RELIGIOUS extremism and violence in some parts of the world have been causing deaths and displacements of thousands of people, destroying properties and stunting the respective countries’ economy. In the Philippines different religious beliefs are also breeding violence to a certain extent.
To discuss the current concerns of Islam and Christianity on religious extremisms and violence, an interreligious dialogue between Muslims and Christians was held on Wednesday at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila. The conference was titled “The Approach of Islam and Christianity Toward Religious Extremism and Violence.”
“We must admit in all honesty that their [Muslims and Christians] grief and actions are rooted in their misjudgments of the principles of their religions,” Prof. Rasoul Rasoulipour, high consultant of Center for Interreligious Dialogue and Civilization, dean at the Department of Letters and Human Sciences in Kharazmi University, and head of Department of Theology at Shahid Motahari University, Tehran, Iran, said at the conference.
Rasoulipour said the problem the world is facing is a clash of misconceptions, instead of a clash of civilizations.
Interreligious dialogue plays a very serious role. To have a constructive discourse, we need to take into consideration a dialogue between Christianity and Islam, he said.
Prof. Bagher Talebi of the University of the Religions of Qom, Iran, agrees. “Interreligious dialogue promotes peace among human beings. There would be no peace between religions without this kind of dialogue,” Talebi said at the conference.
One major cause of extremism and violence is terrorism, a complex phenomenon that requires united effort by every one who believes in peace and goodwill, Rasoulipour said.
“The primary principle of each religion is human dignity. In other words, prior to considering the concept of religion we have to acknowledge that, we are all humans and that humanity is the body of nature. Respect it…dignity is inherent in humanity,” Rasoulipour said.
To address the root of these misconceptions in the Philippines, the Christian and Islamic groups in the country are planning to organize symposia and publish relevant materials that promote mutual understanding and respect between Islam and Christianity, and to advocate the inclusion of world religions and interreligious dialogue as a subject or course in the curriculum of secondary and tertiary education and seminaries.
They are also committed to dialogue with the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines and the Department of Education Technical Panel on Textbook to form a commission tasked to review, evaluate and ascertain the cultural, historical and religious sensitivity of instructional materials used in all educational levels in the country.
“We, as believers, are asked to worship God. One of the best types of worshiping God is through dialogue. And we, brothers and sisters, must keep our faith with God. People are responsible to participate in this type of event [dialogue] and [make it an] occasion to see each other, meet each other, talk with each other and exchange our experiences and feelings, and to share our joys and sorrows,” Rasoulipour said.
As a citizen of this country, everybody’s participation in this interfaith dialogue is important to fully understand and enlighten our assumptions and to have a unity of faith, he said.
“Unfortunately, the pure and beauty, faith and peace of religion are misused and abused by some acts of believers by [waging] war. Unfortunately, it has been the impression nowadays among the believers and nonbelievers that religion in society is not making peace, but making war,” Rasoulipour said. The believer, he said, “need to participate and be involved in this type of gathering, to inform our brothers and sisters that the true message and mission of all religion is peace, to talk with the nonbelievers and to inform them the message—peace.”
Acceptance of diversity is the foundation of dialogue and is essential that all discourses demand serious attention, he added.
The dialogue was a collaboration among the Iranian Embassy in Manila, Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines, UST, Episcopal Commission on Interreligious Dialogue and Center for Interreligious Dialogue to promote peace among religions like Islam and Christianity. I t was attended by representatives from various schools, colleges and universities, faculty members, individuals and religious leaders.