Tolerance Week -- Day of panel

Panel on "Conflict Resolution in Abrahamic Religions"

Wednesday, November 17, 2004, 3:00-6:00PM

WAG 420

Panelists:
Rev. Miles Brandon, UT The Episcopal Student Center
Rev. David E. Farnum, CSP, University Catholic Center
Veysel Demir, The Institute of Interfaith Dialog
Cantor Neil F. Blumofe, Congregation Agudas Achim.

Catholic perspective:
Father Dave Farnum, a member of the Paulist Fathers, a Roman Catholic religious order told us about the Christian perspective on religious tolerance and conflict resolution. He gave us examples from a letter Paul had written to his friend about a slave that had stolen from his master. This slave had accepted Christianity and therefore should be accepted as a brother. He stated that Paul had given Christians a radical new way of looking at how they relate to one another, through their relationship to Jesus Christ.

He also talked about Pope John Paul II's great efforts in encouraging people to build bridges between peoples of different faiths. He mentioned the second Vatican Council, Nostra e Tate, which is significant and essential to how Catholic people relate to men and women from other faith traditions.

Father Farnum gave us the example of the Umayyad mosque, which is a religious site shared by Muslims and Christians. He praised the respect and tolerance that made this possible and stated that the young will receive these values by witnessing them at this place. He continued, "It is my ardent hope that Muslim and Christians religious leaders and teachers will present our two great religious communities as communities in respectful dialogue, never more as communities in conflict. It is crucial for the young to be taught the ways of respect and understanding, so that they will not be lead to misuse religion itself to promote or justify hatred and violence. Violence destroys the image of the creator and his creatures, and should never be considered as the fruit of religious conviction."

Father Farnum also told us about his experiences advising engaged couples from different faith backgrounds. He mentioned that "40 to 50 percent of all Catholic weddings take place between a person who is Catholic and a person who is not Catholic." When he counsels a couple he makes sure to advise that they celebrate their love and not give way to any problems that may arise because of their different religious backgrounds. He says, "If we want to build bridges of understanding between faith traditions, what better way to build bridges than in the household. In the domestic church, as we refer to the family." He advises couples not to "blur their vision" with non-essential issues and reminds them that "...It is not their problem. They did not create the problem. The problem exists between religions who are not in unity with one another."

Father Farnum concluded his speech by quoting one of the major principles of Jesus Christ and probably of most world religions: "Love one another as God has loved us."

Muslim perspective:

Mr. Veysel Demir gave us the Muslim perspective on conflict resolution. His talk consisted of three parts. In the first part he talked about the practices of Prophet Muhammad and how he solved problems "as easily as one drinks coffee". He told the story of how the Prophet solved a problem that arouse during the rebuilding of the Kaaba. The problem was that the pagan Arabs of that time could not decide on who should replace the holy stone back into the wall of the Kaaba. The Prophet suggested that they put the stone on a blanket and have a representative from each family hold an edge of this blanket. Thus, everyone could take part in this noble duty.

He also found solutions to problems like the torture his followers were experiencing in Mecca by sending them as refugees to a Christian King in today's Ethiopia. He believed that the King would accept and protect them because they all believed in One God.

In the second part of his talk, Mr. Demir gave examples of how we can solve conflicts in our society. He related a symbolic story about brotherhood and made the point that, if members of a family love each other, then the whole society will benefit.

In the third part of his speech Mr. Demir relates an anecdote about Caliph Omar, known as a just leader. Omar had such an advanced sense of responsibility that he would walk through the streets at night checking on his subjects. One night he came across a house where he heard the crying of children. When he asked what was wrong, the lady of the house cursed Omar because he did not see to their needs. She did not recognize that it was Omar himself who had come to her house. Omar saw to the family's needs. The lady remarked that a ruler is responsible for providing all his subjects' needs.

Mr. Demir pointed out that, as in the two stories above, if we love and respect the members of our family or on a larger scale, our society or country, then we will act with responsibility and we will be able to solve our problems.

Jewish perspective:

Cantor Neil Blumofe, spiritual leader of the Congregation Agudas Achim presented us with a Jewish perspective on conflict resolution. He told us about Hillel, who replied to a person who asked him to teach him the Torah on one foot (in a short period). Hillel's answer was "Treat your neighbor as you'd like to treat yourself. All the rest is commentary. Now go and learn." He remarked that this is the fundamental principle that is seen in most religions.

He also related a story about King Solomon, who was known to be the wise one. Two women came to the king with a custody case. Each woman claimed that the baby was hers. The King ruled that they should cut the baby in half and share it between the women. When one of the women rejected this ruling and withdrew her claim the king ruled that she was the true mother. So, he solved the problem.

A question was directed to Cantor Blumofe: "Is there any spiritual motivation for seeking out resolution to conflicts?" Cantor Blumofe quoted the philosopher Martin Bubord as an answer "God exists in the encounter between "I" and "thou". He said that everything that we do is on a spiritual plane. So getting to know people, building relationships is also on a spiritual plane. Thus, we bring God into our world.

Episcopal perspective:

Rev. Miles Brandon is an Episcopal priest and the director of the Episcopal student center. This center is the Episcopal Church's ministry to students, faculty and staff at the University of Texas at Austin and at the other universities and colleges in the greater Austin area.

Rev. Brandon told the audience about his trip to Jerusalem when he was 23 years old. He took a journal with him to Jerusalem. He wrote about the unique beauties of Jerusalem, but also related an occasion in which he witnessed a case of discrimination.

At that time he was asking questions about the nature of the human family in the context of cultural diversity, ethnic diversity, national diversity and religious diversity. While gazing at the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa mosque, he thought of the closeness of the Abrahamic religions and then of the age-long conflicts between them.

The Rev. read from his journal: "The site, and the paradoxes and the pain of countless generations of people fighting were all right before my eyes. I literally lost my breath. My initial thought was three great religions. One amazing God. The view in its entirety is a beautiful and powerful witness to the pervasiveness and loveliness of God. This was a truly inspiring moment for me. And more importantly, a hopeful moment."

He returned home with burning questions like: "How do we progress as a human race living in a world that's religiously plural? How do we build each other up and not tear each other down? How do people around the world work together to erradicate the realities of poverty, disease and dehumanization that run rampant in every nation. How do we create a safe space for people who are very different? To encounter one another and learn from one another. How can peace between peoples and nations become fact?

He emphasized that violence is an inadequate solution to the world's problems, and that religious and cultural wars only create further distrust and division among the parties involved, not to mention the horrific loss of human life that results from these conflicts. He stated that as a Christian he turned to the Bible for an answer but also said, "Despite the fact that many people try to use scripture as a divinely ordained rulebook, handed down by God for ordering our lives, and consequently the world, sacred scripture doesn't give easy answers to difficult questions and realities in our world. Instead, scripture from my perspective tells a story of God's love affair with God's people, invites us to participate in that story and make it our own."

The Rev. related a story from the Gospel about how to build healthy relationships. This was the parable of the Good Samaritan who stopped to help a man that was left lying half dead in the middle of the road. Although Samaritans were not in favor in those times, the act of helping a fellow man was exalted as a good example of human values. Despite their religion, race or social background anyone who has the heart to help his fellow man is considered a "neighbor" or brother. Rev. Brandon concluded, "Jesus' story makes it clear that by only loving those people that we share a religion is wholly inadequate. Jesus defines neighbor actively, not passively. A good neighbor is actively reaching out to provide for those who are suffering."