Round Table “The deconstruction of the enemy”

Within the framework of the World Interfaith Harmony Week, and to commemorate the International Day of Human Fraternity, a round table was organised on the theme “The deconstruction of the enemy”. Being the first edition, it was organised by the Asociación Amistad y Encuentro Interreligioso, Cultura del encuentro, in collaboration with the Instituto para la Reconciliación, the Asociación para la Mediación, el Encuentro y la Escucha - AMEE and Arco Forum.   The event was held in the John Paul II Room of the Basilica de la Concepción de Nuestra Señora. In the welcoming given by Mr. José Aurelio Martín Jimenez, the parish priest, the Pope that gave name to that room was mentioned due to his role in the rapprochement of the religions.   Miguel García-Baró, the president of AAEI, was the responsible for moderating the debate. In his intervention, he introduced the topic  saying that our world is going through a dangerous and unsettled situation and that the topic “The deconstruction of the enemy” was chosen in order to get to know the approach of different religious traditions and anthropology about this relevant issue.   In addition to the presentation of the subject matter, García-Baró, set forth the idea that there are two manners of saying “I”; the first one is to elaborate an identity in conflict with other identities, thus an enemy is needed. The second one, is a way of saying “I” that is open to what the other has to say, hence, the idea of “I” is transferred to the idea of the other.   After that presentation, the first intervention person to intervene was María Rosario González Martín, a pedagogy teacher and founder of the Instituto para la Reconciliación.   Next, representatives of different religious traditions shared their reflections on the matter. We have the interventions of Andrei Kordochkin, reverend of the Russian Orthodox Church of Madrid; Pilar González Rivero, President of the Asociación para la Mediación, el Encuentro y la Escucha (AMEE); Bracha B. Uziel-Calderón, Rabanit of the Community of Madrid; Alfredo Abad, Spanish Evangelical Church (IEE) and AAEI member, and Temir Naziri, Executive Director of Arco Forum and AAEI member. After the closing of the round table, the attendees were able to enjoy a gastronomic coexistence and talk with the speakers, with whom they exchanged testimonials and experiences.

Images for this event

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