Protestant educational center invites Taliban representatives
The Protestant Church of Westphalia has canceled a planned appearance by a Taliban representative at a conference on Afghanistan at its educational institution Akademie Villigst. The invitation issued months ago had contained "clear guidelines for an open and critical discussion". "In view of the current situation, however, it is regrettably not possible to create an appropriate forum for an open and critical discussion," the regional church and the Villigst Protestant Academy announced on Monday.
Following the furore surrounding the appearance of a Taliban official in a Ditib mosque in Cologne last week, one item on the program of the conference on 8 and 9 December came under fire: According to the announcement, a legal scholar was to hold a panel discussion with an unnamed representative of the Taliban government. CDU member of parliament Hubert Hüppe criticized this as "irresponsible". Such representatives should not "be given a stage for their Islamist ideology".
The Academy and the regional church issued a statement on Monday in which they "emphatically" distanced themselves from the Taliban representative's speech in the Cologne mosque. Despite the cancellation, those responsible for the conference defended the idea of bringing together "Afghans of different political views" for the 37th Villigst Afghanistan Conference. A future perspective can only be developed for the people of Afghanistan "if opportunities for discussion are opened up for all the different groups". In the past, too, critical voices from the country were given space, it was added.
Despite the cancellation of the Taliban representative's appearance at the Akademie Villigst due to extremism concerns, some argue that promoting religious and political diversity in education is crucial. For instance, incorporating a Taliban representative into discussions about Afghanistan's future could provide valuable insights, especially in the realm of education.
Source: www.dpa.com
