Religious
Leaders & Building Peace: The Philippine Experience
Prof. Eliseo
“Jun” Mercado, OMI (Graduate School Faculty, Notre Dame University)
Fulbright 2002 New Century Scholar (Georgetown University)
I believe, a very important attempt to
weave the experiences and lessons of religious leaders’ participation in
building peace. There are many and
varied lived experiences of peace building that involve religious leaders of
all faiths. It is interesting to note that both violent and peaceful people
continue to use religious images and passages from the Scriptures or Holy Books
to “justify” their acts and actuations that either promote conflicts and
violence or building peace.
The peoples of Mindanao
are witnesses to and participants in these two strands. They have seen both the
violence and bloodshed in war and rehabilitation and reconstruction in peace
building. In fact, war, piracy and kidnappings have always marred, from the
very beginning, the encounters between Islam and Christianity in Southern Philippines.
It is often said that the Southern Philippines
has really not known peace. What we, sometimes, experience are fleeting truces
that allow peoples to build anew their homes and livelihoods until war erupts
again and send them back to evacuation centers.
A multi-awarded movie of the late Marilou
Abaya Diaz produced a movie entitled “Bagong Buwan” (New Moon) that became
the top grosser during the Manila Film Festival in 2002. The movie was a
masterpiece that captured the continuing cycle of war and peace in Mindanao.
Peoples live in a continuing “evacuation”.
I
will borrow Shakespeare’s words to describe the relations between Muslims and
Christians in Mindanao.
" . . . Creeping murmur and the pouring dark
Fill the wide vessel of the universe:
From camp to camp, through the foul womb of night
The hum of either army stilly sounds
That the fixed sentinels almost receive
The secret whispers of each other's watch. . .
Each battle sees the other's umber'd face."
So Shakespeare's
chorus described the eve of Agincourt. The
words might well have been written also of Mindanao,
more particularly of Muslim-Christian relations. When faiths and religious
traditions confront each other, it is, for the most part, with "fixed
sentinels" and even with the "whispers of each other's watch".
It is said that
Christianity and Islam are, indeed, physically adjacent. Yet, for all their nearness, the relations
between these two faiths and their respective followers are largely shrouded in
mutual suspicion and darkness. There are few exceptions on either side to rise
above the general ignorance and suspicion. But these are rare … When faiths and
religious traditions confront each other, it is for the most part, with
"fixed sentinels." It is in the context of that “fixed sentinels” in Mindanao realities that I will share with you the few
exceptions in building peace.
In the Philippines,
particularly in the South, Christianity and Islam have always been presented as
two competing faiths for the same geographical area. Wittingly or unwittingly,
the recent spate of lawlessness like kidnappings, terrorism and plain and
simple banditry is read along the understood "separateness" between
Christianity and Islam.
This tragic and
sad reality is further exacerbated by the contemporary surge of the so-called
fundamentalist movements both in Islam and Christianity. The likes of the Abu
Sayyaf and Pentagon Group/s that are often associated with fanaticism send
jitters to the people in the area.
All these are
familiar enough and part of our present problem. Often, they exercise tyranny
over our spirits. They have produced a culture and a habit of suspicion and
confrontation that make inter-religious collaboration and dialogue, truly, a
very difficult task. It requires a commitment and determination to steadily
school ourselves to resist and reject our habit of preferring suspicion to
trust; our instinct to prefer the familiar confrontation to a new relationship
of partnership in the world that is in difficult transition.
In the past as
well as today, there is an ever-growing awareness of common territory and
affinity between Islam and Christianity. The Qur’an in Chapter 5 verse
82 unequivocally encourages Muslims to cooperate with Christians. “Thou wilt
surely find the nearest of them in love to the believers are the ones who say,
‘We are Christians’; that because some of them are priests and monks, and they
wax not proud” (S.5:82).
The Second
Vatican Council document, Nostra Aetate, clearly articulates
the common territory and affinity between Christianity and Islam.
“The
Church has also a high regard for the Muslims. They worship God, who is one,
living and subsistent, merciful and almighty, the creator of heaven and earth,
who has also spoken to men. They strive to submit themselves without reserve to
the hidden decrees of God, just as Abraham submitted himself to God’s plan, to
whose faith Muslims eagerly link their own.
Although not acknowledging him as God, they venerate Jesus as a prophet,
his Virgin Mother they also honor, and even times devoutly invoke. Further,
they await the day of judgment and the reward of God following the resurrection
of the dead. For this reason they highly esteem an upright life and worship
God, especially by way of prayer alms-deeds and fasting.”
“Over the centuries many
quarrels and dissensions have arisen between Christians and Muslims. The Sacred
Council now pleads with all to forget the past, and urges that a sincere effort
be made to achieve mutual understanding; for the benefit of all men, let them
together preserve and promote peace, liberty, social justice and moral values.” (NA3).
Muslim-Christian Partnership towards Peace &
Development
Long before the
historic document, Nostra Aetate, there were a few Religious Leaders in the Southern Philippines (the traditional Bangsamoro
Homeland) who have understood the importance of Muslim and Christian understanding
to attain a lasting peace and sustainable development. There were difficulties,
frustrations and pains, yet, they were transcended as they continued to learn
how to live as neighbors. The Missionaries of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) have pioneered the new relationship between
Muslims and Christians right at the very heartland of the Bangsa (Nation) Moro.
These attempts now
constitute the noted “few exceptions” that trail blaze Religious Leaders
participation in building peace in Southern Philippines.
I will outline five traditions of Muslim-Christian leaders’ involvements in
peace building that are associated with the OMI.
The first tradition was
the continuing attempts to bridge the education & development gap in the Southern Philippines due to long years of government
neglect. In the then empire province
of Cotabato and the
Archipelago of Sulu, OMI’s began the
Notre Dame School System that brought quality education to the Moro peoples
long before the establishment of the Mindanao
State University. The Notre Dame School system has generated so
much social capital that educated Moro people and the leadership both in the
rebel front and in local government easily point to their experiences in the
Notre Dame campuses all over the Southern Philippines
as examples of harmony and unity between Muslims and Christians. This was also true in the island province of Basilan with the Claret Schools under
the Claretians.
Post Vatican II,
Sulu, Basilan and Cotabato had embarked on development programs following the
universal call from Pope Paul VI’s encyclical, Populorum Progressio that specifically articulated that “development
is another name for peace.” Resources
were generated to bring potable water to the rural communities, clinics were
established in remote areas, to build houses for the poor and the “evacuees”
now called “internally displaced persons”. To bolster agricultural
productivity, farming cooperatives and credit unions were established. Five foreign Bishops epitomized this
tradition. They were Bishops Gerard Mongeau, OMI in Cotabato, Francis McSorley,
OMI in Sulu, Philip Smith, OMI both in Sulu and Cotabato and George Dion, OMI in Sulu and Jose Maria Querexeta, CMF in
Basilan.
The ‘original’ Mindanao
Sulu Pastoral Conference (MSPC) and its Implementing Arm, the MSPC
Secretariate, ventured farther in Muslim-Christian Relations. With some
Protestant churches and Muslim leaders, they carried further the dialogue into
meaningful activities such as “Duyog Ramadhan” (Accompaniment during the
fasting month of Ramadhan) and conferences on the rights of the Moro people to
“self-determination”.
In a similar
vein, the Protestant Churches through their Mindanao
institutions had also launched dialogue and development programs both in Lanao
del Sur and North Cotabato. The Dansalan College in Marawi City
and Southern Christian College in Midsayap with their pioneering extension
programs served rural Muslim communities.
These two institutions became the leading local partners of the National
Council of Churches of the Philippines’
programs of dialogue among peoples of living faiths and of educating Christians
about Muslims or PACEM.
Fr. Eliseo
Mercado, OMI and Bishop Antonino
Nepomuceno were pioneers in the beginning of this Interreligious dialogue both
at the national level and local levels that involved the Catholics, Protestants
and Muslims.
The second Tradition was
the struggle for justice and human rights, particularly during the dark years
of Martial Law. Arbitrary arrests and
detentions, Military “zoning” (military encirclements of a community where all
males were lined up in the public square and houses were searched and ransacked
usually at nights), Cases of “salvagings” (killed or liquidated and later the
bodies were dumped into the river) and ‘disappearances’ led to the formation of
the first Christian-Muslim Leaders Association of the Philippines. Prominent
personalities in this struggle were Bishop Antonino Nepomuceno, OMI, Episcopal Bishop Manguramas, and Sheik Omar
Bajunaid. This group conducted capacity building for dialogue and monitoring
human rights violations for priests, Imams and Pastors (Through Bishop
Nepomuceno, I got involved in this work).
They constituted
the first “quick response” team to assist Muslim individuals and communities that
were constantly harassed and repressed. The military wantonly violated their
rights during military operations both in urban areas as well as in the remote
areas.
It is a
tradition that speaks of concern and sincere effort to achieve understanding
between Muslims and Christians and to work together to preserve and promote
peace, liberty, social justice, and moral values.
The association
was there to protect people’s civil rights against the constant assaults of the
fascist army of the Dictator Marcos. In times of war and calamities, Bishops
Nepomuceno, Manguramas and Sheik Bajunaid were in the forefront to give relief,
assistance, release of prisoners and moral support as well. They were able to
forge Muslim-Christian solidarity that witnessed to the common tradition of
trust, friendship and hospitality amid the legacies of suspicion, anger and
hatred. The Social Action
Center in Cotabato, during
the Martial Law years, became the powerful symbol of Muslim and Christian solidarity
for justice, freedom and brotherhood..
The third tradition is the
path personified by Bishops Bienvenido Tudtud (Lanao del Sur) and Benjamin de Jesus, OMI (Sulu). Both
Bishops were gentle, jovial and friends to all, but most especially to the poor
and the vulnerable sectors of Philippine society. Their passionate commitment
to the poor and dialogue of life led them to venture in a humble and
non-threatening friendship with the Muslims in the Vicariate of Sulu and the
Prelature of Marawi. They wanted to be the humble and compassionate servants of
the peoples of Sulu and Lanao del Sur. This path is now enshrined in the
universally accepted dialogue of life that translates into everyday life the
desired friendship that should characterize the relationships between and among
neighbors. It is a path that continues,
in daily living, to break down the walls (both visible and invisible) that
separate Muslims and Christians.
To advocates of
this path it is actually a dialogue of life that carries out the joyful and
humble work of proclaiming God’s unconditional love and his inclusive kingdom
that recognizes and respects the dignity and spiritual treasures of the Muslim
neighbors.
The fourth tradition is
the pioneering peace education and advocacy began by the OMI
run Notre Dame University (NDU). It is
the first institution of higher learning that has integrated peace education in
its curriculum where both Muslim and Christian students are required to take
peace studies. The University’s peace
advocacy has led to mediation and conflict resolution efforts of the citizens
(Muslims and Christians) in Southern Philippines.
Following the
1996 Final Peace Agreement between the Philippine Government and the Moro
National Liberation Front, Peace Education became one of the flagship programs
of President Ramos. Funds were appropriated for NDU to train people and build
capacity for all Mindanao Universities with the hope that these Universities
would in turn establish their own training centers. Today, the government Mindanao State
University (MSU), the Jesuit run Ateneo de Davao University and Ateneo de
Zamboanga University are few examples of Institutions of Higher Learning that
grant degrees on Peace and Development Studies. These institutions also conduct
a non degree peace education workshop to high school and elementary teachers
both in the public and private schools. The aim of these institutions is to
integrate in the formal school system, particularly in Mindanao,
the culture of peace.
The fifth tradition is the
actual involvement in peace making and peace building. Beginning with the Peace Talks between the
Philippine Government and the MNLF in 1992 until 2000, prominent religious
leaders like Fr. Eliseo Mercado, OMI
of Notre Dame University in Cotabato City, Sr. Amelia David, ICM of the Diocese
of Pagadian and prominent lay leaders Josephine Leyson of the Diocese of Dipolog
(in Zamboanga del Norte) and Atty. Alan Flores of the Diocese of Iligan in
Lanao del Norte got involved not only in that historical peace process between
the Philippine Government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) but
also in the transitional Consultative Assembly from 1996 to 2002 implementing
the 1996 Final Peace Accord.
It should be
noted that a Protestant Pastor (Rev. Absalom Cerveza) became a prominent
negotiator in the MNLF Peace Panel. He also served as the deputy Chair of the
Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development (SPCPD) during the time
of “transition” from 1996 to 2001.
In many ways
this tradition is symbolized by the NDU
Peace Center
that also helps in the forging of the initial ceasefire agreement between the
Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). NDU was
also tasked to form the religious leaders both Muslims and Christians to
monitor and supervise the implementation of the ceasefire agreement. From 1997
to the days immediately prior the “all out war” policy of President Estrada,
the religious leaders under the leadership of NDU Peace Center monitored and supervised the ceasefire
agreements.
It also
facilitated the birthing of the still functioning Coordinated Committee on the
Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) that continues to monitor and supervise the
existing ceasefire agreement between the Philippine Government and the MILF.
Beginning the
2000 all out war policy of President Estrada, another OMI,
Fr. Roberto Layson, OMI got involved
in giving sanctuary to refugees. With the Church-led organization like Tabang
Mindanaw (Mindanao Assistance), he is has been in the forefront of rebuilding
people’s lives ravaged by a never ending war.
These traditions
show concrete Muslim-Christian collaboration on the ground that indicates the
heart of dialogue and peace building. Like politics, peace building is local. They
are rooted in “being” with the people, especially the poor and the vulnerable
sectors of society. It is a “rootedness” that is shaped and fashioned by a
shared living, sympathy and solidarity. This becomes the well-spring of active
participation in all human endeavors, economic, political and cultural, always
in favor of the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized. Oftentimes, this kind of witnessing is
clearer and more eloquent than any signing of agreement.
Muslim-Christian
collaboration is not something abstract. It is a human activity which involves
our total life experience. It takes place in the individual as well as communal
lives as peoples of differing faiths live out their faiths and conviction
according to the living traditions. No doubt, the partnership and collaboration
depend upon a bridging leadership that enhances mutual trust and understanding.
It demands respect for the identity as well as the integrity of the other. It
rests on the conviction that God who is all merciful and compassionate desires to
draw all peoples and the whole creation into a relationship of love and peace.
This type of partnership
should enhance a new culture that enables and empowers peoples to draw from
each other’s traditions and common resources to help face today’s threats to
global survival and work together toward peace with justice and the integrity
of creation. Religious leaders as exemplified in the five concrete traditions
on the ground should spare no effort to live and work together towards
reconciling conflicts, eradicating bigotry and prejudices, and empowering
grassroots level communities to act upon their own choices in self-development
towards a more just and participatory society.
There are no
simple formulas for enhancing collaboration and partnership. Every situation
demands a serious study and reflection of the many and varied factors at play.
Some of these are historical, social or doctrinal. But whatever the factors and
their magnitude, it is, in the final analysis, everyone’s duty to see a better
community where peoples of differing faiths and traditions live in love,
justice and peace. As religious leaders, we have the obligation to emphasize
that which unites us and to make a determined effort to set aside that which
would divide us. We can only do this if we have full understanding of what the
other believes, and are committed to the principle of respect and recognition
of the beliefs and feelings of every community and person.
In concrete
terms, there is the urgent need to steadily school ourselves to prefer trust to
suspicion; prefer friendship to familiar confrontation; and above all, prefer
love and service to the usual hatred and bigotry. This demands a shedding off the old as well
as dying …. But is this not the meaning of the saying: “the old gives way to the new and death leads
to life?”
It is precisely in this reality of continuing
search for peace that I would like to cite two people. The first is the former
UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali in his message to the 2nd
International Forum on the Culture of Peace, 26 November 1995: “Peace is the basis for the realization of all the finest aspiration of
life itself.” The second is Pope
John Paul II, a man known to harness both the religious leaders and traditions
to promote peace and dialogue among religions. During his visit to the Great Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, 6 May 2001, he said: “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.”
Again in his
departure address (8
May – Damascus),
he appealed to all the peoples and to their political leaders “to recognize
that confrontation has failed and will always fail. Only a just peace can bring the conditions
needed for the economic, cultural and social development to which the people of
the region have a right."
In our commitment to peace building, we
have to continue to believe and assert that PEACE is essential premise for
human development, accomplishment and success.
This belief and assertion need always to be nurtured with care and
protected from assaults and degradation by violent and evil men and women of
our age.
There is no
ready-made culture of peace for Mindanao or
anywhere for that matter. There are no
easy quick-fixes to our difficulties and problems. But together, we can weave a new “mat” where
PEACE can take roots, grow and flourish.
But to be able to weave that new mat, we need to teach ourselves to
speak the language of peace and reject the language of war!
My dear friends,
notwithstanding the difficulties and at times what appears hopelessness of our
efforts… it is our collective responsibility to transform the language of war
to language of peace – from force to reason, from imposition to dialogue, from
exploitation to partnership, from enemies to friends. It may sound as a new utopia…. But there is a
the urgent need to plant, cultivate and nurture a new and refreshing attitude
of openness in mind and heart, an essential disposition in understanding and
living through the relations between Muslims and Christians in Mindanao. The Arabic word for this is TADABBAR. This is the new attitude that will pave the
way for a new beginning for each one of us and for each of our faith
communities – yes, a new PASSAGE
from the culture of war to a culture of peace.
In conclusion, I
would like to quote a ten-year old Negah’s understanding of Peace…
"I know
what a mine, a tank or a gun is, but I don't know what Peace looks like,
because I haven't seen it. Some people
say it is a bird. Some people say it is
luck. But I know when there is peace
everyone can go to his homeland and live in his home. When it comes, I will see what peace is and I
will forget the names of all the weapons that I know." (Read at the IA
Consultation – London, October 5-6, 2004)
