We were dressed for the occasion, men in suits and women in skirts. We were heading to attend a conference on The Role of The Media in a World Full of Conflicts at the University of Copenhagen. We sat down in the two front rows, and the hall itself surrounded the place with a serious scientific atmosphere.

The issue of the ‘famous’ Danish cartoons, that have provoked Muslims all over the world, were raised the first chance we were given to ask questions. However it came in an unexpected form and to much amusement to all of us. Ahamad Sameh – a 29-year-old Egyptian – stood up and said:

"We do the same in our mosques, by criticizing and cursing other religions, but you don’t have the same reaction as we had" – referring to the Europeans vs. the Islamic world.

I could hear my colleagues from different parts of the Middle East asking the same questions: "Is he crazy?", "Does he know what he is saying?". Those sitting next to me had their mouths open wide, and their eyes had that look of asking a thousand question all at the same time, and some of them had looks of denial. I saw the Danes with the same look, but with admiration. I could smell astonishment and doubt all at the same time. Those few seconds passed but left us with an impression that will last forever.

PEACE AND RELIGION

First, on a personal level, as a Muslim who is religious, I never knew that there was such provocative material within Islam or any other religion. I have always thought that religions call for peace, but still I wanted to learn more.

My friend, Qamar, a Christian, from Haifa, wrote me a small note asking:

"Is this really what you say in mosques?" Now that alone constituted another crisis for me; I live in the same environment as Qamar and we know that we don’t have a religious conflict but a national one and it has always been like this in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. I explained to her that what was said might have been about a specific occasion that took place in Egypt, but the way in which it was presented made it seem so general, and I thought to myself ‘the power of language.’ Still, I needed to get some answers.

The evening ended, but not in the same way as it started; it ended with me feeling the gap between cultures increasing. Something tense was in the air, and it felt like nervousness. I went up to Ahmad. »What were you talking about?« I asked in an angry tone and he explained that he had actually been monitoring the religious dialogue and different speeches in different locations besides Egypt, where they do actually criticize other religions. He said: »When people mix political beliefs and religion, religion becomes a headquarters for a political party,« he said. He also believes that religion makes people grow further apart instead of bringing them together.

IGNORANCE BUILDS HATRED

The discussion went on, but what I concluded that evening, while walking through Copenhagen, is that the problem has nothing to do with religion; it has to do with our ability to know and understand other people. It has to do with how the media portrays other people and our respect for other people’s nationality and tradition. Being ignorant about other people only lights up the fire of hatred and fear.