How do we know that someone we meet is a brother and sister?

Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church in Rome has an answer. The Grand Muslim Imam Ahmed Al-Tayebb at the Al-Azhar University, Cairo City, Egypt, has also an answer. But first a simple story.

In a school for future rabbi in the Jewish society, a simplistic question was asked: When do we know it is already day light and the dark night is gone? All the simplistic answers are the same: It’s day light when we can distinguish between different objects from one another. All wrong answers. Then the teacher revealed the correct one: when you meet someone, a fellow creature, and you recognize her/him as a human being like you, then it is daylight! If you can’t, you might bump into it as a material object, and even destroy it, etc. etc.

On February this year, in order to strongly promote peace among peoples of the world, A Catholic Pope and a Grand Muslim Imam made history by issuing a common statement as the answer to this question.

The title of their historic declaration and Reminder is Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together (HFFWPLT).

There it is! Human Fraternity means being human is being a sister or brother and vice versa – being a brother or sister is also being human. The Message?

Togetherness, an essential element of sisterhood and brotherhood, is essential for world peace.

The first document is called the Abu Dhabi Document because it was written and jointly signed on 5 February 2020 in the city of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

On 4 October 2020 in Assisi, Italy, Pope Francis signed his own encyclical letter to all Catholics worldwide calling it Fratelli Tutti, words St. Francis of Assisi used to call all human beings his brothers and sisters.

So HFFWPLT and FT are a Joint Christian-Muslim proposal for peace in today’s world!

There is need to study and understand them. Fr. Joel Tabora, S.J., President of the Ateneo de Davao University, is helping the Bishops-Ulama Conference. Let’s pray for the success of this project.