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Christian and Islamic Resources for Peace: A Search for a Common Ground

Victor Aguilan, Th.D.

Silliman University Divinity School
Dumaguete, Philippines

We live in a pluralist or diverse world. However, we also live in a conflict-ridden

world. Sad to say that some of these conflicts have been abetted if not aggravated by
religions, flaring up in open armed conflicts and bloody repression as in Indonesia
between Muslims and Christians; the armed conflict in Southern Thailand between its
military and Muslim militants, the communal violence between Hindus and Muslims in
India; and between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslim in Myanmar. In the Philippine, the
Abu Sayyaf and other extremist groups that engage in an open armed struggle with the
government.

According to peace educator Marc Gopin and religious historian Scott Appleby,
religion plays an ambivalent, contradictory role in society.1 Religion on its own terms can
underwrite both conflict and peace.2 The challenge now is how to build a sense of
community that goes beyond the traditional boundaries of the clan, tribe, status, class,
region, and religion. A community with which each member and group can identify
themselves, in which different groups feel responsible for resolving disputes and solving
problems through joint action and dialogue and whose destiny, therefore, each can regard
as its own. Today we are a challenge to live and co-exist together in peace, harmony, and
prosperity.

Religion and Violence

According to Hans Kung, there is no peace among peoples of this world without
peace among world religions and no peace among religions without dialogue between

1 M. Gopin, Between Eden and Armageddon: The Future of World Religions, Violence,
and Peacemaking (Oxford University Press, 2002). And R. Scott. Appleby, The
Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion, Violence, and Reconciliation (Lanham, Md:
Rowman & Littlefield, 2000., 2000).
2 Heather Dubois, Religion and Peacebuilding an Ambivalent yet Vital Relationship,
Journal for Conflict and Peace 1, no. 2 (2008). http://www.rel-
med.net/pdf/religion_peacebuilding_ambivalent_hdubois_ENG.pdf accessed March 7,
2017
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religions.3 This reality necessitates the need for focusing theological education in the field
of interfaith relations and dialogue.

Religious diversity is no longer an academic concept found only in books. It is a

reality that we encounter every day. People of other religions are our neighbors, our
colleagues, our competitors, our foes, and our friends. Religious pluralism is a flesh-and-
blood reality. The challenge of religious pluralism today comes from the living and
believing people of other faith traditions. We are challenged by people who are different
from us and are demanding recognition.

Conflict is found in almost every realm of human interaction. But people manage
to settle, even resolve their conflict without violence and to the mutual satisfaction of the
parties involved. But there are conflicts that turn deadly and violent. Some of these
conflicts have been inspired by religion. Stanley Samartha apply describes how religions
aggravate conflicts.

Established religions have often divided people and nations and given rise to
tensions and conflicts. They have held up scientific progress, resisted social
change, supported the rich and powerful against the poor and weak, and have
often added religious fuel to military conflagrations, making reconciliation more
difficult. Of all the wounds human beings inflict on one another, religious wounds
are the most difficult to heal.4

Most people, however, consider religion to be the antithesis of violence and, in

many places and times, religion has been a force for peace and social justice. But because
history and current events show that religion is frequently involved in communal violence
raises intriguing questions about faith, religious organizations, and religious leaders are
raised. Why is it that religious communities that teach about peace and solidarity are
engaged in so many wars and violent conflicts all over the globe? Indeed, religious
violence is among the most pressing and dangerous issues facing the world community.

Religion plays a determining role in many of the violent and deadly conflicts
found around the world, which is not really that surprising considering the fact that
religion and culture are so closely interwoven. Conflicts between ethnic groups often
have a religious dimension. In situations of this kind, religion seems to be Janus-faced. In
times of prosperity religious leaders speak of harmony and compassion, and the believers
accept each other across denominational and religious boundaries. As soon as tension
rises, however, religion presents another face: people dedicate themselves to a sacred

3 Hans Kung, et al, Christianity and the World Religions: Paths to Dialogue With Islam,
Hinduism, and Buddhism (Doubleday 1986), 440-443
4 Stanley J Samartha,. One Christ Many Religions: Toward a Revised Christology.
(Maryhill: Orbis Books. 1991) p. 37
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cause and offer their lives in the defense of interests sanctioned by faith and stamped with
a religious seal of legitimacy. Sacred writings often teach love and compassion, but in
times of war religious adherents are very adept at finding other scriptural passages that
justify violent confrontation within their own religion.

It could not be denied that religious diversity could cause conflict. Since religion
deals with the ultimate and what is absolute, diversity of religious traditions generates
competition. A careful analysis of the fundamental texts of Judaism, Christianity, and
Islam, explains how four resources have figured repeatedly in creating religious violence:
competing sacred space (churches, temples, holy cities, promised land); the creation of
holy scriptures (exclusive revelations, orthodoxy vs. heresy, infidel); group privilege
(chosen people, the predestined select people vs. rejected, reprobate people); and
salvation (saints vs. damned). Thus, competing religious absolutes lead to religious
conflict.5

Religion is also a deep source of group identity. It is often used as a rallying point
when a particular group feels economically, socially, or politically oppressed by another
group. Invoking the "good" God on ones side, the other is identified with the evil one.
Destructive violence in the name of God then becomes possible. The war becomes a
"holy war"jihad or crusade. When religion becomes a source of identity in this way it
becomes easy for the leaders to make people believe that a group that shares a particular
religion also shares the same economic and political interests. This phenomenon is called
communalism in South Asia. Economic and political struggles also become religious
issues.6

Because of the involvement of religious groups in war, genocide and mass hatred,
social activist often call for the abolition of all religions. The existence of social injustice,
oppression and evil as a consequence of religious belief forms one of the primary
arguments in the case made against religion by its critics.7

However, some have argued that it is not religion per se that gives rise to
conflict but rather followers with powerful vested interests, who manipulate the
emotional appeal for their own purposes. They are the perpetrators of deadly conflicts. In

5 Mark Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious
Violence. (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2000); and R. Scott
Appleby, The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion, Violence, and Reconciliation.
(Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2000).
6 Ashgar Ali Engineer, et al., Sowing Hate and Reaping Violence: The Case of Gujarat
Communal Carnage. (Mumbai. Center for the Study of Society and Secularism. 2002);
and Ashgar Ali Engineer, Communalism in India (New Delhi: Vikas. 1995)
7 Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Tse-tung and Sigmund Freud are known critics of
religion.
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many countries and areas of the present world, the conflict between religious groups is
more political than religious, though religious symbols are used to legitimize it.8 In the
book of Scott Appleby, The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion, Violence, and Reconciliation,
he repeatedly showed evidence that religion is susceptible to use, or rather misuse, by
ambitious and powerful persons to attain selfish ends, that religious militancy is usually
closely linked to the project of an individual or group seeking to gain advantage from or
power over others.9 If people are poorly educated in basic theological knowledge of their
religion, they can easily be manipulated into militarist fervor by ideologically driven
charismatic religious political leaders who evoke potent religious symbolism toward
political goals.

Religion though is not always the primary cause of conflict. Some of the most
salient past and present causes of conflict are those that fall into the broad category of
violations of civil, political, economic, social and cultural human rights: slavery and
colonialism; apartheid, racism, segregation and casteism; exploitation and oppression of
minorities, women, children, the poor and the vulnerable; the production and trade of
arms and weapons of mass destruction, the harmful role of the entertainment industry,
drug trafficking, and so on. The underlying causes of human conflict are of a chiefly non-
religious nature.

Religion and Peace

Peace researchers can no longer ignore the role of peace activists who are
motivated by their religious traditions.10 According to Abdul Aziz Said and Nathan C.
Funk,

Religion, after all, is a powerful constituent of cultural norms and values, and
because it addresses the most profound existential issues of human life (e.g.,
freedom and inevitability, fear and faith, security and insecurity, right and wrong,
sacred and profane), religion is deeply implicated in individual and social
conceptions of peace.11

Religion has and will continue to play a vital role in the process of peace building.
8 Engineer (2002) ibid.
9 R. Scott Appleby, The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion, Violence, and
Reconciliation. (Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2000).
10 Appleby, R. S. (2000) The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion, Violence and
Reconciliation (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield). Appleby, Building sustainable
peace: the roles of local and transnational religious actors, in New Religious Pluralism
in World Politics, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, March.
11 Abdul Aziz Said and Nathan C. Funk, The Role of Faith in Cross-Cultural Conflict
Resolution (presented at the European Parliament for the European Centre for Common
Ground, September 2001), 1.
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More so, religious traditions have rich resources that can be tap to build a culture
of peace and co-existence. Islam and Christianity uniquely possess and offer a rich
abundance of guidance and insight into peace building. This section would highlight at
least three resources in the Christian and Islamic traditions, namely the sacred texts, the
religious leaders, and the practice of reconciliation, which can be used for peacebuilding.

Bible as a resource for Peacemaking.

Does the Bible promote peace, or does it promote violence? For many scholars,
such as William Klassen, Willard Swartley and Rene Girard, the Bible, at its core,
promotes peace. 12 The biblical term peace (Hb. shalom, Gk. eirene) and its cognates
appears 550 times in the Bible. However there are scholars who see that , biblical texts
have been used to justify violence. Killing entire races of people, slaughtering men,
women and children and showing no mercy are violent narratives you find in the Bible.
Philip Jenkins, author of Laying Down the Sword, has observed that the Bible contains
brutal and violent texts but somehow forgotten or avoided. 13

But there are biblical stories that narrate about peaceful co-existence and non-
retaliation that could be used to highlight a non-violent reading of the texts, for example,
the story of Isaac and Abimelech.

Isaac is the second of the Hebrew patriarchs. He is not as famous as his father
Abraham. I think Isaac is known in Bible as the child of promise born to Abraham and
Sarah and was apparently willing to be offered as a sacrifice if God so willed. A conflict
irrupted between Isaac and the Philistine regarding access to water-wells. Water rights are
crucial in lands with little rainfall. Thus, people prized and guarded their sources of water.
However, in this conflict, Isaac avoids conflict, and chooses to move instead (vss. 19-22).
This is a distinct feature of the narrative compared to the conquest narratives found in
Exodus and Joshua. Isaac could have opted to fight it out against the Philistines. He had
the resources and the means. But he went out of his way to avoid conflicts that would be
costly to both sides. Hence, non-retaliation is a viable option for Israel.

12 The most explicit work by Klassen that promotes this view is his Love of Enemies:
The Way to Peace, Overtures to Biblical Theology 15 (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984). Also
see the collection of essays in Marlin E. Miller and Barbara Nelson Gingerich (eds.)s
The Church's Peace Witness (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994). Swartley, Willard (2006).
Covenant of Peace: The Missing Peace in New Testament Theology and Ethics. Grand
Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. In Rene Girards works (notably, Violence and the Sacred, trans.
by Patrick Gregory [Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 1977]) we find an
emphasis upon religious violence, with a peace-oriented focal point or goal.
13 Philip Jenkins, Laying Down the Sword:
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And Yahweh approves Isaac non-retaliation. God renews the covenant with Isaac.
I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless
you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant
Abraham (vs. 24) Isaac non-violent approach bears positive fruits. In verses 28-29
Abimelech had changed his attitude toward Isaac because he saw that the Lord was with
Isaac. Abimelech and his men saw the benefits of peaceful-coexistence. A peace covenant
agreement between themselves and Isaac was proposed. This non-aggression treaty or
covenant was intended to ensure that the two parties no longer would attack or molest
each other. Isaac and Abimelech sealed their agreement with a feast that Isaac prepared.
The making of this treaty was a cause for celebration. The next morning the men swore
an oath to further solidify their new relationship. Then Abimelech and his men left in
peace. (vv. 30-31). The writers (J/P) want to affirm that the hope for Israel appears to rest
in the possibility of treaties of friendship with one-time enemies (Gen. 26:26-33).14

There are many other stories with similar theme. We only have to search for them
and draw out lessons from these stories. The Sermon on the Mounts and other teachings
of Jesus. John Howard Yoder, Stassen and have written books and articles emphasizing
that the core theme of Jesus message is building the Kingdom of Peace and Justice
through peaceful means.

Quran as Resource for Peace

The Muslim sacred scripture the Quran is considered by Muslim peace

advocates as the primary resource for peacemaking. Like the bible there are violent
passages in the Quran, at least 109 verses that call Muslims to war with nonbelievers for
the sake of Islamic rule. And yet the primary emphasis of the Quran is peace.15
"Peace is a word spoken by a Merciful God!" (Quran 36:58). According to Cafer
Yaran, a philosopher of religion, Islam teaches peace and harmony and requires all
Muslims to seek peace through submission to the will of God.16 Islam preaches a
universal message of peace for the entire humanity. The Quran invites believers to peace
by submission to God, a way of life for Muslims and peace towards others.17

14
15 http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/violence.aspx
16 Yaran, Understanding Islam, vii-1.
17 Hissan, What Deos it Meam to be a Muslim Today.
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Humans are created by God in a state of harmony and peace, and therefore peace
shall be the eschatological destiny of all (Quran 10: 25).18

Islamic scholar Asghar Ali Engineer affirms that Islam is a religion of peace.
19
The word Islam is derived from the word silm, which means reconciliation, peace,
submission, and deliverance. One of the names of Allah is Salaam (peace) and Muslims
are servants of Allah, he says that in effect they are servants of peace.20 Engineer asserts
that Islam is at its roots a religion of peace since it repeatedly uses the terms adl (justice),
rahmah (compassion), and ihsan (benevolence).21

The Quran is the word of God in Islam and a guide for Muslims. It contain
themes such as love (Quran 28:56), mercy (3:157-158), goodness (23.96; 4:86),
compassion, justice (4:58; 135; 16:90), peace (2:208; 10:10; 8:61; 56:25-26), respect,
forgiveness (4:64; 106), equality (49:13), reconciliation (49:10) and trust (3:75).

A Quranic verse says, God invites people to the abode of peace (10:25).
Another verse goes, And the servants of (Allah) most Gracious are those who walk on
the Earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, Peace! (25:63). In
Islam, the central greeting among Muslims is Salaam ale-hum: Peace be upon you,
which is derived from the Quran: And their greeting shall be Peace (10:10).

There are several such references in the Quran, which Allah (God) is al-Wadud
the most loving, the most affectionatesuch as He is the All-forgiving, all-loving (85:
14) and Surely my Lord is all-merciful, all-love (11:90).

Nevertheless, some scholars, religious leaders, critics and analysts have quoted
Quranic sources saying that Islam is committed to Jihad, war and violence and thus the
claim that Islam is a religion of peace is untrue. These authors maintain that the
violence-proneness of Muslims stems from the very nature of Islam: the obligation of
jihad. Jihad is an Arabic word which means struggle or holy war. 22

18Hissan, What Does it Mean to be a Muslim Today.

19 Asghar Ali Engineer, On Developing Theology of Peace in Islam, (New Delhi:
Sterling)
20 Asghar Ali Engineer, On Developing Theology of Peace in Islam, (New Delhi:
Sterling)
21 Asghar Ali Engineer, On Developing Theology of Peace in Islam, (New Delhi:
Sterling)
22 Laquer 2003; Pipes 2003; Toft 2007). M. Brett and J. Havea, Colonial Contexts and
Postcolonial Theologies: Storyweaving in the Asia-Pacific (Palgrave Macmillan US,
2014).
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Regarding the concept of Jihad, we acknowledge there are some Muslims that
viewed Jihad as Islams war against the non-Muslim. Majid Khadduri in his War and
Peace in the Law of Islam explained the notion of Jihad. The term of jihad is derived
from the verb jahada which means exerted; its juridcal theological meaning is exertion
of ones power in Allahs path that is the spread of the belief in Allah and in making His
word supreme over this world.23 According to him, jihad in the broad sense of exertion
does not necessarily mean war or fighting, since exertion in Allahs path may be achieved
by peaceful as well as violent means.24 The jihad as such was not a casual phenomenon of
violence: it was rather a product of complex factor while Islam worked out its jural-
doctrinal character.25 In other words, jihad is act how to follow the Gods path rather than
to kill the other. In deeper spiritual understanding, Imam Khomeini said that the greates
jihat is combat with the self with respect to the refinement of virtue, the acquisition of
religious manner, divine learning and purification of the soul.26 Based on the explanation
above, jihad is actually a strategy to realize Gods will strongly but do it with noviolence.
The greates way to do is combating with the self rather than combat other religions.
According to Ali Engineer, the Quran permits war but only to defend and protect the
rights of the oppressed and exploited. 27 This is similar to the Christian concept of just
war.
Examples of Quranic verses related to war:

Permission to fight is given to those who are fought against because they have
been wronged truly God has the power to come to their support those who
were expelled from their homes without any right, merely for saying, Our Lord
is God (Quran, 22:39-40)

Another verse in the Quran says:

And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression and there prevail
justice and faith in Allah; but if they cease let there be no hostility except to those
who practice oppression (2: 193)

But the goal of war is peace. From the Quran it says:

23 Majid Khadduri, War and Peace in the Law of Islam (Baltimore: the John Hopkins
Press, 1955), 55.
24 Ibid., 56.
25 Ibid., 63.
26 Imam Khomeini, The Greatest Jihad Combat with the Self, 2nd ed. (Tehran Iran: The
Institute for Compilation and Publication of Imam Khomenins Works, 2005), 1.
27 564 Asghar Ali Engineer, On Developing Theology of Peace in Islam, (New Delhi:
Sterling)
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But if the enemy inclines towards peace you also incline towards peace and trust
in Allah: for He is the one that hears and knowsall things (8: 61)

Quranic sources that condemn violence and war should be emphasised. Those verses
that encourage tolerance and kindness toward all people without exception should be
highlighted.575

Repentance, Forgiveness and Reconciliation in the Christian Tradition

Another resource we have in the Christian tradition is the practice of repentance,

forgiveness and reconciliation. Many conflicts in this world, in our country and in our
homes can be reduced when we acknowledge responsibility for conflict and injustice and
seek repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation.28

Repentance in Christian tradition is commonly known as penance. It means We have to

acknowledge the fact that we are responsible for the many conflicts by omissions or
commissions. The practice of repentance should include criticism of prejudices and
biases against people of other religions, such as, Muslims are traitors, violent people, etc.
Today we associate the term terrorist with Muslim people. A terrorist is a Muslim or a
Muslim is a terrorist. We have succumbed to this propaganda.

Do we hear Christian terrorist in our media? No, we dont? I believe when we Christians
do no thing to correct this false perception we are partly responsible for the escalating
conflict. We are contributing to the building of walls and exclusivism. When we keep
quiet when government soldiers violate the rights of our Muslim brothers and sisters, we
are accountable for we are our brothers and sisters keepers.

But we have in our tradition to help us rise from this failures and mistakes. The Christian
practice of repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation can be a means where we can
express sincere apology, recognize the errors and restore relationship. Christians proclaim
that we have received mercy and forgiveness from God and we are a community of
reconciled people to God then this act of being sorry for the crusade becomes an act of
breaking the walls that divide Christians and Muslims. St. Paul wrote to the church in
Ephesian: "For he is our peace and has broken down the dividing wall of enmity... so
making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby
bring enmity to an end."

28 Stassen, Just Peace Making.

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Jesus highlighted the importance of reconciliation. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said:
23 Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your
brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar.
First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

Acknowledging responsibility for violence and injustice and seeking repentance and
forgiveness is a major step to start the process of dialogue, understanding, and
reconciliation.
Forgiveness and Reconciliation in Islam

Islam is forgiveness and reconciliation. Of the ninety-nine names of God in the Quran,
several specifically evoke forgiveness: Al-Ghafoor, the oft-forgiving; Al-Afu, the
pardoning; Al-Haleem, the lenient; Al-Tawwab, the acceptor of repentance; and Al-
Rahman and Al-Raheem, which are mentioned the most frequently and mean the most
gracious and merciful.29 Islam consistently holds forgiveness, or al-Afu, as the preferred
requital to an injustice or crime. While the Quran permits certain retribution and self-
defense, forgiveness is the spiritually superior option.30

AFW (FORGIVENESS):

It is stated in the Quran, And who shun the more heinous sins and abominations; and who,
whenever they are moved to anger, readily forgive."(42:37). Forgiveness is expressed in the
Quran as Afw, Ghafara and Maghfira. 'Afw means to pardon, waiver of punishment and
amnesty. Ghafara or maghfira means to cover, to forgive and to remit. 31* The Quran does
not limit forgiveness only to large conflicts, rather it also mentions forgiveness and kindness
as a manner of interaction among individuals 32 and communities for the cultivation of
peace and harmonious relations within the society.
The life of the Prophet (pbuh) also mirrors a firm commitment to acts of forgiveness and
mercy, in spite of all the viciousness carried out by opponents. It was reported that the
Muhammad said: "you shall keep relationship with one who cut it off from you, you shall give
one who disappointed you, and you shall pardon on who oppressed you. 33. In other words,
forgiveness is key virtue in Islam. Muslims are to be merciful and forgiving.

29 Jafari, Islam and Peacemaking, 8.

30 Jafari, Islam and Peacemaking, 4.
31 As defined by Dr. Amir Ali, in Forgiveness in Islam, from
http://www.hawaiiforgivenessproject.org/library/Forgiveness-in-Islam.pdf accessed
January 10, 2017
32 Abu-Nimer, Mohammed, in Nonviolence and Peace-Building in Islam Theory and
Practice. p 67
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SULHA (CONCILIATION)
Islamic teachings also provide practice of reconciliation to accommodate forgiveness and
restore harmony between individuals and communities. Sulha is a form of mediation or
arbitration with roots in the pre-Islamic tribal security system. 34 The Sharia (Islamic law)
also recognizes sulha because its purpose is to end conflict and hostility among the
Muslims so that they may conduct their relationships in peace and amity. 35 Sulha built
around principle that reconciliation is possible if victim and offender approach each other
with 3 things. First is musamaha, or forgiveness. Second is musafaha, the shaking of
hands between opposing sides in a conflict. Third is mumalaha, which involves a shared
meal.36

According to both the Quran and Prophets (pbuh) tradition, Muslims are supposed to
settle their conflicts and disagreements with peace. As mentioned in the Quran In most
of their secret talks, save him who orders charity or kindness or conciliation between
mankind and he who does this seeking the good pleasure of Allah, we shall give him
great reward (4:14).

Muhammad also emphasized reconciliation.

If two parties among the believers fall into a quarrel, make ye peace between them: but
if one of them transgresses beyond bounds against the other, then fight ye (all) against
the one that transgresses till it complies with the command of Allah; but if it complies
then make peace between them with justice, and be fair: for Allah loves those who are
fair. Believers are but a single brotherhood: so make peace and reconciliation between
your two (contending) brothers, and fear Allah, that you may receive mercy. (49:9-10)

Religious Leaders as Agents of Peace

Another resource we should mention is the role of religious leaders in

peacemaking. There are individuals who continue the ministry of peace building against
all odds. In the midst of violence, religious people serve as agents of peace and

33 Hadith of Oqbah Ibn 'Amer quoted in Dr. Amir Ali, in Forgiveness in Islam, from
http://www.hawaiiforgivenessproject.org/library/Forgiveness-in-Islam.pdf accessed
January 10, 2017
34 Abu-Nimer 2003: 96-99 Abu-Nimer, Mohammed. 2003. Nonviolence and Peace
Building in Islam: Theory and Practice. Gainerville: University Press of Florida
35 M. Khadduri, Sulh, in The Encyclopedia of Islam, vol. 9, ed. C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P.
Heinrichs, and the late G. Lecomte (Holland: Brill. Leiden, 1997), 845-46.
36 Abu-Nimer (2003: 96)
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reconciliation. They tender the spiritual resources for the de-escalation of deadly conflict
and sectarian violence; they offer moral and material resources for easing or resolving
situations of contention and for promoting reconciliation, social cohesion and mutually
beneficial communal life. When war ends and the houses lie in ruins and the victims on
either side of the conflict are staggering around in a daze and confusion, religious
organizations and individuals are often among the first to bring aid and solace to the
former combatants and traumatized civilian population in the form of shelter, food,
concern, counseling and moral support. They contribute to reconstruction efforts and are
involved in endeavors to establish and sustain peace and to foster understanding for the
other.
St. Francis of Assisi: Inter-religious peacemaker37

Jesus Christ is known among his followers as the Prince of Peace. He has inspired
individuals, and congregations for peacebuilding. A historical figure who has shown a
non-violent approach to resolving conflict and advancing social justice during the
Christian Crusade was St. Francis of Assisi.

St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan Order, is known today among
Christians for his prayer:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow
love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is
despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy. O
Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console To
be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we
receive, It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, And it is in dying that we are
born to eternal life.

Advocating the cause of peace, Francis traveled to Spain, France, Switzerland, Dalmatia,
and most famously to Syria, the Holy Land, and Egypt during the Fifth Crusade. He
attempted to negotiate for peace between the Christians and Muslims. He met the Sultan
of Egypt and both developed deep respect for each other during days of intense dialogue
in the midst of war. The Sultan treated Francis as a guest rather than an enemy. And
Francis arrived home urging Christians live peacefully beside them.

Prophet Muhammad and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan

37 Bonaventure, Saint, Cardinal. The Life of St. Francis. San Francisco: HarperCollins
Publishers, 2005; Galli, Mark. Francis of Assisi and His World. Downers Grove, Illinois:
Inter Varsity Press, 2002; and House, Adrian. Francis of Assisi: A Revolutionary Life.
Mahway, New Jersey: Hidden Spring, 2000
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Prophet Muhammad has given examples that instruct Muslims to be tolerant,

kind and respectful of non- Muslims. in the year 10 A.H. (631/632 C.E.), the Prophet
received a delegation of sixty Christians from Najran. They ate, slept and were
permitted to pray in the Prophets mosque in Madinah. This exemplifies the respect the
Prophet had for these Christians right to practise their faith.38 Islamic tradition also
indicates that the Prophet received some pagans of Banu Thaqif from Taif in his
mosque in 9 A.H.39 In the Meccan period of the Prophet's life (610-622 C.E.) he lived a
life of nonviolent resistance, as is reflected in his teachings, focusing on values of
patience and steadfastness even in the face of oppression.40 Those looking to find a
modern Muslim pacifist one could certainly begin with Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, the
great nonviolent resistance leader who resisted without weapons against British rule in
Pakistan and Afghanistan.41

Bishops-Ulama Conference (BUF)

In the Philippines, Islamic and Christian religious leaders have contributed
significantly in peacebuilding through the Bishops-ULAMA Forum (BUF) later renamed
Bishops-Ulama Conference (BUC). Bishop Hilario Gomez of the United Church of
Christ of the Philippines (UCCP), a Protestant denomination, was a co-convenor along
with Bishop Fernando Capalla of the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines
(CBCP) and Dr. Mahid Matilan of Lanao del Sur.42 It was organized in November 1996 in
support of the peace talks between the GRP and the various Muslim rebel groups, namely
the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF). The Forum was composed of 20 Roman Catholic Bishops in Mindanao, 40
ulama and 35 Bishops and Conference Ministers of the member churches of the National
Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP). Official observers are the officers of the
Panagtagbo, a Confederation of 18 Indigenous Peoples of Mindanao, and bishops of the
Philippines Conference of Evangelical Churches (PCEC). The BUC focused on the
spiritual and cultural dimensions of peacemaking. Bishop Ledesma of the CBCP wrote:
From its inception, the B.U.F. has focused on the spiritual bases for peace
from both Muslim and Christian religious traditions, grounded in the belief in one
God, a common origin and a common destiny for all. Even as the government and
38 Islamic Education Trust, 78.
39 Islamic Education Trust, 78.
40 Abu-Nimer, The Miracle of Transformation, 230.
41 E. Easwaran, Nonviolent Soldier of Islam: Badshah Khan, a Man to Match His
Mountains (Nilgiri Press, 1999).
42 Hilario Gomez Jr "National Secretariat's Report May 25-29," in State of the Mission
of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, ed. Hilario Gomez Jr and Council of
Bishops (UCCP Ellinwood Malate, Manila: United Church of Christ in the Philippines,
1998), 9.a
 14

warring groups pursue a genuine, comprehensive and lasting peace through

political treaties and socio-economic development, the bishops and ulama focus
on the missing component in many failed peace effortsan affirmation of the
convergent spiritual and cultural bases for peace.43

The impact of BUF in the peace effort and reconciliation in Mindanao was significant
because the BUF offered a cultural and spiritual image of religious leaders of different
religions meeting and dialoguing. It has offered an example and a model of co-operation,
co-existence and inter-religious dialogue that ordinary Christians and Muslims could
follow.
Implication to Religious education

One of the aims of this paper is to provide directions for peace educators to tap
resources in their own religious traditions and other traditions for peace building.
Religious education can include themes, narratives and religious practices which promote
peace, respect for human persons, and reconciliation. A kind of religious peace education
to train religious adherents to sow the seeds of peace, justice and forgiveness in a pluralist
society marred by violence and fragmentation.

According to R. Scott Appleby, an informed laity that knows the scripture and is
at home with the sacred texts and traditional practices can be mobilized as an important
resource for deterring extremist groups from promoting violence and religious
confrontation.44 An informed laity can question the legitimacy of religious violence and
can object to religious confrontation on religious grounds. A pious and committed laity
cannot easily be ignored or viewed as outsiders. The influence of the congregation is in
its ability to hold dialogue with and challenge the extremists from within the theological
tradition itself.

CONCLUSION

Our religious differences may cause disagreement but should not lead to violence
and deadly conflict. Religious violence is among the most pressing and dangerous issues
facing the world community. Although religion may contribute to violent conflict, it is
not always the main cause of conflict. There are non-religious factors as well. The
challenge to religious believers is to help defuse the escalating deadly conflict and heal
the ruptures that destabilize the community and diminish our common humanity.

43 Antonio Ledesma, "Interreligious Dialogue for Peace", America National Catholic

Weekly, Vol. 187 No. 18 www.americamagazine.org (accessed Nov 16 2006).
44 R. Scott Appleby. The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion, Violence, and
Reconciliation. (Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2000). 284-288
 15

Religions can be an instrument in the promotion of peace and not violence. The peace
advocates who belong to religious traditions are challenged to ensure that their religious
traditions do not become a tool that legitimizes deadly conflict. The pathway of peace
requires religious adherents to know the irenic elements embedded in ones traditions.

In the Philippine context, two religious can play an important role in peace
building. The discussion above shows that the two Abrahamic traditions have resources
which can be used for peacebuilding. Peace, peacemaking are key themes in the Qu ran
and Holy Bible. There are practices of forgiveness or AFW, and reconciliation or sulha,
which can be used for resolving conflict. And religious actors who serve as model
peacemakers to mention some, Jesus, Muhammad, St. Francis of Assisi, Abdul Khan.
There are also groups that provide opportunities for inter-religious dialogue and
cooperation like the Bishops-Ulama Conference. Christianity and Islam have so much
resources for peacebuilding.
 16

Appleby, R. Scott. The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion, Violence, and

Reconciliation. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 2000., 2000.

Brett, M., and J. Havea. Colonial Contexts and Postcolonial Theologies: Storyweaving in
the Asia-Pacific: Palgrave Macmillan US, 2014.

Easwaran, E. Nonviolent Soldier of Islam: Badshah Khan, a Man to Match His

Mountains: Nilgiri Press, 1999.

Gomez Jr , Hilario. "National Secretariat's Report May 25-29." In State of the Mission of
the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, edited by Hilario Gomez Jr and
Council of Bishops. UCCP Ellinwood Malate, Manila: United Church of Christ in
the Philippines, 1998.

Gopin, M. Between Eden and Armageddon: The Future of World Religions, Violence, and
Peacemaking: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Ledesma, Antonio, "Interreligious Dialogue for Peace", America National Catholic

Weekly, Vol. 187 No. 18 www.americamagazine.org (accessed Nov 16 2006).