Islam-Confucianism Civilizational Dialogue 2026 opens in Beijing

Photo taken on April 16, 2026 shows the scene at the opening ceremony of the Islam-Confucianism Civilizational Dialogue 2026 in Beijing, capital of China. (Photo provided to Guangming Online)

The Islam-Confucianism Civilizational Dialogue 2026 was held in Beijing on April 16. Co-hosted by the International Confucian Association and the International Islamic University Malaysia, the event was themed “The Idea of Global Civilization: Islamic and Confucian Perspectives” and brought together nearly 300 scholars and experts from 24 countries.

Sun Chunlan, president of the International Confucian Association, addressed the opening ceremony. She said that exchanges and mutual learning between Confucian and Islamic civilizations over the past millennium stand as a model in the history of civilizational interaction, offering important lessons for deepening dialogue and cooperation and for jointly responding to shared challenges. She called for stronger academic research that speaks to real-world concerns, and for deeper exploration of the intellectual resources within both traditions that can contribute to building a global community with a shared future, so as to produce high-quality scholarly outcomes.

Pan Yue, Deputy Director of the Committee on Culture, Historical Data and Studies of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and former Chairman of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission of China, deliverers a keynote speech during the Islam-Confucianism Civilizational Dialogue 2026 in Beijing, capital of China. (Photo provided to Guangming Online)

Pan Yue, Deputy Director of the Committee on Culture, Historical Data and Studies of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and former Chairman of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission of China, delivered a keynote speech at the event. Associating the Confucian-Islamic dialogue with the vision of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, he said: “Xi Jinping Thought on Culture reveals the development path of Chinese civilization, where inclusiveness is its method, enduring vitality is its defining feature, and the integration of Islamic and Confucian thought is a concrete embodiment of both.”

Islam was introduced to China as early as the Tang and Song dynasties, through both the Maritime Silk Road and overland trade routes. Its arrival brought not only encounters and friction, but also interaction and integration. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, a group of Chinese Muslim scholars had advocated interpreting Islamic teachings through a Confucian lens, helping to foster deep integration between Islam in China and the broader Chinese cultural tradition represented by Confucianism.

In his speech, Pan Yue said that, at this new historical juncture, dialogue between Confucian and Islamic civilizations offers valuable insights for addressing some of the most pressing challenges facing human civilization today.

Pan Yue, Deputy Director of the Committee on Culture, Historical Data and Studies of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and former Chairman of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission of China, deliverers a keynote speech during the Islam-Confucianism Civilizational Dialogue 2026 in Beijing, capital of China. (Photo provided to Guangming Online)

He said the historical experience of convergence between the two traditions powerfully illustrates the deeper wisdom of the Chinese concept of “harmony without uniformity.” This was not merely a textual dialogue between two civilizations, but a model of civilizational coexistence and mutual flourishing. Marked by two-way engagement and mutual absorption, this pattern of interaction breaks with the zero-sum logic presupposed by the “clash of civilizations” thesis and shows that different civilizations can indeed coexist in harmony while preserving their own distinctive identities.

More importantly, he said, this historical experience offers a path worth drawing on amid today’s turbulent international landscape. What human civilization needs is not a confrontational mindset that divides the world along ideological lines or religious differences, but rather the kind of engagement demonstrated by the integration of Confucian and Islamic traditions: seeking common ground while acknowledging differences, and building unity through respect for diversity. That, he said, is the profound message Chinese civilization offers for global governance.