Development cooperation

Development: religions as a Partner

Dispute between faiths can cause and driving force of devastating conflicts. The German strategy relies on the positive values and effects of religions more mobilize.

“We may not make the field not the extremists left”: The development cooperation of Germany, had rather, for those starkmachen, peace and progress, said Federal development Minister Gerd Müller (Artikelfoto) at a conference in Berlin. The aim of the new strategy, it was through the cooperation with the moderate clergy and religious organizations, in the long term the radical forces to the ground to escape, said the CSU politician at the international conference “partners for change – religions and the “Agenda 2030″ for sustainable development”.

To the participants of the two-day event included, among others, the Yemeni Nobel peace prize winner Tawakkul Karman, an Islamist party, the Archbishop of the Pakistani Lahore, Sebastian Francis Shaw, the Grand mufti of Lebanon, Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, and the Secretary General of the Ecumenical Council of churches, Reverend Olav Fykse Tveit. The Ministry of development it is a matter of religious actors in the boat, to take, to as many people as possible about environmental and other aspects of sustainable development.

Joint Projects

Since he took office, Müller with Religious and civil society representatives, as well as the United Nations and Weltbankvertretern to a guide to religious communities systematically in the project work to be taken into account. Where more could be achieved by communities of faith audiences, “we are working with religious actors to expand,” announced Miller.

“Our policy is ideologically neutral – but it is not values-neutral,” said Müller in Berlin. The guiding principles are the human rights. “We do not accept discrimination”, the Minister said, there’ll be no denomination preferred. Important are competence and organizational skills of the partners. It might but it also might be critics of the “Western values”, it says.

If the state fails

Glaubensvertreter are often the engine of reconciliation processes have been formulated Müller, in his strategy paper. In weak or collapsing States were often religious institutions for the provision of basic services to the population. They worked up into the “most remote village,” you’ll trust, he explained.

SC/wl (epd, dpa, kna)