based on the reports of Marites Africa
November 7, 2007
The Peacemaker's Circle in Metro Manila Philippines has been working tirelessly on local efforts to end the religiously motivated conflicts in their part of the region and has succeeded in bringing Priests and Imams together, not only to talk to each other and make plans for establishing peace, but also to relate with each other on unexpected levels. This is a large, inspiring, and hope-filled step towards ending the violence that has been raging there for decades.
Though this conflict is primarily centered in Mindanao, it is not only affecting the lives of people in that southern region, it is also affecting the wellbeing of all Filipinos. Many Christians and Muslims have fled their southern homeland to seek better lives for themselves and their families elsewhere in the country. Many have settled in Metro Manila.
Says Marites Africa, a member of URI and one of the leading contributors to the efforts of the Peacemakers' Circle, "Not many Filipinos are aware of the fact that there are now over 1.5 million Muslims and over 104 mosques in Metro Manila, and that wherever there are mosques there are thriving Muslim communities. Many of the mosques are adjacent to or are in the vicinity of Catholic parishes. In view of this, we at the Peacemakers' Circle deem it of urgent importance to work where we are in helping to heal the wounds of our people that are being aggravated by the raging conflict in Mindanao. I believe that we do not have to be in Mindanao to help the people of Mindanao. There is a lot that we can do here where we are."
She was right.
The Peacemakers Circle, in conjunction with the Imam Council of the Philippines, the U.P. Institute of Islamic Studies, and the Episcopal Commission on Interreligious Dialogue of the Catholic Bishop's Conference of the Philippines, with the support of the Australian Embassy's Strengthening Grassroots Interfaith Dialogue and Understanding (SGIDU) Program, conducted an IMAM-PRIEST DIALOGUE Training Workshop-Seminar, a relationship-building program designed to prepare Muslim imams and Catholic priests in Metro Manila for Muslim-Christian dialogue and collaborative work in their respective grassroots communities. The program was aimed to help the participants undergo two progressive levels of preparation for and engagement in Muslim-Christian Dialogue. These were intra-faith dialogue and interfaith dialogue.
The first level of preparation for Imam-Priest Dialogue was Building the Foundations of Faith for Interfaith Dialogue. About fifty imams and priests from various Muslim communities and Catholic dioceses and seminaries in Metro Manila participated in a three-day series of training workshops that were conducted separately for the two groups of religious leaders. The Intra-Imam training was held at the Salam Hall of the University of the Philippines' Institute of Islamic Studies on September 25, October 2 and 29; while the Intra-Priest training was held at the San Carlos Minor Seminary on September 27, October 4 and 11. The separate training workshops for the imams and priests were deemed necessary to the process of preparing these two groups of religious leaders for dialogue with one another.
The Muslim program framework and contents for the "Intra-Imam Training Workshop" were largely conceived and designed by Dr. Abdulhusin "Jo" Kashim, a distinguished Muslim lecturer on international relations now turned peace advocate and lecturer on "peace jihad." The program included the basic teachings of Islam and verses from the Holy Qur'an that encouraged Muslims to engage in dialogue with their Christian counterparts and build bridges of mutual respect and understanding with them. Dr. Kashim was assisted in crafting the workshop design (and in conducting it) by Dean Mashur Bin-Ghalib Jundam of the U.P. Institute of Islamic Studies, Aleem Said Basher of the Agama Islam Society, and Imam Ebra Moxsir of the Imam Council of the Philippines.
This Intra-Imam Training workshop for Interfaith Dialogue was a success. Its proponents take pride in the fact that this is a "first of its kind program", and are pleased to be able to contribute this to the endeavor of Muslim-Christian relationship-building in Metro Manila. It was well-received by the imams who participated in it, and the process yielded from them valuable suggestions for improvement.
Its counterpart, the "Intra-Priest Training Workshop," was likewise well-received by the distinguished priests who participated in the program. This was designed by Marites Guingona-Africa, a Catholic laywoman, based on her M.A. thesis on MAKING SPACE FOR INTERFAITH DIALOGUE: A Formation Program for Catholics in the Philippines. Also integrated into the workshop were principles of the Moral Imagination in Peacebuilding, learned from the workshop currently being undertaken by the Peacemakers' Circle team, led by Dr. Kashim, Marites Guingona-Africa, Lee Collano and Akmad Wahab. This team works under the United Religions' Initiative's Peacebuilding Program which is conducted by Dr. John Paul Lederach (world renowned lecturer and skills-builder on Conflict Transformation), and Dr. Herm Weaver (gifted musician and advocate of peacebuilding through the moral imagination and beyond.)
Fr. Andre De Bleeker, CICM (Maryhill School of Theology), Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, S.J. (President of the Episcopal Commission on Interreligious Dialogue), and Fr. Carlos Reyes (Executive Secretary of ECID) contributed their expertise to this training on interfaith dialogue for Catholic priests. They gave excellent presentations on the Teachings of the Catholic Church on Interfaith Dialogue, on Muslim-Christian Relations in History, and on the contributions of the Catholic Church to Interfaith Dialogue in the Philippines.
On the 24th of October, the forty imams and priests who underwent the series of three separate training workshops were brought together for the first time, and this first meeting was prepared for with a sense of apprehension by the facilitators. Although they were hoping that this first meeting would result in friendships among the two groups of religious leaders, they did not know how this would actually turn out. However, according to Marites Africa, "The whole-day workshop turned out to be a heartwarming success! The imams and priests who participated in it seemed very eager to carry on with working together in the endeavor of promoting ongoing dialogue and collaboration among them. How heartwarming it was to bear witness to priests and imams laughing, eating, and singing together "LET THERE BE PEACE ON EARTH AND LET IT BEGIN WITH ME!"
This enthusiasm carried throughout the entire workshop, which consisted of different activity modules. In one module there was an invitation to share "Visions of Peace Among Religions," an invitation which all of the Priests and Imams eagerly responded to by working together in small groups to come up with a creative expression of their shared vision. Eight groups of imams and priests took turns in presenting their vision through creative drama, and those who bore witness to it knew that it was a moment in history that was filled with the light of joy and hope.
At the end of the day, after the priests and imams expressed their commitment to interfaith dialogue and relationship-building, they approved a motion to meet again on November 12 to discuss the agenda of organizing themselves and creating an Imam-Priest Conference of the Philippines that would complement the work of the Bishops-Ulama Conference in Mindanao.
Says Marites, "I am very encouraged and inspired by the response of our priests and imams to this pilot dialogue project, and I look forward with hope to long-term and sustainable support from those who believe in what we are doing."
On October 30, leaders of various sectors of society attended the Awarding Ceremonies that was hosted by the Peacemakers' Circle in honor of the imams and priests who participated in the dialogue training workshops. Among them were Gen. Ben Dolorfino (Commander of the Philippine Marine Corps), Gen. Verzosa (Deputy Chief of the Philippine National Police), Sec. Gen. Isabel Tobias (Presidential Council for Values Formation), Robin Abdul Aziz Padilla (popular movie actor and respected Muslim convert), Bishop Antonio Tobias and Bishop Deogracias Yniguez (Catholic Episcopal Commission on Ecumenical Affairs), Mr. Quinton Devlin of the Australian Embassy, Mr. Stephen Ashby and Jomar Ascano of the U.S. Embassy, and Dr. Stephen Rood of the Asia Foundation.
The second level of dialogue training will engage the participants in reaching out to their respective members in the grassroots Muslim-Christian communities in Metro Manila, and share with them what they have learned about dialogue and relationship -building. Here, Muslim and Christian religious leaders will partner with secular leaders in the community in promoting the ways of peaceful dialogue in their respective locales.News of the success of the workshops yielded requests from Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, and other parts of the Philippines for help in conducting similar workshops in their parts of the region.As a way of furthering the work that has already been started, the Peacemakers' Circle CC, in partnership with the Institute of Islamic Studies of the University of the Philippines, will offer training modules on Muslim-Christian Dialogue for Nation-Building in Metro Manila in April-May 2008. This is a pilot program that is hoped to launch a first-of-its-kind Interfaith Peacebuilding Institute in the county. This is another of those dreams that, says Marites, are "made a size too big so that we can grow into them."
(see same article published in the URI website:
http://www.uri.%20org/CC_News/%20SE_Asia_%%2026_the_Pacific/%20IMAPR.html)
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