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This is the weekly "Oasis News" of Silsilah Dialogue Movement for our friends and linkages printed also to a local newspaper of Zamboanga City (Mindanao, Philippines). It is our way to maintain the LINK (Silsilah) with you. You can find this news and the previous Oasis News in our official site www.silsilahdialogue.com. Feel free to publish this news if you find it relevant. We appreciate your comments and suggestions. Thanks.
3rd Week -November 16, 2011
Christian and Muslim religious teachers build friendship and dialogue in Davao City
In the midst of conflict in Mindanao often colored by Muslim and Christian animosity it is always a sign of hope to know that we have also beautiful stories to share. One of these is the recent gathering of forty three (43) Madaris Gurus and Catechists organized by the Silsilah Forum Davao on November 11–13, 2011. This is a program of Silsilah Dialogue Movement that has been always a source of inspiration to many Christian and Muslim religious teachers. Madaris (plural of Madrasa School) provide basic education on Arabic and Islamic teachers (gurus). They have significant influence in forming the minds and hearts of the young Muslim students. In the same way the Christian catechists provide the basic teachings on Christianity in parishes and schools. They also have a great influence to guide the young students in the Christian way of life.
Majority of the Muslim and Christian teachers who attended the gathering were women. At first, participants were strangers to one another with little idea of who they are and what will they do. But this kind of feeling changed during the gathering. In fact , this positive outcome is in line with the objectives of the gathering: to build friendship, to share more about the concept of culture of dialogue and Christian – Muslim dialogue and to encourage them to go back to their teaching areas with the desire to teach their subjects in a more dialogical way.
The richness of this experience was gradually appreciated by the participants. Thanks also to the different resource persons who have presented their respective topic well. The different speakers were Fr. Archimedes A. Lachica, SJ, Dr. Omar Mababaya, Ustadh Garson Hamja, Fr. Sebastiano D’Ambra, PIME and Fr. Larry Sabud, who is the Christian coordinator of the Silsilah Forum Davao along with Miss Nor Asia as the Muslim coordinator.
One of the great experiences for many of them was to appreciate the prayer of each group inseparate places, even in the rooms where the Muslims and Christian teachers have been living for three days.
A simple and meaningful statement prepared by the participants reflects the spirit that they have acquired during the gathering. The statement was written during the closing program that was an explosion of joy and friendship.
The statement says:
We, the participants of the 2nd Madaris Gurus and Catechists Seminar- Workshop for Dialogue and Peace (Davao City) commit ourselves to: I-ntegrate and promote moral values; N- urture peace; T-olerance; E-quality; R-espect; F-riendship; A-cceptance; I-nter-relationship; T-ogetherness; H-armony(acronym is INTERFAITH) Dialogue.
This program has been offered also for the madaris gurus and catechists of Zamboanga City, Basilan and Jolo. Every time there are new discoveries and surprises on the part of the participants. Many of them continue the friendship even in market side and in the place where they live giving a new example of friendship among Christian and Muslim religious teachers who by tradition are not so close and in some occasion suspicious of each other’s work.
The emphasis on the love of God and love of neighbor given in the presentation of the open letter of 138 Muslim scholars of the world to Pope Benedict XVI and other Christian leaders inspired all the participants to apply love in their attitude in the spirit of dialogue of Silsilah that is a spiritual approach of dialogue as expression of love.