriages
- Discriminatory attitude and behaviour towards women
- Discriminatory attitude and behaviour towards homosexuals
- Problematic relations with those of a different faith / no faith
- Parent-child relationship (including the use of physical and emotional violence)
- Radicalisation
2.2.2 The Interculture map perspective
The project had a very ambitious objective, but, as some Muslim citizen noticed in a interview, it should be implemented closer to citizens. It seems, indeed, that the language of the whole Project was too much “institutional”. Perhaps, this kind of language has been useful for the first phase of the Project, because the Administration did not know well what to expect from debates. In a second phase of the Project, it would be necessary to reach communities, in order to talk and to listen Muslim citizens that are not already reach out by services and institutions.
The results, agreements, etc. should therefore be put into practice. The agreements must not remain a dead letter. Therefore it could be useful to implement next stages within spaces and venues of Muslim communities (i.e.: mosque). This could be useful to reassure Rotterdam native population and to get a correct picture of Islam and the mosque, different from the one presented by the media.
2.3 Lessons Learnt
2.3.1 The organisation’s perspective
Themes: seminars and debate on Islam
Methodology: dialogues brings people closer together, and consent to work together on what binds them and try to combat the things that threaten them. The city should discuss and agree upon a shared sense of citizenship, within the confines of which there is room for different convictions. In this way, we can truly achieve a better common future for this beautiful city.
2.3.2 Interculture map perspective
Themes: seminars and debate on Islam
Methodology: the participation of both Muslim citizens and policy makers or administrators needs an high level of institutional responsibility: in order to export with success this initiative, a high stage of responsibility in disseminating tolerance and mutual understanding must be matured by the institution. It is important to work out relevant awareness about the role of institutions in implementing the dialogue.
At the same time, the good exportation of this initiative is the result of an effort to involve Muslim in actions that should not be perceived as merely institutional.
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