BYUH faculty and students participate in 2024 Regional Southeast Asian Human Dignity Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Selected BYUH faculty members participated in the 2024 Regional Southeast Asian Human Dignity Conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The event themed "Dignity for Everyone, Everywhere," served as a precursor to the upcoming Southeast Asian Perspectives on Human Dignity Conference scheduled for April 2025, said Jennifer Kajiyama Tinkham, adjunct assistant professor in the Faculty of Business and Government.
The conference was organized in collaboration with the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM), the International Center for Law and Religion Studies (ICLRS), Brigham Young University, and the Religious Freedom Institute (RFI). It brought together scholars, religious leaders and students to discuss and promote the concept of human dignity across diverse cultural and religious contexts, Tinkham said.
Students' involvement
Cynthia Uvang, a junior majoring in TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language) from Malaysia, emphasized the significance of human dignity as the foundation of a peaceful society. "When there is mutual respect and tolerance, it provides room for love to grow in a world that seems to be full of unfairness and discrimination," Uvang said.
Uvang expressed her appreciation for the progress being made in her home country to promote human dignity. “I’ve been away from home for about three years now, and to be able to immerse myself among local academic scholars and religious leaders gave me a glimpse of how different our lives could be compared to when we were growing up,” she added.
During the socioeconomic session, Uvang noted that panelists discussed efforts to promote understanding of human dignity among the younger generation. "Having worked with young people in the past, I have grown to appreciate their passion and energy. With the right guidance and mentorship, they can make a significant difference in the future," she said.
Uvang also mentioned the conference inspired her to return home with the knowledge and experiences gained from BYUH and contribute to making a positive impact in her community. "Being a youth once and having received guidance from others sparked that interest in giving back to my community," she said.
Daryl Snelson, a junior majoring in health and human sciences from Malaysia, said human dignity is the only thing that is truly ours to have. Snelson said ignoring someone else’s dignity is like stepping on God’s creation. “Everyone deserves to be safe and included no matter their background. It should be a topic of discussion,” he emphasized.
He said he liked it when one of the speakers shared how his project focuses on every ethnicity residing in Malaysia. He said the speaker explained how his NGO focuses on projects that are usually overshadowed by the government because of the lack of attention towards those minorities, which indirectly challenges their human dignity. “His whole plan is to help the minorities and bridge the gap, breaking the stereotypes so that people in Malaysia from both west and east can come together as one Malaysia,” Snelson explained.
Interconnectedness between human dignity and culture
Uvang highlighted the importance of understanding the intersection of human dignity and culture. “Human dignity and culture meet when a culture upholds virtuous principles of appreciating another human’s worth,” she explained.
She encouraged others to work on truly knowing the people around them. “Only through knowing them are we able to love them, which establishes that respect for them,” Uvang said. She added understanding people's beliefs and cultures helps prevent irrational judgments and fosters mutual respect.
Snelson said human dignity and culture work like a bridge. “It bridges the gap between the many different religions that exist in the world. Although culture varies from place to place, it should not overshadow the fact each of us is a beloved child of God, and our differences should not divide us,” he said.
Snelson also shared people can embrace human dignity despite cultural differences through focusing on commonalities that bridge humans together. “A couple of ideas that could be initiated are interfaith conferences, religious activities together such as breaking the fast together, and so forth. The goal is to make sure everyone is included,” he added.
Combating intolerance and promoting inclusion
His Royal Highness Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, the next King of Malaysia, emphasized the importance of religious affairs in his speech at the conference. "This conference results from the combined efforts of individuals and teams representing a wide range of faiths and nationalities. It is an event that enshrines international harmony, cooperation, and inclusivity in its very origins," he said.
Shah underscored inclusivity and religious freedom are not guaranteed despite living in a century of countless efforts from like-minded individuals. “In the face of hate, we must spread messages of inclusion. In the face of ignorance, we must spread knowledge. And in the face of fear, we must spread love," he stated.
He highlighted that tolerance and inclusivity are core values of Malaysia, a nation often hailed as a multicultural success story. “Our celebration of diversity is integral to our continued prosperity as a nation," he added.
“Discrimination, prejudice, war, poverty: These and other harmful forces work in almost every corner of our world every single day to strip people of their essential human dignity. And it is immensely challenging to take the theory – the ideal vision of a world where everyone is respected – and to put it into practice,” Shah said.
Where some people are viewed as less worthy and less welcome because of their faith or the color of their skin, we must promote the message that all human lives are of equal value, Shah emphasized.
Islam’s concept of human dignity
Shah also addressed the Islamic concept of human dignity, which is based on the Quranic principle of “karimah.” "God 'ennobles' and 'honors' human beings," Shah explained, quoting the famous verse, "We have bestowed dignity to the children of Adam."
He emphasized that a single act of kindness in Islam has far-reaching impacts, citing the Quranic teaching, "If anyone saves one life, it will be as if he had saved all of humanity." Shah encouraged Muslims to embrace the similarities that unite humanity and to understand the essential nature of human dignity for everyone, everywhere.
As an important Quranic verse declares, "O humankind! Indeed, we have created you from one male and one female and then We made you into different races and nations so that you might know one another."
Muslims are enjoined to embrace the similarities that unite the whole of humanity: To understand, in other words, the essential nature of human dignity for everyone, everywhere, Shah said.
International principles of human dignity
Shah also explored the concept of human dignity in various cultural and religious contexts. “In the language of the Abrahamic scriptures, it is the universal verse: 'God created man in His image.' We thereby have a God-given duty to honor God's gift to us by affording human dignity to all other human beings,” he said, highlighting the Christian concept of human dignity.
In the field of politics and diplomacy, he said, the concept of human dignity has been enshrined in tracts and treatises from the United States Constitution in 1787 to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. “But a specific commitment to the protection of 'Human Dignity for Everyone, Everywhere' was not articulated until much more recently,” he argued.
In 2018, in Punta del Este, Uruguay, a Declaration on Human Dignity for Everyone, Everywhere was adopted to commemorate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights produced 70 years previously, Shah shared. “The Punta del Este Declaration makes explicit a belief that has always been inherent in the original 1948 text, as well as in the Charter of the United Nations, which affirms ‘the dignity and worth of the human person, [and]…the equal rights of men and women of nations large and small’,” Shah highlighted.
“In the words of the Punta del Este Declaration, ensuring ‘human dignity for everyone, everywhere…is the foundational principle and the key objective or goal of human rights’,” Shah added.
Decelerating conflicts
Shah shared a story from Malaysia that exemplifies the power of religious leaders in diffusing conflicts. He recounted an incident in 2010 when bricks were thrown at a church in Kuching during a time of tension between Muslims and Christians. Instead of blaming Muslims, Reverend Datuk Donald Jute, the Bishop of Kuching, responded with a call for peace, helping to maintain a longstanding friendly relationship between the church and the neighboring An-Naim Mosque.
"This story holds several important lessons," Shah said. "It shows us the power of religious leaders to de-escalate conflicts by staying true to the principles of mercy, love, and forgiveness that are at the core of all our faiths." He added Reverend Jute's calm and open-hearted response serves as an example to all, reminding people to respond with dignity even when they have not been treated with it.
The conference, which brought together leaders from various faiths and nationalities, concluded with a call to action to uphold human dignity and promote inclusion and tolerance across the globe, Shah shared.