Global: Thoughts on interfaith harmony and world peace · Global Voices
Paula Góes

After a New Year’s day bombing in Egypt that killed 21 people outside a Christian church, solidarity and  interfaith support blossomed in the country. Thousands of Muslims took a  bold step to prevent a repeat bombing at Coptic Christmas Eve services a few days later, volunteering to serve as human shields to deter potential bombers. Among those showing solidarity was Ibn Abdel Aziz [ar]. Feeling an urge to cry, the Egyptian blogger writes an open letter to his Christian friends, colleagues and neighbors:
اعاهد الله اليوم وانا علي مشارف ان ارزق باول طفل لي في حياتي ان اقوم  بما يمكن ان التزم به … ان اعلمه كل ما اعرف وان يكون افضل مني ومن امه  ومن اجداده وجداته علي كل مستوى ممكن ، وان هذا هو الذي استطيع ان افعله  واسأل الله ان اموت وقد تركت خلفي ذرية تعرف الله كما اراد الله وتامر  بالعدل وتطبقه علي نفسها اولا وتكره الظلم وتنقد الذات وتصلح النفس وتبني  الارض وتحارب الكراهية والوصم والتمييز وسائر ادواء البشر ما استطعت .
وكفرد من الاغلبية العددية ..اعرف مسئوليتي جيدا تجاه الاخرين من اقليات  عددية بسبب الدين او المذهب او العرق ..وليت كل المسلمين يعرفون هذا
في النهاية
كلماتي عاجزة عن وصف ما اشعر به
هذه خواطري المبعثرة
وهذا بوح نفسي المثقلة
وهذا انا ..كما أنا
اسمحوا لي ان اقف في صفوفكم وان اخذ العزاء معكم .
وأن يقال لي : ربنا يعزيك
News of tolerance between people of different faiths like the one  above does not usually find its way to the headlines. The forces of  religious intolerance are more prominently featured in the media, and at  times like this, it can be difficult to hear voices preaching the  universal values of respect and mutual understanding. To give those  working for interfaith understanding and dialogue a chance to spread the  message, the United Nations has designated the first week of February  every year as the World Interfaith Harmony Week between all religions, faiths and beliefs. From 2011, all States worldwide were asked to:
“support, on a voluntary basis, the spread of the message  of interfaith harmony and goodwill in the world’s churches, mosques,  synagogues, temples and other places of worship during that week based  on Love of God and Love of the Neighbour, or based on Love of the Good  and Love of the Neighbour, each according to their own religious  traditions or convictions.”
Photo by flickr user choconancy. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Why  are interfaith dialogue – meaning cooperation between religions and  between religion and science – and interfaith harmony – meaning the  absence of hatred among people of different faiths – so important?  Because everyone wants to live in peace.
From Mexico City, Marvin Lance Wiser shares his own experiences and explains why interfaith dialogue is a critical component for the maintaining of civic and international stability:
One’s faith traditions should not be asked to be  separated from a person as they enter the civic arena. We must no longer  claim ignorance towards the religious other, and we must no longer  continue in a practice of monopoly of truths, hegemony of God, and  assimilation of those that fall into our periphery. Interfaith dialogue  does not exist for the sake of proselytizing others to one religion or  one culture, nor does it exist to create a melting pot of syncretism  where all religious identities are conflated into one. Not all religions  are the same, there exist a myriad of differences, however there is  dignity in difference, and this is a central tenet of the Interfaith  movement.  Interfaith dialogue is an exercise of learning about those  that are radically different from myself and my community and learning  how to coexist with those persons that subscribe to different beliefs,  customs, and worldviews other than my own. It also serves to strengthen  my own faith identity.
If it is not possible to deny that there are theological differences  between so many religions, the challenge for people of faith living in  diverse and plural societies is to acknowledge these differences without  loosing respect and friendship for one another – and reach across the  divide to work together for common goals, such as compassion, justice  and peace. Interfaith peacemaker T C Davis realises that in fact faith is about more than religion:
One morning at 2:30 a.m. I awoke and couldn’t fall back  asleep.  What is this thing called faith, I wondered, which enlivens  people from many religious traditions, but also, some people who are not  religious?  Here’s what came to me:
Faith is an optimistic energy that impels one to make the world a  better place.  This optimistic energy is not based upon a careful  calculation of favorable outcomes, but rather, upon the unshakable  conviction that love is stronger than hate, and that one can accomplish  much, indeed much more than one can foresee, provided one spends one’s  life loving.
Here is a definition of faith, I think, that will bear all freight,  and will serve better to understand what “interfaith” means, rather than  seeing it as a synonym for “interreligious.”
Photo by flickr user choconancy. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Religion; it advocates compassion and love. At the same time, interpretations of  religious concepts are used to legitimate violence and war. Of the  hundreds of existing religious traditions, every single one prays for  fraternity and peace. Yet, many conflicts and wars throughout history  have had, in some capacity, connections to religion. All religions claim  to hold the truth and to have exclusivity to the path to salvation, but  Portuguese blogger André explains that it all comes down to human interpretations of sacred scriptures. Taking the Bible as an example, he says [pt]:
Interpretam a Bíblia crentes e não crentes,  investigadores profissionais e outros estudiosos. Quem estuda,  forçosamente interpreta, à luz dos seus conhecimentos. Quem tem mais  conhecimentos e os sabe relacionar, interpretará necessariamente melhor.  Quem só estuda Bíblia e não colige com outras fontes de Conhecimento,  forçosamente fica com menos pontos de referência e tem uma visão mais  simplificada. O que é lamentável é que ainda haja guerras por causa da  Bíblia, agora que o tempo das Cruzadas vai longe. Afinal, a mensagem  central da Bíblia é o amor e a tolerância.
Interpretations apart, one thing that can be held to be true is that  sincere faith cannot be prescribed, much less imposed – it needs to  come from within. Despite differences, Malaysian historian Abu Saif  believes that it is possible to co-exist pacifically – as long as  everyone understands that there is no need to prove whose religion is  better – as the intention of religion is for one to find what is good for oneself in this temporary life:
Me myself, I learn about Muhammad and his religion for me  to clarify my own purpose of life, why God created me, why I am here,  where am I heading to after this worldly transit? I found my answer best  through the teaching of Muhammad. I learn about religion to answer my  own Questions, and not to question others!
So, if the sender [of the email that inspired the post] believe[s] that  his idea about Christianity gave him satisfaction in finding the  absolute truth, then let him be with his Christianity. Islam stands with  its own strength and Christianity should be confident with what it has.
[…]
I found peace and had full of tranquility by believing and loving  both Jesus and Muhammad and I cannot do anything to help someone who  find peace in hating any of these great men.
God knows the best.
Talking about God, since all religions worship the same power that  created the universe, some believe that they all worship the same entity  under many sacred or holy names. US writer Trinda Latherow lists a few  of them – God, Lord, Jesus, Father in Heaven, Allah, Lord Brahma  Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh, Elohim, El Shaddai – and elaborates:
Photo by flickr user choconancy. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
With so many understandings as to our being and what God  is to us, it is  no wonder we have so many names for God. Even in my own  limited travels  and acquaintances thus far, I have come to know not  only of the many  theories and beliefs as to what God is, but also the  many names by which  man calls God. They include such sacred and holy  names as God the  Creator, the One or One of all, the Source of all,  the Collective  Consciousness, the Highest or Most High, Highest Self,  Divine Mind,  Great Spirit, Holy Spirit, Spirit, Universal Christ, All  that Is, the  Universe, the I Am, and my favorite and the one Akiane Kramarik understands her Father in Heaven to be as quite simply Love.   Explaining at the young age of just thirteen that everyone’s name and   perception of God is different and that is what so often separates us.   Yet, if we understand that God is love, and we know what love is, then   perhaps our differences will yield way to the universal truth that we   are indeed all One. For what lies within you and within me is part of   all creation itself, no matter the name we use.
Change yourself, change the universe
Forget the politics of religion – the solution for a peaceful world may be simple and attainable.  From Brazil, Cirilo Moraes reminds us [pt] that dialogue, respect, tolerance and mutual understanding among  peoples start within ourselves in our daily lives, and that each one of  us can be an instrument of peace:
E assim é: mude interiormente e tudo ao redor mudará  também. É a antiga noção de que o semelhante atrai o semelhante. Não tem  segredo nenhum. Uma ação leva a uma reação; uma causa, a uma  conseqüência. Violência gera violência, e dissemina ódio e  ressentimentos; paz gera paz; amor gera amor. A questão é o que você  escolhe disseminar. […]
Você está sendo tolerante e paciente com seus irmãos, pais, amigos,  colegas de trabalho, seus conhecidos e inclusive com os que não conhece?  Busca apaziguar os conflitos ou ajuda a inflamá-los? Você respeita as  diferenças que os outros têm em relação a você ou quer impor as suas  verdades e conceitos pré-concebidos a qualquer custo? São perguntas  simples que você deve fazer a si mesmo, e não aos outros. Se cada um  mudar a si, o mundo inteiro será diferente. Não adianta pedir paz aos  outros, mas não agir de acordo com ela em todos os momentos de sua vida.
Ademais, lembre-se sempre: a paz do mundo começa em ti, em mim, em nós…
It goes like this: change yourself within and everything around you  will change too. This is the the old notion that like attracts like.  There are no secrets. One action leads to a reaction; a cause leads to a  consequence. Violence begets violence, spreads hatred and resentment;  peace creates peace, love begets love. The point is what you choose to  disseminate. […]
Are you being tolerant and patient with your siblings, parents,  friends, co-workers, acquaintances and even those who you don't know? Do  you try to appease conflicts or do you help to inflame them? Do you  respect other people's differences or do you want to impose your truths  and preconceptions on them at all costs? These are simple questions that  you should ask yourself, not others. If each one of us change within,  the whole world will be different. No use asking peace to others, if you  don't act on it at all times of your life.
Also, always remember: the peace of the world begins in you, me, us…
Photo by flickr user choconancy. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Check the Seeds of Compassion photo set, by flickr user Choconancy1 whose photos illustrate this post.