ECHOES FROM “RELIGIONS FOR PEACE”

ECHOES FROM “RELIGIONS FOR PEACE”

Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua

Religions for Peace had the 9^th World Assembly in Vienna, Austria on November 20-22, 2013. This world’s largest multi-religious organization brought together religious leaders from the Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Indigenous, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Shinto, Taoist and Zoroastrian religions. More than six hundred religious leaders represented all historic faith traditions and every region of the world in the 2013 Assembly in Vienna. I was privileged to be a delegate from Nigeria in this World Assembly along with His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, His Eminence, Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, Sr. Maria Ifechukwu Udorah (DDL), Sr. Agatha Chikelo (DMMM), Elder Sunday Oibe, Muhammad Kassim and Femi Abbas. I am sincerely grateful to His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan and His Eminence, Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III for making it possible for the Nigerian Christian and Muslim communities to be represented in this Assembly. 

The theme of the Assembly was “Welcoming the Other – A Multi-Religious Vision of Peace.” This dialogue was led by many presenters and discussed by the Religious for Peace network of ninety national inter-religious councils and groups, five regional councils, one world council and global networks of religious women and religious youths. Previous World Assemblies of Religions for peace had discerned positive elements of peace, common threats to peace, and a multi-religious consensus expressed through shared values for peace. 

The message from His Holiness, Pope Francis called for multi-religious cooperation, stating that we cannot remain indifferent to the violence in the world. Welcoming the other therefore challenges us to be responsible to one another by putting an end to mutual suspicion. We should magnify the commonalities within us. The Hindu tradition reminded the Assembly that the essence of religion is to see God in all creation in such a way that we should begin with ourselves to communicate the love of God within us. The Muslim tradition reminded the Assembly that compassion is the best way to achieve anything.  Peace is positive and not just the absence of war. Hate speeches should therefore give way to love speeches. The Assembly reaffirmed the positive elements of peace shared by our religious traditions that should motivate us to work together and build peace. Love, compassion and honesty are stronger than hate, indifference and deceit. All men and women are endowed with human dignity and shared common humanity. Therefore, we are called to care for one another and treat the problems faced by others as our own. We need to stand on the side of the most vulnerable and uplift them in other to build a just and harmonious society.

Women and men should be valued as equal partners in our efforts to build peace. It was reemphasized that children should not be neglected because bringing them up properly is a guarantee of a healthy society for the future generation. The Assembly affirmed that non-violent conflict transformation through dialogue and reconciliation are central to peace making. The use of nuclear weapons and all weapons of mass and indiscriminate destruction were condemned as immoral. Rather, advancing human development and protecting the earth should be part of the struggle for peace. The Assembly called for a collective confrontation of the common threats to peace. These threats include failures of religious practices and the misuse of religion in support of all manner of violence. Violent extremism was condemned along with widespread violations of basic rights, violence against women, abuse of children, and lack of support for families. The existence of extreme poverty, preventable diseases left untreated, and environmental degradation was highly condemned. We should therefore provide a voice when others refuse to speak. We should know what to do and how to do it. Tragedy was described as what we cannot do anything about. The religious traditions were therefore called upon to do what no one else can do for the children. The six million children displaced in Syria is a tragedy to the world. If a mother can give her life to save the child in the Buddhist tradition, then we can do all that is humanly possible to save the child (children).

The 9^th World Assembly of Religions for Peace called attention to rising hostility toward the “other” as a new threat to peace. This is more regrettable in the case of intra-religious and inter-religious conflicts. It was observed that this often takes the form of intolerance and violence. Victims of hostility were identified as vulnerable populations, members of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. Refugees and displaced persons along with migrant workers and immigrants were also identified as victims of hostilities. The agents of hostilities were found to be sometimes the governments, individuals, organizations and social groups. Some governments are placing restrictions on religious beliefs and practices. Sectarian and communal violence is dividing societies, fueling violent conflict and destroying innocent lives. In many countries, people are persecuted because of their faith. Religious communities, leaders and people of faith were therefore called to confront hostility toward the “other” as both an urgent threat to peace and a key to tackling other critical threats to peace.

The Assembly identified “Welcoming the other” as a multi-religious Vision of Peace. “Welcoming the other” means respect and acceptance of one another. This goes beyond mere tolerance to respect of a person’s dignity. These include striving for justice, accepting self-sacrifice for the well being of others, bearing innocent suffering, returning good for evil, seeking and extending forgiveness and expressing unrestricted compassion and love.  Religious leaders and people of faith were enjoined to work to eliminate all forms of intolerance and discrimination by states, non-state actors, civil society, religious groups, religious leaders and individuals. Governments, international organizations and civil society were enjoined to promote governance that is just and impartial. They should promote governance that protects universal human rights.  The Assembly declared that any war in the name of religion is a war against religion. We therefore need a collective vision to stop mafias from using religion to gain power. Religion and peace should go together. While politics changes structures, religion changes hearts. It is time to overcome the burdens of the jihads and crusades and save the world by becoming light bearers. The Assembly enjoined all to pray for the immediate and unconditional release of Mor Gregorious Yohanna Ibrahim and Boulos Yazigi who are abducted in Syria. They were supposed to be participants in the World Assemble of Religions for peace in Vienna.

The Assembly regrets that the way and manner of obtaining visas to some countries does not reflect human hospitality. Even with a valid visa, some travelers who have spend long hours in the air hardly receive a polite word of welcome from some immigration agents. Very often, some immigration officers welcome visitors to their countries with the questions: Why are you going to such and such a place? How long are you going to stay there? How much money do you have with you? While it is important to protect one’s territory, it contradict the virtue of “Welcoming the other” to see people traveling to your country as suspects who are running away from their countries. We should not forget that Abraham saw visitors first as angels and people with a dignity (Genesis 20). The true children of Abraham are those who are hospitable. It is hoped that these echoes from “Religions for Peace” will change the hearts of many people and structures in a way that the entire world would become a home where no one will be dehumanized but received as a welcomed guest with a dignity that is the right of every human person in every part of the world.

Fr. Prof. Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua is the Director of Mission and Dialogue of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Abuja and Consultor of the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims (C.R.R.M), Vatican City