ISLAM-CHRISTIAN DIALOGUE

182 VALUES AND FREEDOM OF THOUGHT ROTARY - 12/2014 Looking beyond the rules of religions and cultures. Knowledge is crucial for the understan- ding of the social and religious dynamics of our time. Thanks to freedom of thou- ght and our democracy, our children have grown up open to know the meaning of the customs and traditions, handed down through the centuries, by the elders; they have acquired a rich identity that derives from the knowledge of their history wi- thout remaining caged in it. Our Western media often refer to the universal values that draw their source from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of Decem- ber 10, 1948 drafted by the UN; a decla- ration unfortunately not recognized by 57 countries that are part of the OIC (Orga- nization of Islamic Cooperation), Islamic states that instead apply the Sharia law that draws its source from the Koran and applies its principles. Organization of Islamic Cooperation ICO Our public opinions question certain ways of thinking and acting of many populations that are the source of immigration to Eu- rope; there is a problem of understanding each other and finally of dialogue. These misunderstandings, if well manipulated, provoke violent reactions that are channel- led against the West, especially towards those European countries that had colo- nized much of Africa and Asia, continents where almost all the countries that have joined the OIC, especially all the countries of the Arab League, are located. The Arab League is a formation that brings together countries of Arab language and culture with Islam as the state religion (with the exception of Lebanon), applying Sharia law to its citizens in a diversified way. The countries of the League are located along the southern part of the Mediterranean and in the Middle East so they can be con- sidered our neighbours. Attacks on Europe start right from those neighbours, which are inspired or perpetrated by organisms that have escaped the control of the gover- nments of UN member states. Economic, cultural and demographic gap. The source of the strength of these bodies, which we shall call Jihadists, lies in the po- verty in which these peoples live. After the Second World War, the African countries started a strong campaign of demographic development with the result in fifty years of tripling the number of their inhabitants but of a growing impoverishment. In the same period Europe grew economically with an older population that did not ade- quately guarantee generational change. The increased availability of means of tran- sport and communications has facilitated