Foundations join forces with Alliance of Civilizations

Alliance of Civilizations (Link) (March 21, 2009)

On 20-21 February, a group of Foundations met in Marrakech to discuss the creation of the UNAOC International Network of Foundations. The purpose of this meeting, generously hosted by the Guerrand-Hermes Foundation for Peace, was to bring together a number of heads and representatives of foundations from all over the world to discuss recent trends and developments in the work done on intercultural dialogue, cooperation and diversity promotion; and to have final discussions on the creation of an international network of foundations involved in these themes. Around fifteen Foundations took part in the Marrakech meeting.

The Alliance of Civilizations INF aims to bring together foundations which work to build and cooperation among religions, cultures and peoples. It promotes knowledge exchange, collaboration and advocacy. By bringing together public, private and corporate foundations and individual philanthropists around the world, INF encourages collaboration among complementary initiatives, especially across regions.

INF will begin by focusing on the following areas, as identified by foundations around the world in the first set of Alliance's INF meetings: education, media, the arts, intercultural and interfaith dialogue, youth leadership, and conversations on religious and political issues.

---

For those of you who don't know what the AoC is, you can read up on it a little here. Basically this is an initiative with the expressed goal of bridging the gaps in interfaith dialog, sounds good right? The problem is that this includes a war on exclusivist teaching because we can't have anyone saying, "I'm right and you're not." Here's an excerpt from Richard Peterson's research posted by Constance Cumbey on December 27, 2006:

The final report of the United Nations’ Alliance of Civilizations (AoC) initiative was released last month. In addition to its usual goal of combating exclusivist ideology, the report contains some interesting elements:

1) Exclusivist ideology is defined as “those who feed on exclusion and claim sole ownership of the truth. (Christians, read John 14:6 as you consider this statement.)

John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

2) The core issue identified to be the bridge between the West and Islam is resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
3) The global and problematic players in this conflict have been identified as the adherents of the three monotheistic faiths.
4) Failure to resolve this conflict will result in a failed Alliance of Civilizations.

Also noteworthy is that the AoC has identified the European Union’s Barcelona Process as one of the frameworks in which it intends to operate. For those unfamiliar with the Process, it is the foundation of the EU’s political, economic, and social policy. The Process, also known as the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, is represented as the only platform that can solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The social dimension of the Process, with implementation facilitated by the Anna Lindh Foundation, cooperates with the AoC and shares the common goal to combat religious fundamentalism worldwide. So what happens to the adherents of the monotheistic faiths if the peace process fails? Lucis Trust, one of the contributors to the AoC initiative gives us an idea. In its publication The Rays and the Initiations, Lucis Trust says that those faiths are but three dead and gone religions with Judaism being old, obsolete, and separative. Christianity, they say, has served its purpose and the new age Christ will replace the Gospel with a new truth. As for Muslims, they will accept the new age Christ as their Imam Mahdi “who will lead them to light and to spiritual victory.” The objective of the AoC, therefore, is “to enforce an Alliance of Civilizations against all those who…give prevalence…to a logic of division and confrontation.” Since the Alliance intends to be fully prepared to enforce its objectives by 2009, I suspect that’s when they will introduce their symbol. Timing is everything. The European Commission has just submitted a document to the author of the Barcelona Process that it is time to deliver. If the planners of the AoC really mean what they say, may God help us all.

I recommend reading Richard Peterson's blog through for more information such as The Militarization of the Alliance of Civilizations.