originally published in the Brazilian journal Revista Espaco Academico, No. 56, January 2006, ISSN 1519.6168
As we enter the year 2006 and stop to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr., day there is an urgent need to re-focus our energy on non-violence and the creation of a more democratic society. In the spirit of Dr. King, I would recommend that citizens of the United States reflect on the question of what it means to live in a multi-faith world.
Multi-faith dialogue and education are critical if the world is to avoid a clash of civilizations. This past summer I was invited to participate in a multi-faith conference held at Griffith University in Australia. Of the 75 participants, the majority were Buddhist followed by Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Jews, Sikhs, Aboriginal religion, and Baha’i. Throughout Asia and Oceania, multi-faith education and dialogue is being promoted with a sense of urgency. It is considered to be the key to conflict prevention and the creation of healthy, diverse communities.
Professor Kamar Oniah Kamaruzzamam, a Malaysian Muslim woman and professor of Islamic studies at the International Islamic University, made a strong case for multi-faith education when she stated, “If Osama bin Laden says he is the true interpreter of Islam and those of you who are not Muslim believe him, what does that say about you?” Kamar believes that every religion has a core rooted in non-violence and just relationships. Regardless of the particular faith, if we fail to live and model non-violence, she says, we are failing the Divine Spirit.
My roommate at the conference was H. Salman Harun, a professor of Koran Interpretation at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University in Indonesia. He put forth a strong case that Islam is a religion of peace. In 2004, he organized the first multi-faith conference in Indonesia and was publicly condemned by the Supreme Islamic Council for promoting “religious pluralism”. The President of his university, who holds a PhD in History from Columbia University, publicly challenged the ruling of the Supreme Islamic Council saying that its members did not understand the purpose or goal of multi-faith dialogue. It was humbling to meet academics and activists who are taking prophetic stands when surrounded by dogmatists. Harun also pointed out that the Prophet Muhammad, in writing the compact of Medina, demonstrated a democratic spirit in sharp contrast to the authoritarian tendencies found in many Islamic majority countries today.
Jeremy Jones, an Australian who is President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, spoke of a multi-faith dialogue group he co-founded in Sydney. For the first year, the group met to work on a common project of restorative justice with Aboriginal peoples in Australia. During this year friendships were strengthened, trust was built, and a strong sense of community was created. Community is built on just relationships and the establishment of just relationships is a slow process. The process is often conflictual and stressful. To succeed there must be a commitment to a non-violent process and to an understanding that community, since it is by definition relational, is in a perpetual state of “becoming”. After a year of relation-building, Jones stated that the multi-faith group began to hold discussions on “tough” issues such as “just war”, “Holy war”, “martyrdom”, and “religious truth” found in all religions. One issue may take up to a year of dialogue, often “conflictual” to reach a point where members felt they understand “the other”, and that they have been understood by others. It requires that each religion honestly reflect on and discuss its dark side. Dialogue requires that one speak to be understood and listen to understand. It is not about lecturing at, speaking to, or arguing. It is not about winning and it is definitely not about conversion.
Danielle Celermajer, a Jewish Australian, spoke of two contrasting paradigms for how Jews as individuals and Israel as a nation can relate to “the other”. The current paradigm Israel uses, Dr. Celermajer stated, can be found in the Biblical relationship between Sarah and Hagar. If Israel is to live in peace with Palestinians and Arab Muslims, she proposed that the current paradigm shift to that of the story of Naomi and Ruth.
Catholic Archbishop Fernando Capalla of the Philippines works to promote Christian-Muslim dialogue in the province of Mindanao, where religious violence has been a fact of life for decades. Catholic schools in Mindanao begin interfaith education at age four. Teachers are trained/educated in interfaith dialogue. The curriculum integrates Christian and Muslim culture, faith, non-violent themes, environmental stewardship, humility, harmony, respect, and personal responsibility.
Thailand’s most well known Buddhist monk, Sulak Sivaraksa, founded the International Network of Engaged Buddhism and spoke of the environment as a way to have different faiths join together in community to work for the global common good. Sulak stated that there are two world views: earth as commodity and earth as community. Global market fundamentalism is the belief that “I consume, therefore I am”. This belief runs counter to the core values of every major religion. The fourteen precepts of engaged Buddhism were written by the Vietnamese monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, a close friend of American Trappist monk, Thomas Merton. There is a great similarity between the fourteen precepts and the ten principles of Catholic Social Teaching (often referred to as the best kept secret of Catholicism).
If one takes the Christian principles in Catholic Social Teaching, engaged Buddhism’s fourteen precepts, the paradigm of Naomi and Ruth, the Compact of Medina, and Hindu Vedic law, there is the foundation for a more nonviolent and just local, national, and global community.
It is imperative that those of us who are citizens of the United States encourage multi-faith dialogue in our churches, temples, mosques, synagogues, meditation centers, schools, and universities. As the United States becomes more religiously diverse, multi-faith dialogue will disarm the fear of the other rooted in ignorance. If this “ignorance” is not countered through education and shared values, Christian fundamentalists will continue to push Congress and the Courts to legally and constitutionally make the U.S. a Christian nation. As Sulak Sivaraksa said, “mono cropped cultures produce mono cropped souls”. Such souls produce fear and violence. Multi-faith dialogue is not easy. The end product, however, will be a more nonviolent and just global community.
Larry Hufford is a professor of International Relations at St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, Texas.
