Maranatha eConference brings together Jews, Muslims and Christians to discuss violence and peace

09 Jul 2015

By Dr Marco Ceccarelli

From left, Professor Imam Mohamad Abdalla from Griffith University, Jeremy Jones AM, Delegate, International Jewish Commitee for Inter-Religious Consultations with Bishop of Broken Bay, Bishop Peter Comensoli at the BBI’s eConference “Religion: Catalyst for Violence or Peace?” PHOTO: Broken Bay Institute

eRecord journalist Dr Marco Ceccarelli, who completed a PhD last year focusing on Catholic responses to Islamic terrorism, last month attended an eConference facilitated by the Maranatha Centre which looked at the question of violence and peace in the three Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

In recent times, it seems that not a week has gone by without a story featuring religiously motivated violence appearing in our newspapers or on our TV screens.

The issue of Australians travelling to the Middle East to join ISIS has made terrorism once again an Australian problem, with questions being raised about the role played by religion in the radicalisation of individuals.

The question therefore begs, is religion a catalyst for violence or peace? This very contemporary, yet centuries-old, dilemma lay at the heart of the eConference facilitated by the Maranatha Centre for Adult Faith Formation on Tuesday, 23 June.

Held at the Newman Siena Centre, Doubleview, the 11th National eConference entitled Religion: Catalyst for Violence or Peace? was screened live from the Broken Bay Institute (BBI) in Pennant Hills, NSW, and featured distinguished speakers from the three Abrahamic traditions: Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

Emeritus Professor Terry Lovat, The University of Newcastle; Rev Prof Professor Dorothy Lee, The University of Melbourne; Professor Imam Mohamad Abdalla, Griffith University, Queensland; and Professor Amy-Jill Levine, Vanderbilt University, Tennessee, USA, contributed to the debate, opening a thought-provoking discussion on some of the most pressing issues of our time.

Following an introduction by the CEO of the BBI, Dr Gerard Goldman, and an opening prayer by the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Broken Bay, Peter Comensoli, Professor Lovat took centre stage with a commentary on the mediaeval period of La Convivencia (the coexistence) spanning 711–1492.

Generally known as a time in which Christians, Muslims and Jews lived together in relative peace in the Al-Andalus region of Spain, Professor Lovat spoke of La Convivencia as a period that holds many lessons for the world today.

He laid emphasis on the care taken throughout this time to ensure that everyone, regardless of religious tradition, had access to the goods of society. “The key to religious harmony,” Professor Lovat said, “is the maintenance of a settled population and, pragmatically, La Convivencia ensured this.”

From a theological point of view, Professor Lovat spoke of the values of Christians, Jews and Muslims coming together during La Convivencia “like a glue that held the population together and maintained stability”.

The combination of the pragmatic and theological elements distanced people from what Professor Lovat referred to as ‘the exclusivist trigger’ – a trigger that, when pulled, makes peace impossible and violence almost inevitable.

“When populations of one or another of the faiths are oppressed or endure intolerable conditions, they are prone to pulling this trigger.

“Here, religious exclusivism empowers the disempowered, and becomes a tool through which alienated people come together for an apparently just cause,” Professor Lovat said.

He did, however, also warn against a “starry eyed” vision of La Convivencia as a time of absolute peace and coexistence.

After all, this was the time during which the Crusades took place, anti-Semitism was widespread and certain kings sought to wipe out Islamic civilisations, yet Convivencia worked, largely because people understood that their own God was as much as the God of the other two. The Abrahamic God, in other words, was truly ‘God of the world’; not a partial God, but a universal God,” Professor Lovat said.

“Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, our three most sacred characters, did not believe in a tiny God, but in the God of the Universe.

“They knew their responsibility before that God. Let’s emulate them, so that we can make the world for God something He can be proud and not ashamed of,” he added.

This vision of a greater God who guides His people towards peaceful coexistence was largely reflected in the lectures given by Rev Professor Dorothy Lee and Professor Imam Mohamad Abdalla.

Speaking about the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, Dr Lee focused on the power of Jesus’ instruction to love one’s enemies as a necessary element for peacemaking.

“The love and mercy in Matthew’s Gospel are indiscriminate, rain falls on the earth on good and bad alike. We are to be perfected in love, a love seen above all in the way we treat our enemies,” Dr Lee said.

“To desire the transition of our enemies from violence to peace, from enmity to friendship… being a peacemaker means having this divine vision.”

Dr Lee also referred to the limits of pacifism and to the important role of justice in situations of conflict.

“Alongside peace there must be justice,” Dr Lee said, “True peacemaking requires God’s anger and judgement against discrimination and violence, particularly towards the weak. The community that makes peace condemns injustice to protect sheep that are vulnerable to destructive wolves.”

Professor Abdalla’s presentation seemed to pick up where Dr Lovat left off as the interconnectedness of the Abrahamic traditions in Islamic civilisation was put under the spotlight.

Once again, the focus was on how Christianity, Islam and Judaism collaborated – this time on the translation of texts – in the common pursuit of knowledge.

“In the eighth century, a translation movement was started that lasted 300 years… Since Arabic was the language of science, Jews and Christians learnt Arabic so they could make scientific advancements.

“Through that collaboration of people from different traditions, we were able to save the ancient knowledge of the Greeks and Indians and Persians. This was not only transmitted to the Western world but refined in such a way that led to the various contributions in astronomy.

“Today, we need to rise above the self-centredness of our own egos and appreciate and respect other cultures and know that it is important to learn from them,” Dr Abdalla said.

The final word was given to the representative of the Jewish tradition, Dr Levine, from Tennessee, who delivered an insightful talk on what emerged in each presentation as a fundamental requirement for peaceful coexistence: dialogue.

“We may not need to be all of the same religion, ethnicity and people in order to live in peace, since the command to love overrides the distinction between neighbour and stranger.

“Thus we may find that to have peace, what we need is not to become all the same, and eliminate the category of stranger. Rather, to have peace is to recognize the stranger as not us yet as someone who must loved, respected and understood.” Dr Levine said.

“How do we make peace? Know our starting points. Listen carefully to the story of others. To make peace is to recognise that compromise is needed; not to be naïve but to listen and to recognise that the death of anybody is tragic because we are all made in the likeness of God and we all should pursue peace.

“It’s our responsibility to start the conversation, it’s everyone’s responsibility to continue it,” she concluded.

The Maranatha Centre is the Adult Faith Formation Agency of the Catholic Archdiocese of Perth for anyone seeking to enhance their understanding of their faith. Courses of varying length in areas such as Theology, Spirituality, Social Justice, Scripture, History and Liturgy are offered. For information, visit www.maranathacentre.org.au.

The Broken Bay Institute, in partnership with the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, delivers eConferences to people across Australia and the globe. For more information, visit www.bbi.catholic.edu.au.