Response
to the Muslim Letter: A Common Word between You and Us…
By Fr. Eliseo “Jun” Mercado, OMI
(Delivered at Georgetown University, Washington,
DC: 2008)
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 at the turn of the 1900.
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. The Americans were able to
abolish the powerful Sultanates and the Royal Titles (these titles were only
recognized by President Marcos during the height of rebellion to counteract the
influence and sway of the Rebel Commanders (MNLF) on the Muslim populace. The
abolition of the governance structures and royal titles paved the way for the
annexation Southern Mindanao. And one of
the programs of pacification and assimilation included among others the opening
of Southern Mindanao for massive 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, even today. To wit:
- 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 Moro 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 original 13 provinces in Southern Mindanao;
- The Indigenous peoples who were once “masters” of the highlands
of Mindanao (their traditional ancestral domains) were completely
minoritized and marginalized even the in the mountains as they were given
as timber concessions to big business; and
- 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 four are few of the causes of the
renewed rebellion in the Southern Philippines.
The peace process in the Southern Mindanao 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, priests, ustadzes 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 Mindanao 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 Mindanao. This is a partnership, albeit still a
minority, that work for peace, reconciliation and partnership in building a
more inclusive communities and governance.
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 Mindanao. Simply to name a few:
- A partnership to stand for justice and defense of human rights;
- A support to the peace process in Southern Mindanao that
continues from 1976 to the present;
- 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
peace table to settle their differences;
- Involvement of the religious from both sides of the divide in
Tract II of the peace process in Southern Mindanao.
- 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
Mindanao, in particular and the whole country, in general. These attempts to influence official policy
formulation range from peacebuilding to the shape of peace agreement that will
be acceptable to all major stakeholder in Mindanao.
There is now the urgency for dialogue both
inter and intra faiths given the concrete context of the Southern Mindanao,
particularly with the recent surge of ISIS and ASG and other extremists that
threaten the years of building of friendship and commitment to the Common Good.
n Mindanao. There is, no doubt, that the continued and patient attempts of
leaders from the faith divides have greatly influenced the Philippine
government to adopt interreligious dialogue as a priority in seeking a just and
sustainable peace the Philippines. This
has become an official policy that has marked the Philippines’ strong
intervention and support to interreligious dialogue at the international bodies
like UN and the Alliance of Civilizations, and of late in the Non Aligned
Movement.
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 Saint Pope John Paul II’s message in Damascus at the Great Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, 6 May
2001.
“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 Qur’an 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
raising, yet, to another level the friendship 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 with 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 in 1977.
“… 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)
