MEANS TO DEFEND MY RELIGION

MEANS TO DEFEND MY RELIGION

Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua

 

It was 1979! My father needed me to experience life outside the boarding house. I shared a room with Ibrahim. My life style influenced him tremendously without knowing that what I was doing would later be clear to me as witness of life. Now I know that I was practising dialogue of life and religious experience. It was a very hot afternoon when we returned from school very hungry. Climbing Jattu hill in Etsako West of Edo State, Nigeria was akin to climbing Mount Sinai. We dropped our books and hurried to the market to buy ingredients to cook. As we were buying vegetables, a young girl appeared and gave Ibrahim a very dirty slap. The girl had mistaken Ibrahim for someone else. I held him and ensuredthat he did not revenge. Ibrahim said, leave me to teach her a lesson. As I kept holding him, the girl gave him another slap!Ibrahim now was in a rage and shouted, “Afebu, it is your Bible, that says turn the other cheek”. I became scared but luckily, the girl was taken away by her friends.

 

The next day, there was a loud cry from a neighbouring house. What is happening? We enquired. We were told that the girl who slapped somebody in the market yesterday had died in her sleep. Ibrahim was frightened and wondered how he could be freed from the case since it is sometimes difficult to prove the dead guilty. The eye witnesses who took the girl away testified that Ibrahim did not avenge the rage of the girl. That saved my good friend. Ibrahim called me and said, “O boy, the bible is right. Turn the other cheek” (Matthew 5:39). 

 

Then I shared with him my experiences from my grandfather Ekhaisomi who was a Muslim. I told him how the approach of my grandfather to life and peaceful co-existence has endeared me to love Muslims as showed in our relationship. My grandfather lived and defended Islam as a religion of peace with acts of generosity and care for everyone that came his way. He would prefer to die than to lie or cheat anybody. He taught my mother never to fight or quarrel with my father. My mother told me that her father warned her never to pay evil with evil and to love those who do not wish her well. My mother never told me about those who wished me death and evil when I was growing up. According to Veronica, my mother, she needed me to grow gracefully without hatred in my heart. Till today, Ibrahim never stopped saying: “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: It is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord” (Romans 12:19).

 

Every religion preaches peace hence I wonder why human blood keeps flowing on the earth like ocean. Human beings are soaked in this blood while the dogs and baboons moved freely. Cows have suddenly assumed the value and the dignity above human beings. The value of human beings and that ofcow has become a national debate. OakTV and other media reported Aishatu Dukku (representing Dakku, Nafadaconstituency in Gombe) when she took the floor of the House in the debate: “The herdsman values the life of his cow more than his own life. That is how God created him”(www.tori.org). I am wondering if Aishatu was quoting the Holy Qur’an or the Holy Bible. Perhaps, God could have spoken to her directly akin to a prophetess. I wonder because the Holy Qur’an, Surat Al-Baqarah (7:11) reveals that thedignity of the human person is higher than that of the angels hence God commanded the angels to bow to Adam. In the same Qur’an, human life is so sacred such that if you kill one person, it is as if you have killed the whole of humanity (Qur’an 5:32). In the Holy Bible, Human beings are created in God’s image and likeness (Genesis 1:27). 

 

Which scriptures are the killer herdsmen using in their mission? Are they killing to defend God, their Religion, their ethnicity, their life or just for economic survival? Who owns the cows that they “love more than their own lives?” Who provides them the weapons? Why have they not been declared terrorists? Honestly, who are the herdsmen fighting for? If they are fighting for God, what kind of God could enjoy such killings? If they are fighting for their ethnic group, whatpicture of their tribe are they presenting? If they are fighting to promote their religion, what character of the founder of thatreligion are they promoting? If it is a political agenda, are they not spoiling the chances of their candidates in the election?

 

To defend my religion, I need to promote the values of what I believe and in whom I believe. I need to take as a role model Jesus Christ who is my Lord, Saviour, Redeemer and Master. Some people have asked if there is a Christian agenda or plan for Christians to Christianize Nigeria. I think the answer is in the affirmative. Jesus is the agenda and plan for every Christian. He came to reveal to humanity the true image of the invisible God who is the creator of heaven and earth. Jesus is the full revelation of the God of peace, love, mercy and compassion. In defending my religion, I consider all the passages and verses of the Old Testament of the Holy Bible that talk about war and violence as anachronistic in the modern world. I leave the context of the content of those war verses to die in the antediluvian world. 

 

Jesus the Prophet, King and Priest is the way and the life. His life of over two thousand years remains valid forever. His life and teachings are the valid means to defend any religion. He is the New Law and the New Testament for all generations. He is the credible mode of operation and law of operation. He came to transform the old and present the true God in a way and manner that challenges humanity to be perfect like God(Matthew 5:33-48). His manifesto is our manifesto: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me toproclaim the Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour” (Luke 4:18-19). He came to give us life in abundance (John 10:10).

 

Here is the Christian agenda for the whole world: “Go into the entire world and preach the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:15-16). Jesus did not command his followers to kill unbelieversin the name of God as if God is not strong enough to defend himself. In fact, whoever draws the sword would die by the sword (Matthew 26:52). To defend my religion, the weapons at my disposal are the corporal works of mercy that are found in the teachings of Jesus. The corporal works of mercy are, to bury the dead, visit the imprisoned, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked, visit the sick and refresh the thirsty. This is what Nigerians need in this era that Nigeria is almost synonymous to suffering. This gives us a model for how we should treat others as enshrined in the golden rule: “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Mark 12:31).  These virtues when properly practised can sincerely convert the world. These virtues could defend your religion as a religion of peace and that can lead true believers to salvation on the last day. 

 

The mission of every human being on earth is to love God andserve him. The vision is to be happy and live with God in heaven. The only sincere conversion is a change to good character. Conversion by coercion is not religion! A forced convert is forever a slave! True conversion happens with the Word of God and not with the sword of terrorist jihadists. The Word of God and good works transform a believer. I pray that all partners of dialogue may convert the world into earthly paradise. We can convert Nigeria without using governmentmachinery. You do not need AK47 and bombs to defendreligion. Let people embrace your religion by imitating your good life. By your fruits, you will make genuine converts. Direct people to worship God and not you the preacher!Convert the world to God and not to your private pockets and empire! In God’s house, there is a space for everyone (John 14:2). May we be saved after our life on earth!

 

Fr. Cornelius Omonokhua is the Director of Mission and Dialogue of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (omonokhuac@gmail.com)

 

DIALOGUE AT CROSS ROADS

DIALOGUE AT CROSS ROADS

Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua

I was appointed Benin Archdiocesan director of Inter-religious dialogue and the Co-ordinator for Inter-religious dialogue in 1991. When the Catholic diocese of Auchi was created in 2002, Bishop Gabriel Ghieakhomo Dunia requested that I continue the work of Inter-religious and Ecumenical dialogue. In 2007, I was called to the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria for the same mission of dialogue in the Department of Mission and Dialogue. In 2013, Pope Benedict XVI appointed me Consultor for the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims (CRRM) in the Vatican to represent Africa. In the process of my work the intention and mandate of the Catholic Church had been a very strong inspiration.

 

The document of the Second Vatican Council, “Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions (Nostra aetate) that was promulgated on 28 October 1965, by Pope Paul VI declares that the Church regards with esteem the Muslims. The Church Fathers urge all to forget the past and work for peaceful co-existence, social justice, moral welfare, peace and freedom of religion (Nostra aetate 3). We carried this message of peaceful co-existence to dioceses, provinces, seminaries and conferences.

 

It is good to note that the Muslims also have structures for inter-religious dialogue. Each time I visit the National Mosque in Abuja; I am warmly received and welcomed without scrutiny by the security. We have had workshops and conferences together with emphasis on dialogue of life, religious experience, social engagements, encounter, action and dialogue of theological exchange. Some Christian youths have had series of dialogue engagements with the Muslims youths. Some Christian women have had dialogue encounters with some Muslim women. These relationships are still in progress but the questions partners of dialogue are facing today are mainly about the sincerity and frankness of inter-religious dialogue especially the dialogue between Christians and Muslims.

Since the unfortunate advent of inter-religious conflicts and emergence of terrorism in the world and Nigeria in particular; some Muslims in condemnation of the terrorist activities have declared that a true Muslim cannot be a terrorist. On the contrary, the terrorists have affirmed that they are the real and authentic Muslims. Those of us who still believe in dialogue have been told categorically by some people that we are wasting our time. We could present some of their arguments here so that all partners of dialogue especially Christians and Muslims could seek for a greener light and effective compass to navigate out of these cross roads of dialogue with a clear focus on how dialogue can create a world conducive for human beings. We need to look critically at these arguments that have made many people strangers in their homes and displaced persons in their natural habitats.  

I would like to begin from a global argument that touches directly on the faith of the Church in dialogue. On January 10, 2018, John Zmirak reported in STREAM that “Muslim converts to Christ beg Pope Francis to stop deceiving Himself (https://stream.org). John Zmirak and Jason Jones begged Pope Francis to reconsider his statements on Muslim immigration in the wake of the murder of the French Priest Fr. Jacques Hamel. According to the appeal, Muslims slit that priest’s throat while he was saying Mass not in Egypt or Iraq but in France. Another argument is why converting from Islam to another religion carries death penalty in Muslim countries. They argue that Islam exists only as an enemy of all: “Between us and you there is enmity and hatred forever, until you believe in Allah alone!” (Qur’an 60.4) For the Qur’an, Christians “are only impurity” (Quran 9.28),” “the worst of Creation” (Qur’an 98.6), all condemned to Hell (Qur’an 4.48), so Allah must exterminate them (Quran 9.30).

They argue further that all the verses of the Quran that talked about peaceful co-existence have all been repealed by the verse of the Sword (Quran 9.5) because the revelations moved from Kumbaya to violent Jihad. They wrote that the Meccan verses of peace that Christians often refer to have been replaced with the Medina verses of Jihad and subjugation of non-Muslims. For those of us who have been engaged in dialogue, the principle has been that we emphasis what brings us together and what can enable us promote peaceful co-existence. We need to know that the content of the verses of scriptures have context. The verses that do not promote peace should be considered anachronistic in the modern age. The unfortunate thing is that the action of some religious adherents who kill in the name of God has not helped to redeem the image of the religion they claim to practice and defend. God is all powerful and does not need warrior to defend him. The greatest warrior in the world is a person who can conquer his or her temperaments and emotions. This should be the real jihad.

Saudi Arabia initiated a process of peaceful co-existence in the world. King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Inter-religious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID) was inaugurated to serve the purpose of justice and peace. KAICIID is an inter-governmental organization that promotes inter-religious dialogue to prevent and resolve conflict. This was opened in 2012 by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Austria and the Kingdom of Spain, following the initiative of King Abdullah of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The Holy See is a founding observer. KAICIID has attracted controversy over concern with Saudi Arabia’s human rights record and restrictive domestic religious environment (https://www.kaiciid.org). It is hoped that KAICIID would succeed in promoting human rights, justice, peace and reconciliation to an extent that Churches could be built in Saudi Arabia with freedom of worship for other religions.

 

John Cardinal Onaiyekan is well known for his interest and faith in Inter-religious Dialogue. He has always used Ilorin where he was Bishop before moving to Abuja where he is now the Archbishop as a model of peaceful co-existence. The report that “Some Muslims in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital allegedly attacked some churches” places dialogue at cross roads. “An Ilorin-based pastor, Ibitoye Reuben Idowu, also claimed that the Muslims raped some of the girls that attended the service and destroyed some of the Church vehicles (http://www.nigerianmonitor.com). I am still wondering if these criminals were really Muslims. It is sad that most of the attacks and killings in Nigeria at the dawn of 2018 have been labelled either as Inter-religious, Inter-cultural or Inter-communal conflicts.

 

One can argue that the killings in Nigeria today have nothing to do with doctrine and faith. Religious interpretation to the conflicts in the world today only place dialogue at cross roads. It could have been worse if there was no dialogue at all. I therefore plead with all the faithful Christians and Muslims who have been partners in dialogue to take this message of peaceful co-existence to the grass roots. Let us not sacrifice religion on the altar of politics. I pray for a continuous zeal and interest for dialogue. For now, this is the only option left because religious war will not do anybody any good. May the political and religious Leaders source for peace by practically promoting justice in every aspect of leadership and life! May the souls of all the victims of violence in Nigeria and all over the world rest in perfect peace! May God console all who have lost their loved ones to violence! Amen!  

 

Fr. Cornelius Omonokhua is the director of Mission and Dialogue of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (omonokhuac@gmail.com).