Faith Matters Attended an Interfaith Gathering in the US

In March, 2014, I got an opportunity to attend an interfaith gathering arranged by DC Interfaith Network in Bethesda (just outside the US capital, Washington DC). The gathering was arranged at the house of Peter Kovach, a senior diplomat who has previously held a number of key positions in government, including the director of International Religious Freedom at the U.S Department of State and a counsellor for public affairs in the American Embassy in Islamabad. Numbered among the other attendees were Rebecca Cataldi from the International Center for Religion & Diplomacy (ICRD), Anjum Ali, president at Speaking Unites and Shama Farooq from the 9/11 Unity Walk.

The discussion started with an update of the wonderful work being carried out by ICRD in Pakistan. This has focused on engaging with the religious schools (madrasas), carrying out teacher training and educating the young people on the ideas of human rights, conflict resolution and religious tolerance. We’ve previously gone on about the importance of education in interfaith work, and so it was really heartening to hear about other groups active in this field.

Rehman Anwer, Project Manager Faith Matters Meeting with the American Civil Society Activists

One of the key issues that was raised in the discussion was that of ‘identity’, specifically the issue of American Muslim identity, and its meaning for many living in the US. Some participants shared how they encountered some difficulty when trying to balance the two, or putting their national/cultural affiliation first, with some even reporting hostility from others in their own community. We discussed various dimensions of this issue, as well as broader tensions around identity, including what happens when people feel their identity is under threat. The debate also included Islamophobia in the West today, and how is it fuelling tensions between different communities. I got the opportunity to discuss some of our work around Islamophobia and anti-Muslim attacks in Britain, and it was really fascinating to compare this to the trends and tendencies of anti-Muslim hate crime identified in the US.

Since many of the participants had some Pakistani background - and some have on going social projects in Pakistan – there was also a big discussion around the interfaith challenges in Pakistan. This also touched on the history of the country – many participants traced much of the damage to majority-minority faith relations, and the current culture of restrictions on freedom of religion and belief, to the country’s past of military dictatorship. Those present discussed how discrimination against the minority communities had become institutionalized in Pakistan, thus contributing to the rise of the contemporary environment of violent extremism in the country.   I got the opportunity to discuss my experiences of working on countering violent extremism and interfaith related projects in Pakistan. There was a broad consensus that the way forward is to counter the extremist narratives at every front, and to promote a culture of interreligious dialogue in Pakistan. Through this, many affirmed, Pakistanis can promote a sense of shared values and respect for each other’s religious beliefs.

This was a unique experience, and I felt privileged and honoured to take part in it. Interfaith dialogue can sometimes be a grim and endless experience, with every day bringing a new depressing story about sectarian violence and conflict. But gatherings like this gave me a great sense of trust and confidence in the interfaith dialogue. The commitment of all the participants to promote interfaith relations was outstanding, and gave me hope for the future.

Rehman Anwer

Challenges and Opportunities of Interfaith Dialogue in Pakistan

Although it’s extremely valuable, the interfaith movement in Pakistan needs more than the commitment and enthusiasm of local and international interfaith groups - it requires a consistent strategy to achieve its desired results. This article can’t lay out such a strategy on its own, but does seek to offer a few pointers of important issues to take into account when developing such a strategy.

Pakistan is a country of over 190 million people, and a home to people from diverse religious beliefs - facts which signify the need for a stronger and more pervasive interfaith and intra-faith dialogue. In a country like Pakistan, where religious beliefs are considered to be an integral part of the identity of a vast majority of people, the struggle to promote good interfaith relations between different faith communities is extremely important. The country has a poor history of communal violence, and many minority groups feel marginalized and targeted by various violent and extremist groups.

One of the biggest challenges posed to the interfaith struggle in Pakistan is the inadequate understanding of interfaith dialogue and conflict resolution, and what they really mean. Many of the current interfaith initiatives in the country revolve around participation of religious leaders, discussing complex theological issues which may not always be understandable or relevant to the vast majority of young Pakistanis – who make up more than half of the Pakistan’s population. The involvement of religious leaders in an interfaith seminar or meeting is meaningful and leaves a positive message with the participants, but if the goal is to strengthen the interfaith movement in Pakistan and create a real impact for different faith communities, the involvement of young people in this struggle holds a crucial position. They need to be trained and educated in interfaith dialogue, and should be well equipped with the ideas, knowledge, and techniques to promote interfaith harmony in Pakistani society.

Another challenge, closely linked with this, is the near-complete absence of interfaith education in school textbooks and curriculums. Introducing and outlining the basic teachings of all the major religions can be extremely helpful in breaking down stereotypes and hostilities about each other’s religions, and can promote greater and deeper understanding. Organising interfaith visits to various places of worship can also help in overcoming barriers to promoting interfaith harmony in Pakistan. Teachers need to be trained on community cohesion and religious diversity elements and the schools must arrange regular seminars to promote interfaith relations between students. This isn’t an attempt to convert young Pakistanis to a different religious standpoint – quite the opposite. This sort of interfaith learning is necessary both for better interfaith relations, and the maturing of one’s own beliefs.

Last but not least among these challenges, is the issue of countering the dominant narratives against minority faith groups. One of the major obstacles in popularising the ideas of interfaith relations is the widespread social acceptance of prejudice against members of minority groups. Society at large needs to be sensitised over this issue, so that every person, irrespective of their religious beliefs, takes it as their prime civic responsibility to counter the hatred and violence prevailing in society. Media can play a central role in this. At the moment, some certain sections of media do raise and cover interfaith issues in Pakistan, but it does not always seem to be on the top of their agendas. Civil society organisations can play a large part in resolving this; they need to adopt a collaborative approach with the mainstream media to address these issues, and play their part to raise awareness on the importance of interfaith dialogue in Pakistan.

All these threats and challenges to the interfaith dialogue in Pakistan are not without opportunities to strengthen it, however. Pakistan is a country that originally came into being as a consequence of an ideological struggle of religious freedom and identity surrounding the Muslim minority of India. The founder of Pakistan’s vision was to promote citizenship and inclusiveness in Pakistani society – although Jinnah’s vision was later badly distorted by the subsequent civil and military regimes. Nonetheless, contemporary Pakistani society is increasingly rediscovering the importance of promoting interfaith relations between communities. The case of Rimsha Masih, a 15 years old Christian girl accused of desecrating pages of Quran in 2012, is one example of this; the vast majority of the Pakistani society supported the girl’s side, and the landmark case resulted in the arrest of the local imam who had wrongly accused the girl of blasphemy.

Rimsha’s case is not the only one. Pakistan has set some brilliant precedents of Muslim leaders standing up firmly to promote minority rights, sometimes making great sacrifices to do so. In 2011, the Governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer, publicly supported a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who was accused of blasphemy charges. Although, his fearless stance eventually cost him his life – he was murdered by his own security guard but his brave initiative encouraged other Muslim activists to champion and work on the issue of persecution against minority faith groups in Pakistan.

Though tragic, these sorts of attacks against the many moderate voices in Pakistan have arguably helped in isolating the extremists, and begun to shape public opinion against them. Although extremist elements are gaining ground in the Pakistani society, they have failed to win the hearts and minds of the majority of the Pakistanis, who can increasingly see them for what they are. This recognition of the very real threat of extremism – for all Pakistanis - provides a powerful opportunity to enhance the coordination of all these moderate voices, and to counter the extremist narratives at various levels in society, in order to foster community cohesion and interfaith harmony.

Finally, it’s worth noting Pakistan has a very large young population, with about 66% of the population below the age of 30. The young people of Pakistan can bring about a revolution in terms of bringing peace and stability to the country – provided, that is, they are educated on the true theological teachings based on peace, love, tolerance and compassion. They also need to be aware of the contribution of members of minority faith groups in the creation and development of Pakistan – the unsung heroes of Pakistan who are rarely discussed in their textbooks. This approach will promote a sense of citizenship and equality among the citizens irrespective of their religious beliefs to make a just, united and inclusive Pakistan, where people are not oppressed because of their faith.

Rehman Anwer