Phillipines: Christians & Muslims come together for interfaith dialogue
November 08, 2012: In its annual meeting this coming week-end in Zamboanga (Mindanao),
the Silsilah dialogue movement will focus on the peace process between the government
and Muslim extremists as well as the training of Muslim and Christian leaders to
fight poverty in tribal areas.
For Silsilah founder Fr Sebastiano d'Ambra,
a missionary with the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), the two-day
event will bring together some 300 people from the across the predominantly Muslim
island, including, "for the first time, Christian and Muslim members from Manila,"
the clergyman said.
Silsilah members will use the occasion to renew their
pledge to spread the spirit of peace and interfaith dialogue in their respective communities,
which are often embroiled in family, religious and ethnic feuds.
"Our movement,"
Fr d'Ambra said, "is based on the idea that God is the source of all dialogue. Silsilah
offers a life of dialogue with everyone, Christians, Muslims and Tribals. It is aimed
at young people who through our initiatives learn to trust and love one another through
shared experiences in harmony, solidarity and peace."
The meeting will start
this Saturday with a big dinner at Harmony Village and will continue with discussions
on current affairs, like the recent agreement signed by the Filipino government and
the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to set up an autonomous government in Bangsamoro.
On Sunday, plans for the Harmony Village Festival in February will also be
presented.
This year's meeting is dedicated to Marilou Diaz-Abaya, a Silsilah
member but also a filmmaker known across the country for her work in favour of Christian-Muslim
dialogue who passed away on 8 October after a long battle with cancer. (S.C.)