As part of the Eleventh Annual Freedom from Discrimination Month in the Walla Walla Valley, from Sept. 30-Oct 1, 2005 a public Conference on Religious Diversity & Respect was held at Walla Walla College and Whitman College, organized by the Walla Walla Race Unity Coalition and cosponsored by Whitman College, Walla Walla College, Walla Walla Community College, the City of Walla Walla, Walla Walla Public Schools, U.S. Veterans Administration Medical Center, the Walla Walla Union Bulletin, the YWCA, the YMCA, the Walla Walla Friends (Quaker) Meeting, the Baha'i Faith, and Congregation Beth Israel.

            In addition to invitations to the general public, special invitations were given to representatives of the Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, Baha’i, Native American, Catholic, Adventist, Pentecostal, Mormon, Methodist, and Quaker traditions.  The keynote speaker was Dr. Hussein A. Hassouna, Ambassador of the League of Arab States to the U.S.  

            On Friday evening, Sept. 30, following a dinner in honor of Ambassador Hassouna and his wife Nevine hosted by Walla Walla College President Jon Dybdahl, the conference opened in the Walla Walla College Fine Arts Auditorium.  In the opening address, Dr. Dybdahl told conference participants and others that “tolerance is not merely a nice option or unnecessary frill, but absolutely essential if we want to live together and… survive.”  He then went on to discuss what tolerance doesn’t mean—compromising your own religious principles, covering over differences, moral neutrality, or even laying aside missionary work—as well as what it does mean.     True tolerance, he suggested, has four requisites, which provided a structure for the balance of the conference:

            2.  Respect for the other:  Acknowledging the honesty and sincerity of others, their good motives, and the positive contributions their religions have made to humanity.

            4.  First-hand experience:  Getting to know others in ways beyond words, by directly experiencing their homes, their cultures, and their lives.

            On Saturday morning, approximately 65 conference participants gathered at Cordiner Hall on the Whitman College campus for a series of roundtable discussions.  In his welcoming remarks, Whitman President George Bridges told the gathering, “Faith communities have made changes for extraordinary good in the world, but have also led to some of the most destructive and hateful events in human history…One of the alarming outcomes of September 11 has been the proliferation of ‘us versus them,’ ‘good versus evil’ messages throughout the world.  The more we believe in these messages and indulge the hatred of the foreign or unfamiliar ‘other,’ the more we foreclose the possibility of working collaboratively toward cooperative, nonviolent solutions to very real global problems.…I am grateful to all of you for actively engaging this process, for doing the difficult but critically necessary work of building toward a cooperative, rather than a destructive, human future.”

            In the first round table discussion--“How do our various religious traditions view people of other faiths?”--invitees from a variety of religions spoke of both the tolerant and intolerant trends within their traditions, while stressing their personal views that the essential teachings of their faiths are tolerant.  Those speaking included Akira Ron Takemoto, Buddhist priest, and professor of foreign languages at Whitman College; Pedrito Maynard-Reid, Seventh Day Adventist pastor, and professor of theology at Walla Walla College; Sandip Kumar Dasverma, mechanical engineer in Richland, Washington, from the Hindu tradition; Pat Kerst, senior pastor at St. Patrick and St. Francis Catholic churches in Walla Walla; Armand Minthorn, Native American spiritual leader and member of the board of trustees of the Umatilla Indian Reservation; Jim Hicks, pastor of the New Life Assembly of God in Walla Walla, from the Pentecostal tradition, Steve Rubin, psychologist and leader in the local Jewish synagogue; Mike Bryans, a leader in the local Baha’i Fellowship, and a contractor/appraiser; William Berney, a retired United Methodist minister from Walla Walla; Naeem Abdurrahman, scientist with Fluor Hanford in Richland and a member of  the Islamic Center of the Tri-Cities; and Annie Capestany, a journalist and member of the local Quaker meeting.  Some of their responses are set out below.

            The final round table pursued the question, “What should be the relationship of religion and faith to government?”  There appeared to be general agreement among the participants that government should not involve itself in religious matters, and that people should not seek to capture government for the furtherance of their own faith; they should protect religious liberty for all.  At the same time, ethical and moral principles, common to all faiths, can and should be taught in the public schools and throughout society, without reference to particular religions. 

            In his evening keynote address to participants and others in Cordiner Hall, Ambassador Hassouna spoke on “The Muslim World and the United States.”  He emphasized that “religions teach us ethics, basic principles, and values,” also pointing out that religion has been used as an excuse for atrocities around the world.   He expanded further on the theme expressed during the conference that religion and religious differences are often used by parties for political and geo-political ends, and in addition stressed that injustices tend to be more at the core of actions by apparently religious extremists than is religion itself, and must therefore be seriously addressed.  Dr. Hassouna cited racial profiling, demonizing, and inadequate legal processes following the September 11 attacks as new injustices demanding attention.  At the same time, he expressed his confidence in our ability to work together, telling those in the hall, “There is no problem in the world that cannot find a solution.  It is just will that is lacking.”    

            The importance of self-criticism, and of changing first within ourselves, was a recurring theme throughout the conference.  At the same time, our religious, political, educational, and cultural institutions and their leadership have significant roles to play in assuring mutual respect and understanding among various peoples and faiths, and they need our active participation and encouragement to accomplish this crucial, ongoing task.  

                         Daniel N. Clark, Moderator

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