A concerned group of Muslims and Christians from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka met in Lahore to discuss the primacy of God in the context of South Asia.

A new chapter on Christian-Muslim understanding for enduring peace, harmony and prosperity was opened when the Declaration on the Relation of the Church to non-Christian Religions was solemnly voted and approved by the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council on 28 October 1965. It has certainly inspired the members of the Catholic Church at different levels to promote relations of respect and dialogue with people of other religions. Fundamental unity of mankind is focused. People are drawing closer today with increased pluralism as an accepted social reality. Christians and Muslims are inseparable for the welfare of mankind. Pope John Paul II referred to the common origin and common destiny of mankind. He said in the in-between period, “We must learn to walk together in peace and harmony or we drift apart and ruin ourselves and others.”

Inspired by the Pope’s message, the Vatican has taken the lead in organising several National Commissions in South Asia. Archbishop Mons. Michael. L. Fitzerald, the President of the National Commission for Inter-Religious Dialogue (Vatican) and the Bishop Andrew Francis, the Chairman of the National Commission for Inter-Religious Dialogue and Ecumenism organised a dialogue at Lahore, Pakistan, from 10-14 December 2005. Archbishop Fitzerald holds a Ph.D. in Islam. All the expenses were born by the Vatican. The delegates were from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. It was a mixture of Muslims and Christians, more or less in equal number. The four- day dialogue was very meaningful, open and educative. The Indian team was led by Fr. Dr. M. D. Thomas, National Secretary of Commission for Inter-Religious Dialogue, New Delhi. The gist of the dialogue is presented;

Pakistani Senator and Advisor to the Prime Minister, Mohammed Ali Durrani represented the Prime Minister and Dr. Khalid Masood, Chairman of Islamic Ideology Council represented the President of Pakistan. All leading newspapers like Dawn showed keen interest and covered the proceedings. He said that Christianity and Islam had many similarities despite some ideological differences. They preach respect and love for humanity. It was high time that their followers ironed out all differences.

Archbishop Mons. Michael L. Fitzerald said that it was faith in God and confidence in humanity that impelled late Pope John Paul II to engage in dialogue. It is the moral duty of all to build up good relations between people of different religions, to promote cultural dialogue and to work together for greater justice and enduring peace.

Scholars from the five South Asian countries stressed on the reality of religious pluralism among the people of the sub-continent. They reviewed in their papers the text of the holy Quran and holy Bible to demonstrate the scriptural inter-connected-ness of God with everyday life. They were of the view that primacy of God was paramount to both Islam and Christianity. They held that social realities of culture, tradition and customary practices had nothing to do with religion and primacy of God in everyday life, and that of other realities like poverty, illiteracy and marginalisation of women were the biggest hindrances in ideological reflections.

Finally, a well-debated vision statement was prepared and released to the press.

Vision Statement

“A concerned group of Muslims and Christians from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka met in Lahore from 11-14 December, 2005. This meeting was organised by the National Commission for Inter-religious Dialogue and Ecumenism and sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, Rome to discuss the primacy of God in the context of South Asia. This commitment is based on the individual and collective yearning and desire to build on the foundations of love, truth, justice, harmony, peace and reconciliation as taught by our religions, and within the context of the multi-faceted fabric of our societies. As a result of our journeying together, we reaffirm our belief in the primacy of God and the importance of interfaith relationships as a way of life, and to take all possible steps to uphold dignity, equality, freedom, justice and mutual acceptance through education, media and respect for gender. We are conscious of our social responsibility to implement this vision in the respective contexts of our countries.”

(The writer was part of the Indian team, and can be reached at prof.dr.khan_kgn @vsnl.net)

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