Religions contribute to peace across the world

ADIL OSMANOVIC Bosnia and Herzegovina Minister of Civil Affairs

It is extraordinary honour and pleasure to be here today in the company of professionals who will with their knowledge, experience and horizons of their thinking contribute to deeper and more comprehensive view in terms of relation between the country and religion, with special emphasis on the contribution of religion to peace, and overcoming terrorism and relation between migrations and terrorism. 

Issue of terrorism, migrations, religion and returning peace in world of undermined trust and true values, are current issues that became concern of people today. 

Throughout the history religion had a great role in supressing violence, aggression and promoting peace and understanding between opposite sides. Nevertheless, history teaches us that religion can directly or indirectly be a cause of wars, terrorism and other violence forms. Great migration flow from the Middle East and Africa toward Europe started back in 2011, especially intensified in 2014, and in 2015 reached unprecedented proportions. Migration rate in global measures is way higher than expected. However even most pessimistic predictions showed as insufficient since number of migrants, especially toward Europe and North America is higher than expected and in continuous enormous increase.  Migrations show that, long phenomenological and utility canceled, national state survives beside all global announcements on its ending, and newest occurrences in terms of migration lead to conclusion that it is announcing its great come back. 

Building walls, rebuilding national borders and setting border patrols on long ago erased national borders throughout EU are not only political and civil anomalies, but prove of it. Today when due to more frequent terrorist attacks migrations are being linked to terrorism, it is important to note that as security challenge migrations aren’t just increase of danger of increase of number of terrorists in Europe, as it is frequently being said. Facts show that, although mass migrations in modern Europe have been perceived as extraordinary epidemic event they actually present usual historic event that occurs in unequal time intervals.  
Modern migrations, besides being caused by the standard migrations factors, at the same time are inevitable consequence of the world globalization and setting up principles on freedom of movement of people, capitals and resources in wide international context. European cultural and civilization heritage is impossible to consider without elements and influence of religions that exist on European ground. In addition to that speaks the fact that today’s Europe is home for more than 20 million Muslim people who are becoming more and more important social segment. They are part of European culture and best bridge for dialogue and cooperation with Europe and Muslim world. 

Still, concerning number of people, first of all at the West, mostly due to the lack of knowledge, see certain religions, and speak about those through the prism of fundamentalism, terrorism, disempowered women, too strict laws and violations of human rights, respectively explicate it as a rigid system of values that endangers global peace.