Common
Word….
By Fr. Eliseo “Jun” Mercado, OMI
The interreligious gap and misunderstanding
in the Southern Philippines has a long history.
It dates back from the period of colonialism when the Philippines was annexed by Spain in the 16th century and later
by the US
The encounter with Spanish forces was
characterized by continuous war, except for intermittent truces that resulted
to alienation and opposition between the Christianized Filipinos and the
Islamized Filipinos now known as the “Bangsamoro peoples”.
The period during the American period was
also characterized by war, only this time, by decisive military victory that put an end to the once powerful Sultanates in
Mindanao and their annexation to the Philippines. This annexation paved the way
for the programs of pacification and assimilation which included among others
the opening of Mindanao for migration from the Luzon
and the Visayas.
These historical facts have given rise to three
significant realities that continue to haunt Muslim-Christian relations in the Philippines
- The lingering suspicion and lack of trust that continue to
characterize the relations between Christians and Muslims;
- The sense of injustice on the part of the Bangsamoro and the
Indigenous peoples for their lost ancestral domain. After years of migration, they have
found themselves a minority in their traditional homeland. The Muslims are now majority only in
five provinces out of the 24 in
- Poverty and neglect that led to, among others, the highest in
mortality, illiteracy rate, lowest in access to basic services, especially
health and education.
The above three are few of the causes of
the renewed rebellion in the Southern Philippines . The peace process in the Southern Philippines
follows the ever changing tide and wind of the government in Manila
This is the context that has made urgent
the interface of Christianity and Islam in the Philippines
First, there is an urgent need to distance
the face of our faith traditions from the stereotypes of rebels/terrorists, on
the one hand and oppressors and the army of occupation, on the other.
Christians and Muslims of goodwill,
specifically bishops, ulama, priest and lay leaders beginning in early 70’s stood
for justice and respect for human rights even during the height of battles
between the Philippine regular army and the Moro National liberation
Front. The provinces of Cotabato and
Sulu – the lands of many battles have witnessed examples of solidarity of
people of goodwill from Christianity and Islam who continued to stand for
justice and human rights. The first
association of Christian-Muslim Religious Leaders in Mindanao
began in 1973 few months after the declaration of Martial law. Then following the Peace Agreement in 1976, a
more formal national conference involving leaders of Catholics, Protestants and
Muslims began to address the problems of the South and to bring these issues to
the attention of the National government.
Again, following the 1996 Final Peace between
the Philippine Government and the Moro national Liberation, the Bishop-Ulama
Forum was formed to support the peace process in the Southern
Philippines and the implementation of the said accord.
Both associations contributed, through
conferences and consultations, to a formation of yet another ‘thread’ beyond
the familiar stereotypes and slogans in southern Philippines
The second is interreligious dialogue. Interreligious
dialogue has a particular and peculiar history in the Philippines both in the local and national level
given the situation of the war in Southern Philippines . Simply to name a few:
- A partnership to stand for justice and defense of human rights;
- A support to the peace process in
- An attempt of mutual accompaniment in celebrations of festivals
like Duyog Ramadhan for the Muslims
and Christmas for Christians;
- A pressure on the protagonists of the war to go back to the
negotiating table to settle their differences;
- Involvement of the religious from both sides of the divide in
Tract II of the peace process in
- Adopting Peace Education in schools and institutions of higher
learning to imbibe a culture of peace in campuses; and
- Assistance to the victims of war, specifically to the
internally displaced.
In a similar vein, the religious both
Muslims and Christians (Catholics and Protestants) are active in various
consultations and fora that seek to impact policies affecting the Southern Philippines .
These attempts to influence official policy formulation range from
peacebuilding to the shape of peace agreement that will be acceptable to the
major stakeholder in Mindanao .
The urgency for dialogue given the concrete
context of the Southern Philippines and the attempts of leaders from both
divides have greatly influenced the Philippine government to adopt
interreligious dialogue as a priority in seeking a just and sustainable peace
in Southern Philippines. This has become
an official policy that has marked the Philippines
New
Wind blowing and shaping…
Peacemaking is at the heart of our faith tradition…”Blessed are the
peacemakers for they shall be called sons and daughters of God.” Peacemaking demands for a new relationship –
a new solidarity for all peoples across political and ideological boundaries,
across cultures and religions.
I wish to echo the late Pope John Paul II’s message in Damascus at the
Great Umayyad Mosque in Damascus
“It is my ardent hope that Muslim and Christian
religious leaders and teachers will present our two great religious communities
as COMMUNITIES IN RESPECTFUL DIALOGUE, NEVER MORE AS COMMUNITIES IN CONFLICT”.
It is crucial for the young to be taught the ways of respect and understanding,
so that they will not be led to misuse religion itself to promote or justify
hatred and violence. Violence destroys
the image of the Creator in his creatures, and should never be considered as
the fruit of religious conviction.”
“Better mutual understanding will surely lead
to a more objective and comprehensive knowledge of each other’s religious
beliefs at the practical level, to a new way of presenting our two religions NOT
IN OPPOSITION, as it happened too often in the past, BUT IN PARTNERSHIP
FOR THE GOOD OF THE HUMAN FAMILY.”
In the same vein, I read the Common Word, with 138
signatories that speak of weight, influence and scholarship. I personally consider the letter something
historical with long enduring impact-
In the letter the Koran verse on tolerance
is quoted: “Had God willed He could have made you one community. But that He
may try you by that which He hath given you (He hath made you as ye are). So
vie one with another in good works.
“Unto God ye will all return, and He will then inform you of that wherein
ye differ” (Al-Ma’idah, S. 5:48).
This Letter is a very important step in
dialogue between Christians and Muslims. Often Christians have taken the
initiative regarding dialogue, and they have so done well. It is important that
this first step continues in this direction with increased clarity, even
showing differences and the need for correction.
I believe that with time this Letter can
create an opening and a greater convergence on the more delicate issues of
religious freedom, the absolute value of human rights, the relationship between
religion and society, the use of violence, etc.., in short current issues that
worry all believers in our world today.
People, institution, nation, communities,
in fact, individuals endure and are recognized by their fidelity to values and
traditions they stand for. And to us,
the three values that stand are family, joyful hard work and our faith &
traditions. Today people admire Mother Theresa or Oscar Romero or Martin Luther
King Jr. or Desmond Tutu or Nelson Mandela, not because of their achievements
but for the values and beliefs they stood for. They believed and lived with
integrity and no embarrassment.
The
need to provide the Story line…
Where do we locate ourselves within this
flux and how do we view our confusion to say the least and deep crisis at worst
in that new wind that blows and shapes a new world?
More than ever
before, there is a need to “re-appreciate” and perhaps even “re-construct” the
stories of successes and failures, of power and wealth in the present age now
labeled as both “post modernism” and “post ideologies”. I turn to Gil Bailie (cf. Violence
Unveiled: Humanity at the Crossroads: 1996) for the apt description of
this age. He takes the person of Bernard (a character in Virginia Woolf’s
novel, The Waves) to depict the modern person. In the novel, Bernard says: “I have made up
thousand stories. I have filled up innumerable notebooks with phrases to be
used when I have found the true story, the one story to which all the phrases
refer, but I have never yet found that story.”
I believe that Christians
and Muslims, notwithstanding the difficulties, have found the way to the writing
of the needed story line… it is there in the story of our family, tribe and
clan. It is a “kindredness” shaped not only by blood, but also by our community
and eco-system. And our story line
rooted in faith and traditions that form our values that lay the foundational set
of virtues to move together forward in achieving our goals for ourselves and
for humankind. We are darn proud of our story and we share it with the world
with smile in our faces and joy in our hearts.
In Conclusion
I will end this presentation with a quote from the martyred
President of Egypt Anwar Sadat (yet another
Nobel Peace laureate) expressed at the Knesset during his historic visit
of the Holy City of Jerusalem.
“… Yet, there
remains another wall. This wall
continues and constitutes a psychological barrier between us, a barrier of
suspicion, a barrier of rejection, a barrier of fear, of deception, a barrier
of hallucination without any action, deeds or decision. A barrier of distorted and eroded interpretation
of every event and statement... It is this official statement as constituting
70% of the whole process. Today, through my visit to you, I ask why don’t we
stretch out our hands with faith and sincerity so that together we might
destroy this barrier?”
No doubt, we can lead the way by stretching
our hands with faith and sincerity so that together we may build a new world with
no borders and barriers yet preserving our identity as we tell and re-tell our
story line with smile in our faces and joy in our hearts.
A final quote:
“The age of nations is past. It remains for us now, if we do not wish to
perish, to set aside the ancient prejudice, and build the earth.” (Pierre
Teilhard de Chardin, SJ)
