Peace Through Dialogue: Our Destiny

After reflecting on the present social, political and cultural situation of our country today the Board of Directors of the Bishops-Ulama Conference (BUC) decided that the theme this year 2018 of the Mindanao Week of Peace is “Peace Through Dialogue: Our Destiny.”

The BUC board wishes to inform and suggest that this theme be the guiding and animating principle in a meaningful celebration of the week of peace.

True and lasting peace can only be achieved through human, humane, and respectful dialogue. There is no other way, however long and tedious is the process of dialoging. The way of using power and violence, war and deceit, physical and moral coercion is not dialogue; it will not lead to peace.

Their experience of interfaith dialogue and collaboration since 1996 has taught the bishops, ulama and pastors that to dialogue is to understand others as they understand themselves so that they can understand us as we understand ourselves. This demands quality presence, respect, openness, and humility.

For Christians Jesus Christ is “our peace” (Eph 2:14), that is, our “shalom”, the Hebrew word for peace. The reason is, according to St. Paul, Jesus suffered death in order to unite us and reconcile us to each other. Shalom is a derivative of “salam”, the Arabic word for peace. And “Islam”, the religion of peace, is derived from salam (Wikipedia).

Hence as human and social beings Christians and Muslims are destined to be peacemakers through the art of dialogue.