European Muslims League: religious communities can play a concrete role in countering hatred, discrimination and social polarization
GENOA – 7 October 2026 – At a time marked by international conflicts, social tensions, hate speech and growing polarization, interfaith and intercultural dialogue cannot be regarded merely as a symbolic exercise. It must translate into responsibility, education and concrete action within our societies.
The European Muslims League (EML) emphasizes that peaceful coexistence among people of different religions and cultures is an essential component of social cohesion and peacebuilding.
This issue has also gained increasing relevance in the international debate. The United Nations has recently highlighted the role of intercultural and interfaith dialogue in countering hate speech, drawing attention to the responsibilities of institutions, communities and religious leaders.
Countering hatred, however, means acting before it develops into discrimination, exclusion or violence. It means educating people to respect differences, encouraging mutual understanding and rejecting any attempt to hold an entire community responsible for the actions of individual persons or groups.
The President of the European Muslims League, Alfredo Maiolese, particularly emphasized the responsibility of those who represent religious communities and institutions.
“Interfaith dialogue loses its meaning if it remains confined to conferences and official photographs. We must bring it into our cities, schools, sports and, above all, into everyday relationships between people. We should not ask anyone to give up their identity in order to live together. We must learn to respect one another precisely in our differences. Peace begins when we stop seeing the other as a threat and start recognizing them as part of the same society,” Maiolese stated.
FROM DECLARATIONS TO COMMUNITIES
Religious communities can make a concrete contribution to preventing social tensions through educational initiatives, encounters among young people, cooperation with institutions and projects capable of creating genuine opportunities for mutual understanding.
Christians, Muslims, Jews and members of other religious traditions should not meet only in times of crisis. Dialogue built over time creates relationships and trust that become particularly important when tensions arise.
At the same time, combating Islamophobia, antisemitism, anti-Christian hatred and every other form of religious discrimination must not become a competition between the suffering experienced by different communities.
Defending the dignity of one community means helping to defend the dignity of all.
THE ROLE OF YOUNGER GENERATIONS
Young people deserve particular attention, as they are increasingly exposed to polarizing content and to the rapid online spread of stereotypes, misinformation and hostile language.
Education, sport, culture and civic participation can become important instruments for creating spaces in which differences are not perceived as a threat.
It is in this spirit that the European Muslims League promotes initiatives bringing communities together and supports projects in which people of different backgrounds, cultures and beliefs can meet through shared experiences.
The third edition of “Un Calcio alla Guerra – Kick War Away”, to be held in Genoa on 10 October, represents one such occasion: sport, institutions, communities and representatives of different religious traditions coming together around a shared message of peace.
Interfaith dialogue should therefore not be limited to identifying what religions have in common. It must also teach us how to live together while respecting what makes us different.
A peaceful society is not one in which everyone thinks alike.
It is a society in which differences can coexist without turning into hatred.
European Muslims League – EML
Peace, Dialogue and Coexistence
BEYOND HATE: INTERFAITH DIALOGUE IS A RESPONSIBILITY, NOT A CEREMONY
