A Muslim and Christian Interfaith Imperative: Stewardship of Creation

A Muslim and Christian Interfaith Imperative: Stewardship of Creation

Identifying myself at the beginning provides context for this paper. I am a community developer and minister reflecting on theory and praxis. In 2008, I travelled to Turkey with a Gulen sponsored group and have appreciated the participation of the Ertugrul Education Society in creating interfaith activities, participating in Mennonite-Muslim Dialogue and becoming an integral part of our region. I see their work as clearly following the principles of Fertullah Gulen.

Fertullah Gulen emphasizes the importance of interfaith dialogue and activities, even though Turkey is 98% Muslim. While one could say that he is preparing the Turkish Muslims for life in the Western world, I sense his commitment is much deeper and comes from his faith and theology.

… we acknowledge the oneness and basic unity of religion, which is a symphony

Paul Knitter in One Earth Many Religions (Knitter 1995) makes the case that we need interfaith dialogue because the earth and all the peoples are suffering because of the lack of justice and the ecological crisis. He says we no longer have the luxury of living separately and/or claiming superiority over other faith groups and cultures. The world is one; we must find unity with each other. Knitter is not asking us to become one religion but to talk and reflect with each other as well as to work together to relieve the suffering of people and the earth, meaning animals, plants, air, water, and other environmental factors. Our dialogue needs to be accompanied by action – and should be a “dialogue of life” working with specific concerns in locations throughout the world. (ibid. xi)

Gulen emphasizes the need for religion and science to work together to enhance the world and all humans. He believes that humans can achieve more for themselves and humanity by learning both science and religion.

… science, which consists of knowledge, of what already is, does not teach us what should be; only religion teaches us how things should be and to which goals

In his high view of what humans can achieve combining science and religion, Gulen is pressing toward this healthy world, which Knitter, myself and many others seek. It is a world where people have values, ideals, and a concern for all living things.

As I work locally and yet maintain a world conscious, interfaith dialogue--with other faith groups in the Waterloo Region (Ontario) and with peoples of other nations as I have travelled to U.K., Turkey, and Israel-Palestine--has helped me to search, critique and deepen my own faith in the Christian & Mennonite tradition, to gain a wider picture of our world including the suffering, and then to move to actions with others to create new options which are more humane and life-giving. I sensed this same spirit among our hosts from Turkish organizations associated with the Gulen movement. By talking and working together, we relieve the suffering of humans and the earth.

Barriers to respect and dialogue:

There are barriers within our world and within our faith communities. This secular culture which marginalizes the faith communities is increasingly individualistic and materialistic. Gulen would also identify power, use of technology for the wrong ends, and a lack of education including learning the lessons of history (Unal, 172-73). These forces are at the root of the violence that causes oppression and suffering for humanity and the earth.

At the same time, some members, denominations, or groups within our faith communities are caught up in isolation, hostility, and competition with peoples of other faiths (Lochhead), rather than moving toward the partnerships which bring the creativity, ecology and justice needed for the transformation we seek. Gulen admits that Islam has experience dogmatism, extremism, and lack of respect for other peoples and other faiths. He says that this is a small minority of Muslims (Unal, 61).

I would like to provide some illustrations of how we in Waterloo Region are talking and working toward the justice and ecology which we all seek. I will try to draw some parallels to the Turkish environment where the country is 98% Muslim. Though not well enough acquainted with Turkey and its peoples, I imagine there are a variety of groups with different levels of respect for diversity. I am thankful for the Gulen movement creating situations of interfaith dialogue so that more voices are heard, creating new insight, and moving toward ecology and justice. At the same time, guests learn from the Turkish experiences as we visit, interact, and reflect. I will primarily focus on justice since our interfaith groups have not worked as much on ecology – even though it is in our consciousness.

In Turkey as Muslims and in Canada as Christians, we have a common barrier to interfaith dialogue and work: We are in the majority and therefore powerful. The culture is embedded with supports for our faith – our hearing and sight are partially blinded by living in a world where other voices are not readily available or present. We don’t see others very well when holidays, weekly schedules, symbols in the culture, food and its regulation, prayers, and religious leaders are from our faith. How do others live in our culture? Could there be values they bring to us that we miss? How do others in the world live and deal with the human predicaments?

Though I knew of Sabbath as Friday-Saturday for Jews and of Muslim prayers on Friday noon and evening, it was a new experience for me to be in Israel when on the Sunday everyone went to work or school while I was preparing to go to worship. I was in the minority and the culture did not make a place for me and the other Christians (only 4% of the population). I felt marginalized; I reflected on people in Canada who felt marginalized by the culture not making room for prayer through the day or for Sabbath routines on Friday night and Saturday. Over the past several months, people of different faiths discussed provisions or lack of freedom from employers to attend Friday noon prayers. When I was one of the powerful in my culture, I did not see nor feel the marginalization easily. I heard about it; saw people practicing their faith on Friday noon or on Sabbath; but just allowed them to adapt.

A Palestinian Christian acquaintance in Israel went with his wife to church on Sunday, but his children had to go to school, except for Christian holidays when the parents took the children out of school. Do we marginalize peoples of other faiths in Canada? I know that we do.

Secular Influences on Government:

As a person in a secular culture in Canada, I had many questions and asked politicians about the opening session of provincial parliament in 2003, which was alike an Anglican worship service – a tradition from England and colonial days – special guests included religious leaders from Catholic, Anglican, United, and Salvation Army leaders, even though the Members of the Provincial Parliament (MPPs) were also Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and other Christian denominations. From my experiences in interfaith dialogue, I questioned the service and why only a few religious leaders were present.

When I attended the opening of the legislature in 2007, I was glad to see that more religious leaders had been invited to sit on the main floor as special guests: Muslim, Sikh, Jewish, Hindu, and other Christians. Yet I was also disturbed. Except for the Lord’s Prayer – a Christian prayer – the entire experience was secular! Did this secularity convey the importance of the duties and responsibilities of the MPPs? Would ethics, morality, and community be important in their decision-making? How did the religion and spirituality of the MPPs find expression? Most MPPs with whom I talked expressed spiritual and religious values which led them to see political office.

My eyes were even more open as I went to Turkey and heard concerns about the secular government and universities, where practices of faith were not recognized, specifically our group heard women talk about not being able wear hijab in government offices or at the university. When we met with politicians and staff in their offices, hijab was not worn by any women. I began to wonder and reflect: “Where is secularity taking us in Turkey and in Canada?” No religions should dominate; yet the elimination of religion in government is a problem as well.

As our Western world becomes even more secular, how do I respond as a Christian? How do I respond as a person of faith who wishes that all people are able to practice their faith? Can Turks and Canadians have a conversation about the relationship of faith and secularity? Both our countries have had governments which have had too strong a relationship between a religion and government; secularity is a response to problems that have occurred.

For example in Ontario, a premier and a Catholic cardinal have created a compromise in the 1980’s which has seen Ontario fully fund the separate or Catholic school system from Junior Kindergarten through Grade 12 (previously Grade 13). Among some of our predominant Christian denominations, there has been a theory of religious leaders speaking into the ear of the political leaders to obtain favours and changes – sometimes for the religion, often for the marginalized. This no longer works, for which we as interfaith leaders are thankful. However, those of us in the faith communities are no longer heard, often having trouble obtaining appointments with the premier … we do have meetings with MPPs and are learning to find our place asking questions and proposing actions which will relieve the suffering of people and the earth. We are searching for new ways to interact with governments. Might we as Turkish and Canadian peoples discuss how we as religious leaders can speak with politicians and governments to relieve suffering in our world? Could we not use the resources of both our traditions?

The good aspect of us losing our power as Christians in Canada/ Ontario is that we begin to understand and identify with the marginalized: those who are poor, minority populations, disabled, new Canadians, aboriginals and others. We sense a loss of dignity, even though this is our country with our Christian heritage at its core. Can we see this as a gift? How do we walk alongside those who suffer? As we lose our voice, we have commonality with those who suffer and are often isolated.

But our loss of voice helps us to walk with others who are faithful from different traditions. In our interfaith circles, we Christians in Canada are the powerful. But if we have learned our lessons, we realize that all faith traditions must have a voice. How can we build interfaith associations where all can speak? In Interfaith Grand River, we have asked that there be several from each religion or denomination within a faith and that Christians never be in the majority in our meetings, even though Christians are the majority in Waterloo Region. With no one in the majority, all faith groups speak and learn.

Some of our Christian brothers and sisters are unwilling to join our interfaith dialogue and action. Using David Lochhead’s continuum, some have isolated themselves – Old Order Mennonites & Amish in my tradition – live separate lives. Others are hostile to other faiths; we experience some conservative Christians and their clergy who cannot interfaith meetings or activities; some have never met persons of other faiths and live on stereo-types and prejudices. Others are competing to gain superiority over other faith communities in our culture; Lochhead says competition is hostile, but more subtle hostility. Within the Christian community, many churches are competing with others to have larger and larger memberships or attendance. His last category is partnership of us who participate in interfaith dialogue begin to see the spiritual vitality of peoples of other faiths. Partnership is building community within a particular group and then beyond that group. Partnership leads to a decrease in hostility and a welcoming of the neighbour, person of other faith, and person from different cultures, religions, and countries. The partnership faith communities in Waterloo Region are the many churches that have sponsored refugees, learned to know their faith and culture, and became friends. These refugees not only receive assistance, but they help Canadians to understand another part of the world and broaden sensitivities and compassion. Together we hear the struggles to live and seek justice and compassion for all. We become partners for change. Currently several Mennonite congregations and two mosques in the Waterloo region are partnering to sponsor Palestinian refugees formerly in Iraq and now caught in Syria and Jordan. Together we are raising monies to relieve suffering while at the same time creating more understanding between Muslims and Christians --

Gulen speaks for interfaith partnership as he describes the difficulty of dogmatism. “… no room for free thought and use of mental faculties, … copy blindly.” He says there is no dogmatism in Islam and that dogmatic or fundamentalist Muslims represent a small minority (Unal, 59); yet they must be contended with and the media selects them too frequently.

In several of his books, Henri Nouwen describes partnership as breaking down the differences between host and guest. The guest comes into the host’s home, but as the two engage in conversation, eat supper, and learn to know each other a bond can develop. The difference in power between the host and the guest disappears. True partnership is no differentiation between host and guest. Perhaps they clean off the table and wash dishes together. Mennonites in Waterloo Region have sponsored refugees for many years – in this new sponsorship we are now partners, not hosts and guests. Our Mennonite Muslim dialogue which has been active for five years now has no guests or hosts. We meet in different places; chair of the meetings rotates; we pack kits to go to countries where people suffer. We began when we realized that Mennonite Central Committee and Islamic Humanitarian Services were both sending medicines to Iraq.

Though we never were allowed to wash the dishes, I experienced the breaking down of the host and guest relationship in Turkey. Several tour guides and one driver became our companions. One guide needed counselling and compassion because he came to work one day with a heavy heart; other guides and drivers became friends who could laugh with us as we shared meals, experiences and travel together. We never lost our identities, but as Gulen would point out, we learned to love each other.

Several years ago the local hospital asked us to help plan the chapel which had been Christian but was now to be a multifaith room. As we discussed the chapel, we heard how faith groups faced barriers in the hospitals when adherents died. We began to understand that “clergy” in other faiths have different functions than pastors and rabbis in Western culture. We learned that all faiths – including Christians – would like to have a room at the hospital where individuals died and were cared for by family members and the faith group without constant medical intervention. Could the faith community remain for a few hours after the death to wash the body or let the spirit move out of the body? As an interfaith coalition, we discussed this with chaplains from the hospital; they advocated for us. We helped design the chapel/ meditation room for all faiths – except no water for ablution because it was too costly – but no room was found for a patient’s final hours and death. We again began to understand that what we all agreed upon was not heard or was not seen as significant by the hospital administration. We together stood for truth to relieve suffering – and yet we knew our marginalization in the health care system. How do we move forward together?

“A mosque, a synagogue, and a church stood side by side in many places. This reflects the spirit of Islam and its inclusion.” (Unal, 69) Gulen appeals to the Ottoman tolerance and states that it would create ways for dialogue and humanity. (Unal, 56)

Because of the work of many faith communities in Waterloo Region in areas of crime prevention; restorative justice; anti-bullying; building good, diverse neighbourhoods; even working a chaplains from many faiths at the Grand Valley Institution (prison for women); we are committed to a different set of priorities than the current federal government which is “tough on crime” and ready to build prisons, even though research says that this does not work … and we can see from the USA that it ultimately makes us less safe.

Our steering committee this week was shocked to find that the baby of a female prisoner was put in foster care because the mother needed to be punished. Four of us had gone to the prison as religious leaders for spiritual care, to conduct classes, to provide volunteer opportunities for the women residents, and to assist in other ways. We had been to the cottages where women kept their babies and toddlers who were cared for by all the cottage residents – all the women benefitted and were careful to provide the best atmosphere for the children (2 and under). Together this interfaith steering committee of religious leaders decided that we would find the truth and we would expose this situation of suffering. We did not yet know how. Though we were planning the next dialogues, we became dialogue of action and of life. One member said that we were like a family; another commented on the tremendous emotional, intellectual and spiritual energy in the room. We were diverse: Sikh, Muslim, Buddhist, Unitarian, Jew, and Christian. We were in unity to break the suffering. But we needed each other and our diversity opened our ears, eyes, and hearts.

Conclusion

Although there are denominations within Islam in Turkey, my understanding is the 99% of the population is Muslim. In Waterloo Region, we are approximately 80% Christian with a growing number of people who claim no religion and another growing group of people from religions other than Christianity. The culture of our communities supports our faith, even though our culture and governments becoming increasingly secular as defined by the Western culture. How can there be a balance between faith and secularity? How cans faith groups work together to eliminate the suffering which is often caused by the forces of materialism, greed, and individualism?

I admire the Gulen Foundation and Fethullah Gulen for the foundation’s emphasis on interfaith and bringing peoples of different cultures to Turkey for dialogue. It has broadened my understanding of Islam and the current issues within Turkey; I see parallels that help me think of new solutions in Waterloo Region. I believe it opens eyes and ears of Turkish peoples to the insights of Christianity when we visit – we all see the “universal”; we find a deeper truth than we know without interfaith diversity. Our own faith is deepened as we have friends of other faiths.

How happy are those who search for a way to salvation for others as much as they do for themselves. And how happy are those who remember to save themselves while saving others. (Unal, 74)

Bibliography

Balmer, Brice , Meeting Our Multifaith Neighbour, Scottdale, Herald Press, 2006

Knitter, Paul, One Earth Many Religions, Maryknoll, Orbis, 1995

Knitter, Paul, Theologies of Religions, Maryknoll, Orbis, 2002

Lochhead, David, The Dialogical Imperative, Maryknoll, Orbis, 1988

Sevindi, Nevval, Contemporary Islamic Conversations, Albany, State University of New York Press, 2008

Unal, Ali, Advocate of Dialogue, Fairfax, The Fountain, 2000