| Bild: | Samuel Huntington proclaimed the "Clash of Civilizations". Intellectuals and cultural critics the world over vehemently disagreed, advocating an "Alliance of Civilizations" as an antidote. We have assembled a variety of views on cultural dialogue in our dossier

Cultural Dialogue
| Bild: | Development policy needs to take a stand in the debate on basic rights, integration and religion, argues Christian von Haldenwang. Western values should be discussed while taking other views and cultures into account

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
| Bild: | In response to President Obama's historic address to the Muslim world in Cairo, the Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono lists in his essay nine imperatives for the peaceful co-existence of the civilisations

Essay Naika Foroutan
| Bild: | The issue of cultural dialogue always crops up when things have already started to go wrong. But that dialogue is not some short-term emergency measure, writes Naika Foroutan. In her essay, she discusses the basic principles of dialogue

The Debate on Islam and the Enlightenment
| Bild: | "Enlightenment" and "the clash of civilizations" are buzzwords that we often hear in the debate on the relationship between the cultures of Islam and Western Europe. In view of the current conflicts in this area, Stefan Weidner advocates a cultural rivalry without "Enlightenment fanaticism"

The West and Islam
| Bild: | People to the south and north of the Mediterranean attribute negative characteristics to one another. In this essay, Hassan Hanafi, professor of philosophy at the University of Cairo, contributes a few thought-provoking ideas

Conference with Jürgen Habermas and Tariq Ramadan
| Bild: | The integration of Europe's Muslims has long since passed from a project to reality, says Tariq Ramadan. At a recent conference, the controversial Islamic theologian met up with the German philosopher Jürgen Habermas. What shape will the future relationship between modern Europe and Islam take? Arno Widmann reports

Commentary Peter Philipp
| Bild: | In spite of all arguments to the contrary, there is no "Clash of Civilisations." At least there is none where the civilisations live together, as they do, for example, in Europe. A commentary by Peter Philipp

Samuel Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations"
| Bild: | It was ten years ago that Samuel Huntington published his seminal "Clash of Civilizations" monograph. The term has since become a media buzzword, and Sharif Hemdy returns to it to examine the validity of Huntington's concept

"Manual for the Clash of Civilisations"
| Bild: | In his new book, Islam expert Stefan Weidner shows how highly charged with ideology the debate about Islam and so-called "Western values" really is. Kersten Knipp read the book

Elif Shafak
| Bild: | There Is No Clash of Civilizations between Europe and Turkey; rather there is a clash of opinions within Turkey itself, crystallized in a collision between those who are state-oriented and those who are civil-society-oriented, writes Elif Shafak

For a Post-Cultural Europe
| Bild: | Ayhan Kaya, Turkish political scientist and head of the Centres for Migration Research and European Studies at Istanbul's Bilgi University, explains why we should stop talking about civilizations and religion when discussing Turkey's role in Europe and the world

Cultural Dialogue with the Islamic World
| Bild: | European-Islamic cultural dialogue has been made a key weapon in the arsenal of security policy measures. But culture, art, and education lose their inherent strength when they are used as mere tools to create security and solve conflicts, argues Johannes Ebert

Cultural Relations Crisis
| Bild: | We have a common language for universal values, but we do not have a common language for cultural differences, writes Traugott Schoefthaler. We need to work on such language, he says in his essay, in order to provide instruments for coping with critical moments of confrontation

Interview with Georges Corm
| Bild: | Georges Corm is convinced that as long as the West pursues double moral standards and applies international law unequally, its attempts to establish dialogue with the Islamic world cannot be taken seriously. Mona Sarkis spoke to the social scientist and former Lebanese Finance Minister

Interview with André Azoulay
| Bild: | According to André Azoulay, advisor to Morocco's King Mohammed VI and head of the Anna Lindh Euro Mediterranean Foundation, cultural dialogue plays a key role in cooperation between the EU and the southern Mediterranean countries. Moncef Slimi talked to him

Interview with Prince Hassan of Jordan
| Bild: | Prince Hassan of Jordan has been awarded the Abraham Geiger Prize for 2008 in recognition of his advocacy of ecological sustainability, reconciliation and dialogue between the religions. Nasser Jubara and Bassam Rizq spoke with him

Interview with Hans Magnus Enzensberger
| Bild: | At the invitation of Sheikh Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, a number of eminent German and Arab intellectuals recently met for a "cultural dialogue". Hans Magnus Enzensberger was among their number, addressing in his speech the question of whether the Arab world needs a new Enlightenment. Loay Mudhoon spoke to the author

Interview with Yasser Hareb
| Bild: | According to Yasser Hareb, vice president of the Al Maktoum Foundation, cultural exchange plays a key role in the fostering of international understanding and the institutionalisation of a fruitful cultural dialogue between the West and the Arab world. Loay Mudhoon spoke to him about the importance of culture in international relations