The Role of Cultural Communication Organizations in Establishment of World Peace Case Study: Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (ICRO)

The Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (ICRO) was established in 1995 for centralization and coordination of cultural missions overseas. The organization is to realize such goals as publicizing Iranian-Islamic culture across the globe and boosting Iran’s cultural relations with other countries. On the other hand, the world is today the scene of much violence, conflicts and wars, particularly sectarian-religious clashes in the international system. Some experts and scholars are of the opinion that infusion of culture in the international relations and development of cultural communications on international level can be influential in de-escalation of violence and in controlling the conflicts. On this basis, the role of such organizations as ICRO with cultural activities as pillars of its goals and responsibilities can be outstanding in removing grounds for violence and conflicts, in particular, the sectarian-religious conflicts in the Middle East. The main question of this paper is: What is the role of Islamic Culture and Relations Organization in the establishment of peace and security? Studies show that the organization can carry out such functions as interreligious dialogues, dialogue among civilizations, and meetings for proximity among Islamic faiths. The theoretical basis for this study is founded on the viewpoints of G. M. Michael and the The UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies (1982). The research method applied in this study is descriptive-analytical and the data collection is based on library method.