Towards a Healthier Relationship between Religion and State

As a member of the Arab Group for Muslim-Christian Dialogue, I am invited to give a conference at a regional symposium organized by Diyar Consortium and Olof Palme International Center:

Towards a Healthier Relationship
between
Religion and State

March 25 – 28, 2010
Sheraton Istanbul Maslak
Buyukdere Cad. No: 233, Uc Yol Mevkii, 34398 Maslak
Istanbul / Turkey

Countries included: Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Sweden.

Themes:

- Religion and State and Lesson-learned: The Case of Sweden
- Religion and State and Its Effect on the Women Agenda (The effect of Religion and State on women’s participation in religious sphere, politics and governance/The effect of Religion and State in bringing a gender perspective to constitutional, electoral and legislative judicial and policy processes/The effect of Religion and State on the legal recognition of women's rights in the personal status context).
- Religion and State and Its Effects on Cultural Diversity within a Country (How can a healthy or an unhealthy relationship affect the cultural life of a nation or religion and its cultural diversity?)

- The Role of Media in Handling the Relationship between Religion and State (What role does and should media play regarding the relationship between religion and state, and how can media be affected by an unhealthy relationship?)
- Utilizing the Relationship between Religion and State for Political Participation (How can we utilize the Religion & State issue to mobilize people to actively participate in the political life of our nations? How can we reach out to younger generations to become interested and proactively involved in shaping the future political discourse of their societies?)

It will be a pleasure to include your comments, questions and recommandations in my presentation!