As political leaders in the West and Islamic world traded inflammatory rhetoric in the wake of a foiled terror plot, religious scholars gathered in the Netherlands for a congress titled "Religious Education in a Pluralist World," organized by the International Seminar for Religious Education and Values, a body representing 40 countries that convenes every two years.
Ankara University professor Mualla Selcuk delivered the opening address, focusing on how Islam views other faiths and how religious education can promote peaceful coexistence. She identified three priorities for the field: clearer terminology, better methods for sharing university-level religious scholarship with broader audiences, and approaches that examine other religions on their own terms rather than solely through an Islamic lens.
Selcuk highlighted significant shifts in how religion is understood and taught in Türkiye, drawing on the country's own evolving experience as a case study for interfaith education.
Conference participants recognized Türkiye's potential contributions to this work and voted to hold their next gathering there. Though Türkiye has yet to fully incorporate its own religious diversity into school curricula, its geographic position and multicultural heritage place it well to help counter efforts to revive civilizational conflict.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in August 2006, in its own words.