Friday, April 17, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Q&A: 'People Who Work Every Day For Harmony Do Not Make Headlines'
Interview with Yahya Sergio Yahe Pallavicini
- The daily work of ordinary people committed to building dialogue both within and outside their communities make for less spectacular news reports than stories about communities at odds, says Imam Yahya Sergio Yahe Pallavicini. These ordinary people are the majority, and they are more open to productive communication with the West than we generally believe, he says.
Imam Yahya Sergio Yahe Pallavicini Credit: Leiden University
Pallavicini is also president of the higher council of the Islamic Organization for Education, Science and Culture in the West (ISESCO) – the first Islamic NGO recognized by the European Union – where he also serves as ambassador for relations with the Vatican. In this role he has played an active part in numerous inter-religious dialogues and peace initiatives representing Italian Islam.
"To strengthen internal and external dialogue and respect toward diversities, religious leaders have to bring the messages of Muslim doctrine nearer to today's challenges, without losing the ancient teachings," Pallavicini told IPS correspondent Sabina Zaccaro in an interview.
Some excerpts from the interview:
IPS: What could religious leaders do keep their communities away from dangerous fundamentalism and to promote dialogue? Could you give us an example?
YSYP: The network of 138 Muslim religious leaders who recently wrote a letter focusing on inter-religious dialogue to all the religious authorities of Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christianity. What they are trying to do is to build a group working for dialogue and respect inside the Muslim community and outside.
This is exactly the responsibility that religious leaders must renew in these times – both in the East and the West – fostering the culture of respect and actualising the message of masters and prophets so as to enlighten people’s hearts, minds and actions. Only by renewing the intercultural dialogue can we achieve a new social cohesion, turn over prejudices and lack of trust, and effectively isolate political totalitarianisms, economic individualisms and violent fundamentalisms.
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