Editing Clash of Civilizations (section)

===Opposing concepts===
In recent years, the theory of [[Dialogue Among Civilizations]], a response to Huntington's Clash of Civilizations, has become the center of some international attention. The concept was originally coined by Austrian philosopher [[Hans Köchler]] in an essay on cultural identity (1972).<ref>"Kulturelles Selbstverständnis und Koexistenz: Voraussetzungen für einen fundamentalen Dialog" (Cultural Identity and Co-existence: Preconditions for a Fundamental Dialogue). Public lecture delivered at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, 19 October 1972, published in: ''Philosophie und Politik. Dokumentation eines interdisziplinären Seminars''. (Publications of the Working Group for Science and Politics at the University of Innsbruck, Vol. IV.) Innsbruck: Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Wissenschaft und Politik, 1973, pp. 75-78.</ref> In a letter to [[UNESCO]], Köchler had earlier proposed that the cultural organization of the United Nations should take up the issue of a "dialogue between different civilizations" (''dialogue entre les différentes civilisations'').<ref>[http://i-p-o.org/Koechler-letter-UNESCO-26Sep1972.jpg Letter dated 26 September 1972], addressed to the Division of Philosophy of UNESCO.</ref> In 2001, Iranian president [[Mohammad Khatami]] introduced the concept at the global level. At his initiative, the United Nations proclaimed the year 2001 as the "United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations".<ref>[http://www.unesco.org/dialogue2001/en/khatami.htm Dialogue 2001] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030216050648/http://www.unesco.org/dialogue2001/en/khatami.htm|date=February 16, 2003}} ''Unesco.org'' Retrieved on 05-24-07</ref><ref>[http://www.dialoguecentre.org/about.html About] ''Dialoguecentre.org'' Retrieved 05-24-07</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.unu.edu/dialogue/|title=Dialogue Among Civilizations &#124; United Nations University|website=archive.unu.edu|access-date=Oct 23, 2022}}</ref>

The [[Alliance of Civilizations]] (AOC) initiative was proposed at the 59th [[United Nations General Assembly|General Assembly of the United Nations]] in 2005 by the Spanish Prime Minister, [[José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero]] and co-sponsored by the Turkish Prime Minister [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]]. The initiative is intended to galvanize collective action across diverse societies to combat [[extremism]], to overcome cultural and social barriers between mainly the Western and predominantly Muslim worlds, and to reduce the tensions and polarization between societies which differ in religious and cultural values.