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Minorities and Dialogue: A Sense of Shared Vulnerability | June 14, 2005

6-14-05

by Naveen Qayyum
WCC Media

What does it mean to be a religious minority with a different faith to
that of the majority of people around you? What is the importance of
interreligious dialogue in situations of vulnerability? Is interreligious
dialogue an adequate response to a critical moment in the world?

These questions were explored in conversation with two participants from
very different origins during the "critical moment" conference hosted by
the World Council of Churches in Geneva from 7-9 June 2005. Bishop Samuel
Azariah is a Christian leader from the Protestant Church of Pakistan,
where Christians are a minority among Muslims, and Dr Orhan Cicek is a
Muslim scholar of Turkish origin living in Australia, where Muslims are a
minority among Christians.

> Redefining identity in dialogue

"Pakistani Christians are placed in a unique socio-political situation,"
says Bishop Samuel, who heads a church which has experienced several
violent attacks in recent years and senses its own vulnerability in an
acute way. "We are often misunderstood due to our colonial origin, and we
are considered as 'representatives' of the West. As a religious minority,
we did experience a backlash as a reaction to the situation in Iraq,
Afghanistan and Palestine."

Bishop Samuel adds, on a more optimistic note, that "today, the Christian
community is trying to redefine itself in the dialogue, but suspicion
still creeps in during the process. At the same time, I feel that we have
travelled a long way in the journey of interreligious dialogue, which was
not a very bright possibility few years ago."

Dr Orhan Cicek recognizes that in a diverse and multicultural society like
Australia, legislation guarantees freedom of speech and faith. But he
agrees that religious minorities face other kinds of difficulties.

"Even if we do not feel alienated as Muslims in a predominantly Christian
context, we need to be more organized for our views and thoughts to be
more acceptable," Cicek explains. "It is a big challenge to get adopted
into the mainstream society and to maintain our cultural identities intact
at the same time. The dilemma of post-modern countries is that, despite
the promotion of multiculturalism, some groups in society remain isolated."
Cicek emphasizes how the actions of a few can negatively impact an entire
community. "The isolation and sense of insecurity among the Muslim
minority is related to those few leaders and politicians who associate
Islam and terrorism in a way which I completely reject," he says. "For me
and for many, there cannot be any connection between religion and
violence. However, due to a certain political agenda, these terms are
misused, and they feed on ignorance."

Cicek values the efforts of organizations and institutions which promote
multicultural and interfaith dialogue, as their efforts can also influence
the attitudes of politicians and authorities.

> Stretching our limits and boundaries

How do minorities cope with dialogue? Bishop Samuel recognizes that the
Christian minority in Pakistan does not easily engage with other communities, for complex reasons. "Only a small fraction of individuals participate
in dialogue with the Muslim majority in an equal relationship and with
confidence. Therefore, the dialogue does not seep through to the grassroot
level, and the common Christian remains in the same insecurity and fear,"
he explains.

The Geneva "critical moment" conference recognized that religious
minorities frequently share this sense of fear, not only because of
external threats, but also because of defensiveness within their communities. The participants urged that "those who live in cultural and religious
contexts where inter-religious dialogue is not perceived as a threat to
the strength and identity of religious communities should be more
sensitive when engaged in international dialogue, of what may be at stake
for other participants."

In answer to the same question, Orhan Cicek agrees that there is often a
lack of confidence and capacity to understand themselves and their own
histories among religious minorities. To be able to overcome this
difficulty, he says, "we need to have a knowledge of ourselves in our own
regional, local as well as global context. We need to find the ways in
which we can stretch our limits and boundaries to be able to reach out to
the wider community and other cultures."

Cicek points out that many churches in Australia try to promote intercultural and interreligious relationships, but that Muslims and other minorities
do not take up this offer, feeling restricted by their lack of confidence
and culture. One important area of work, he suggests, is to lessen the
resistance to interreligious dialogue through building trust, and a sense
of shared vulnerability.

For Bishop Samuel, interreligious dialogue today stands at a crossroads,
and becomes ever more crucial in an increasingly violent, intolerant and
globalized world. Stressing that we need to "increase our capacity to
listen and reduce our preaching," he adds that "we all need to recognize
that the power of God is at work in all our communities."

(*) Ms Naveen Qayyum is a member of the Church of Pakistan and a youth
intern in the WCC Public Information Team.

This feature is part of a series highlighting issues and experience of
interreligious dialogue, and is published by the WCC in the context of the
conference on a "critical moment in interreligious dialogue" hosted by the
WCC, 7-9 June 2005, in Geneva. Further information, news, documents and
photos are available on:
http://www.oikoumene.org/interreligious.html

Opinions expressed in WCC Features do not necessarily reflect WCC policy.
This material may be reprinted freely, providing credit is given to the
author.

Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363
[email protected]

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The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 347, in
more than 120 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works
cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly,
which meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally
inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its staff is headed by
general secretary Samuel Kobia from the Methodist church in Kenya.

Posted by admin at June 14, 2005 03:22 PM


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