The President of the International Progress Organization, Dr. Hans Koechler, yesterday concluded a 10-day lecture and consultation visit to Malaysia and Singapore which was devoted to the debate of "Religion and Violence" as a major issue of today's global affairs.

The visit was organized in the framework of an interdisciplinary research seminar at the University of Innsbruck (Austria) and was jointly sponsored by the International Progress Organization (Austria), the International Movement for a Just World/JUST (Malaysia), and the University Scholars Programme of the National University of Singapore. Dr. Koechler gave lectures, followed by public debates, at the headquarters of the International Movement for a Just World (Petaling Jaya), the International Islamic University Malaysia (Gombak),  the National University of Malaysia (Bangi), the Malaysia Science University (Penang), and the National University of Singapore. He also delivered a paper on "Christian-Muslim Relations in the Age of Global Unipolarity: Belief in One God versus Political Double Standards" at the Campus Ministry of the Roman-Catholic Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur.

A special forum was jointly organized by the I.P.O. and JUST on "Religion and Violence: Aspects of the Conflict Situation in the Philippines" which was addressed by Dr. Abdulhusin M. Kashim, Secretary-General of the Philippine Muslim Solidarity Council, Mindanao, Philippines. An additional lecture forum was held at the Science University of Malaysia with the Malaysian author and rights activist Dr. Kassim Ahmad.

Briefings and consultations also took place with the leadership of the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM), the Hindu Sangam in Kuala Lumpur, the Buddhist Maha Vihara in Brickfields/KL, and the Third World Network in Penang. Dr. Koechler was accompanied by a group of his postgraduate students from Austria, Germany, Italy, Nigeria, and the United States.

As part of the program of the information visit, the President of the I.P.O. held consultations with the President of JUST, Dr. Chandra Muzaffar; the President of Citizens International (Penang), Mr. Mohammed Idris; the Director of the Centre for International Studies at the Malaysia Science University (Penang), Prof. Syed Ahmad Hussein; the President of the Hindu Sangam Malaysia, Datuk A. Vaithilingam; the Venerable K. Dhammaratana Thera, Chief Monk at the Buddhist Maha Vihara and Chief Sangha Nayaka of Malaysia and Singapore; the President of the Buddhist Missionary Society of Malaysia, Eng. Ang Choo Hong; the Secretary-General of the Third World Network, Mr. T. Rajamoorthy (Penang); and the Secretary-General of the Philippine Muslim Solidarity Council, Dr. Abdulhusin M. Kashim (Mindanao, Philippines).

The program was concluded with a Forum jointly organized by the Religion Research Cluster of the National University of Singapore and the Institute of Philosophy of the University of Innsbruck (Austria) on "Religion and Violence: The Examples of Christianity and Islam" in Singapore.

The results of the debates and consultations will form part of a long-term worldwide research project of the International Progress Organization on the question of violence as an issue of international affairs.

• Documentation of the lecture tour

• Web site of the interdisciplinary research seminar 2006/2007at the University of Innsbruck

• Forum at the National University of Singapore

• Meeting at the Buddhist Maha Vihara, Kuala Lumpur

• Public Forum on the conflict situation in the Philippines (Mindanao)

END/Religion and violence as an issue of international affairs: Lecture tour by the President of the I.P.O. and academic debates in Malaysia and Singapore/2007-01-27/P/RE/20176c-is