Whenever I tell people I live in Kaduna and my work is ecumenism and Interreligious dialogue with other Christians and with Muslims, people show some excitement, recognizing the necessity for dialogue in Kaduna, since it is one of the hotspots for ethno-religious conflicts in Northern Nigeria.

Sr. Anne Falola, the author of this article is a Missionary Sister of Our Lady of Apostles, (OLA). She holds a B.Ed in Guidance and Counseling from the University of Ibadan and an MA in Christian Spirituality from Heathrow College, University of London. She has been a missionary in Nigeria and Argentina in South America. She worked as the Secretary for the Mission Committee for the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria. Presently she is the Executive Director for Women Interfaith Council, Kaduna, Nigeri.

 

T his article attempts to contend against restricting dialogue to trouble spots in the world, being used as a conflict resolution tool. While it is true that Interreligious dialogue is often applied for peace-building, it is important to state that the Christian understanding of Interreligious dialogue goes beyond conflict resolution.

Dialogue is a way of being, an attitude, it is a spirituality, a disposition of the heart to give and receive from others compassionately. Dialogue is lived informally in our day to day life in family, neighbourhood and community. However, Interreligious dialogue involves that extra effort to engage in transformative relationship with people of other religions and cultures. It is a slow process which involves listening with respect, opening our hearts to the values in others and willingly sharing our own experiences and values. Dialogue becomes transformative as we grow in our consciousness of the other and we become aware of our own needs.

Forms of dialogue

Today, cultural and religious diversity is a reality in almost every community in the world due to the massive human movement and growth in technology which highlights our interconnectedness. Therefore, dialogue is an imperative for everyone and cannot be considered as a special reserve for a few experts. Everyone can engage in dialogue at some level; for example, at the basic level, everyone is encouraged to relate with respect with those who are different. The dialogue of life is engaging in normal day to day life situations with those who are different. This would require a generous and open disposition to accommodate our differences, which may be obvious like the mode of dressing, or subtle like the mode of understanding gender relationships. This is an aspect of dialogue which forms the bedrock for all others. Dialogue of life is indeed our starting point in Kaduna, where conflicts have caused a huge gulf between the Christian and the Muslim populations. Our mission in Women Interfaith Council is to build bridges and rebuild relationships as a first step to restore broken trust and create a conducive environment for the other forms of dialogue.

A form of dialogue which is almost unavoidable in our pluralistic society is the dialogue of social engagements . All humans have the same basic needs: food, shelter, health, education, etc. As a society with diversity of beliefs, the way these needs are organized and delivered to the population may be complex and thus, become a subject of dialogue. It requires an ability to listen with respect and compassion to everyone’s needs, while we work together for the common good, especially for the needs of the most vulnerable in the society. To strengthen our search for the common good for example, women of diverse faiths in Kaduna come together to reflect on the issue of marginalization, poverty, education of girl-child, early marriages, unemployment and health concerns. Our Interfaith Forum of Muslim and Christian Women’s Associations (commonly known as the Women’s Interfaith Council) creates a credible and unified voice for women, irrespective of their religion or ethnic affiliation.

The other two forms of dialogue may require a higher level of expertise: dialogue of spiritual experience and of theological exchange . However, each one of us is challenged to deepen our understanding of our own faith, reflect on our spiritual heritage and deepen our own journey in our faith tradition. Without this, we shall be like a tottering fence, ready to fall at the slightest agitation. One beautiful experience of theological exchange with Muslims was an invitation I got to participate in a Conference in Izmir, Turkey in 2015, which focused on the theme: ‘The Compassion of Mary’ both in the Christian and Muslim perspectives. It was such a deep spiritual experience to listen to Muslims talk about Mary as the most Blessed Woman and a Model of compassion. Using our different Scriptures, our faiths were deepened and respect for each other grew. The aim of our conversation was not to convert anyone from one religion to the other, but it helped us to grow in our respective faiths and be enriched by the perspective of the other. Dialogue as spirituality is rooted in the way God relates to us, God who created us but also engages with each one of us in a unique relationship. The Christian understanding of dialogue is founded on the Trinitarian communion which overflows to humanity and the entire creation.

This reawakened call to dialogue defines the contemporary mission theology and praxis. Mission is not a conquest, crusade, colonialism or campaign for baptism; rather Christian mission today more than ever before, seeks to reach out and engage humanity in a search for Communion in spite of the confusion of our divisions. The goal of the Mission of the Church is not limited to the numerical expansion through baptism and planting of Church; rather the emphasis of mission today is on spreading the love of God by engaging the world in transformative actions which respond in diverse ways to particular contexts. In Latin America it may be solidarity with the poor against oppression and domination; in Africa it may be a fraternity within and across autonomous cultures; in Asia it may be solidarity amidst the diversity of religions. By this, evangelization includes but is not restricted to direct proclamation of Christ and the Good News of the Gospel. Hence, the conversion we seek is not so much the change of religion, but an inward transformation which opens us to the good in others and enables us recognize God’s presence in them.

Bases for Mission and Dialogue

Interreligious dialogue is an integral element of the Church’s evangelizing mission, because God, in an age-long dialogue, has offered and continues to offer salvation to humankind. In faithfulness to the divine initiative, the Church too must enter into a dialogue of salvation with all men and women.¹ Dialogue is essential for mission because,

• Dialogue ensures presence, respect and love towards all, thus, dialogue is an essential tool for building communion especially in the pluralistic context in which mission is largely carried out. In the spirit of dialogue, the missionary approaches other cultures, other religions and ideologies with respect and openness. Dialogue counteracts the feeling of superiority often associated with the colonial approach to mission. Thus dialogue is a means of witness which hinges on to the core gospel value of humility.
• Interreligious dialogue facilitates openness to the Holy Spirit: Dialogue does not merely aim at mutual understanding and friendly relations. It reaches a much deeper level, that of the spirit, where exchange and sharing consist of a mutual witness to one’s beliefs and a common exploration of one’s respective religious convictions and spiritual experiences which is the work of the spirit in each soul. Through dialogue, we may come to discover the presence of God in others.
• Interreligious dialogue is a pathway to true conversion to God: interreligious dialogue when done in freedom, possesses its own validity, because sincere dialogue implies, on the one hand, mutual acceptance of differences, or even of contradictions, and on the other, respect for the free decision of persons taken according to the dictates of one’s conscience
• Dialogue is an important tool for human liberation: It is a means to attain the integral development, social justice and human liberation. All Christians are called upon to work with others as witnesses to Christ, to commit themselves in an unselfish and impartial manner. There is need to stand up for human rights, proclaim the demands of justice, and denounce injustice not only when their own members are victimized, but independently of the religious allegiance of the victims. There is need also to join together in trying to solve the great problems facing society and the world, as well as in education for justice and peace. Thus dialogue provides a platform to fulfill one of the aims of mission: that they may have life and have it to the full.²
• Dialogue as tool to Resolve Conflict and Tension : By its very nature, dialogue encouragers all partners to enter the neutral space of respectful listening and openness to the other. Interreligious dialogue is a tool for healing, reconciliation and peace building.

Conclusion

Interreligious requires a theology that is contextual which recognizes that culture, history, other religious traditions and human realities are all sacred spaces where God’s spirit is constantly at work. The difficulties presented by the differences and contradictions of engaging with the ‘other’ serve as the fertile soil of living the Pascal mystery of the death and resurrection which is an essential part of the Christian message. The meaning of mission assumes a new dimension when we are able to transcend the first stage of adding numbers to the community of the baptized, and we actively participate in the advanced mission of precipitating the reign of God on earth through the members of all the religions in the world.³

Finally, there can be no Christian mission without dialogue, because the Gospel of Christ is like a ‘leaven’ which becomes powerful when it is mixed with the ‘dough’ of human weaknesses, and when it is tested in the fire of love through a total self-giving. Dialogue involves stepping into the unknown, it requires letting go of oneself and may entail being rejected. Dialogue strips the Christian message of superfluous adornment and challenges it to constantly get to the essential, the heart of the Good News: Koinonia – communion. There can be no communion without Diakonia – service, and a true Christian service entails self-empting, martyrion – witness and modeled after Christ’s passion and resurrection. This is the mission of Christ, it is the mission of every baptized and indeed, it is the mission of the Church!

=========================

Footnotes

<sup>1. Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, Dialogue and proclamation; Reflection And Orientations On Interreligious Dialogue, And The Proclamation Of The Gospel Of Jesus Christ, May 1991, 1↩
2. Cf. Jn 10:10↩
3. Jojo Joseph, Mission in the Pluralistic Context: Spreading the Message of Abba Experience, downloaded on 4/5/2011↩</sup>