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Islam in Development Conference
On 9-10 December 2009, The Humanitarian Forum participated in a conference organised by Islamic Relief Germany and Welthungerhilfe, one of Germany's largest international NGOs. The conference discussed the issue of partnership, trust and the added value of working with Islamic organisations. Case studies were used to illustrate the potential of collective action. Participants put forward several suggestions for increased partnerships between Islamic and non-Islamic aid agencies, these included: greater understanding for local communities and practises, review of the selection criteria for local partners, and the need to comply to international accounting practises.
The need for dialogue
Since 9/11, development work has faced various problems in many Muslim countries, owing to a politically motivated escalation of perceived differences between 'Islam' and 'the West'. This leads to many problems for development cooperation, manifesting in prejudice and misunderstandings, and notwithstanding the fact that effective and sustainable help reaching the population is crucial in countries with a large number of Muslim inhabitants.
Approximately half of the 1.3 billion Muslims worldwide live in poverty. The UN index of human development shows countries with a high Muslim population on the lowest ranks, such as Afghanistan, Tschad, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia.
According to the Welthungerhilfe and Islamic Relief, a better cooperation between Muslim and Non-Muslim organizations can help overcome misunderstandings. This applies to direct cooperation in the field as well as advocacy work in the West.
'The conference was an important step,' said Dr Hany El Banna, president of The Humanitarian Forum and founder of Islamic Relief. 'Misunderstandings were overcome and trust between Muslim development organizations and Western organizations was established. We are looking forward to working together in the field because we are convinced that humanitarian aid is applied best with combined efforts.'
Return to unbiased discussion
Frau Bärbel Dieckmann, President of Welthungerhilfe, urged, 'We have to return to an unbiased and factual discussion. The argument about the minaret prohibition in Switzerland has shown that a self-imposed dogma of "political correctness" contravenes an intensive discussion. In Germany, we have to accept different cultures and religions but at the same time we have to draw clear boundaries. In development cooperation it is crucial that we consider cultural sensibilities, otherwise we are not taken seriously as aid workers."
Welthungerhilfe is one of Germany's largest private aid organizations. Its projects include emergency help, reconstruction as well as long term development aid in cooperation with local partner organizations based on the idea of self-help. Since its foundation in 1962, more than 5.900 projects in 70 countries were supported with 2 billion Euro- for a world without hunger and poverty.
