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It's often the small things that make for peace ...

..... Like saying Happy Birthday!! Or celebrating a day that is special to your neighbours. Or telling a parent how proud they must be of their chuldren.

Its recently been the celebration of the birth of the Prophet Mohammed, a festival known as Mawlid or Milad. The Sunni Muslim community celebrated it on 4th February this year; the Shia do so 5 days later on 9th February. Its a time of rejoicing and food -- just like a birthday party should be! In Luton the Muslim community have been celebrating it with a parade through Bury Park for some years, but this year for the first time they made their way all the way to the Town Hall where a number of people were invited to speak. It was a very happy and peaceful occasion - as it should be!

I was invited to speak, along with the MP's, the deputy mayor, and a member of Luton Council of Faiths. Now I am not a Muslim, I'm a deeply committed Christian, but I work on the basis that there is nothing wrong with honouring your friends and neighbours by treating their special days as important. I don't see that as compromise!  On such occasions I go as I am, a Christian lay-leader speaking from the heart of my faith, and a peacemaker speaking about peace.

So thats what I did, and this is what I said:

Asalam Alaykum!

And in the language of my own worship liturgy: May the peace of Jesus Christ be with you!

It's a privilege to be with you today. The words I just used have formed a part of Christian worship for 2000 years and they express something of our own contribution to this special occasion. For in exchanging those words with one another at a central place in worship, we recognise the divine call to live as a church community in peace and unity; and to extend that peace to the wider community around us. Indeed as I left church this morning I was reminded of that call by words engraved in glass doors at our entrance: "Live at peace with all!"

It's so good to share this occasion with so many friends. And to enjoy the peaceful relationship to which both of our faiths call us. It is a testimony to that way of peace that we can honestly say we have seen peace triumph in the midst of conflict here in Luton.

Peace for me, and I believe for you, is not something passive, but is something we work at. Indeed my response to the accusation that Luton is a breeding ground of extremism, is to say I prefer to see it as a workshop for peace. And it is particularly appropriate that where some try to draw the battle lines between our faiths, that we turn that accusation upside down and instead we look to the central teaching of our faiths that promote peace, that call for mutual understanding in our of diversity, that command neighbourliness, and which encourage friendship!

My greetings to you all.

In fact its very similar to the start of a talk I  gave to a large number of young Muslims in April 2011 on peace. (I am not blogging much so its only two pieces down.) And its the heart of what I say so often. Its what I believe passionately -- that Christians and Muslims are called by the respective faiths to live in peace as neighbours, and more importantly that it is possible.

So much of it is about simple things like celebrating a birthday or a special occasion. Or saying nice things about someone's kids.

I did that a few years ago, and its one of the things that has won me a voice in the Muslim community. I was leading a workshop at an interfaith youth conference. There were youth groups from different faiths there. And in the conversations in workshops I was very impressed by a small group of young Muslim young men and young women.  So I told their youth leader. His face shone. He grasped my hands. And he and his group have never forgotten it. It cost me nothing, but it won a lot of friends.

Guess how I was introduced today?!

Peacebuilding involves some very easy and straightforward stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

London 7/7 Bombings: Lets move on.

So the London bombings inquest begins today.   Sky is covering it as unfolds: 7/7 Inquest Live: The Hope For Answers .The events of that dreadful day will be regularly paraded across our TV screens and newspapers for the next few months. It does not take any remarkable forsight to predict that while the official focus is on the security services, police etc and what could have been done on their side to stop it, there will a subtext in the proceedings that will regularly be drawn out by the media to  stand alongside it.  Islamic extremism,  Islam and ordinary Muslims will once again be under the spotlight.

The power of the media to multiply and perpetuate the impact of an event  is at times like this begas many questions.  Terrorism thrives on this ability to captivate our minds with ... terror. A time limited event can now more powerfully be imprinted on our minds.  The media in a highly questionable way does the job of the terrorist in reminding us of what happened.  "Never forget!" can easily be replaced by "We won't let you forget!" 

And quickly "Never Forget!" becomes wedded to "Never Forgive!"   Already this morning we have had interviews with Julie Nicholson who as a Church of England priest found she was unable to forgive the murder of her daughter on that dreadful July day. Bombers "should not be forgiven" says priest.  [I'll link to the BBC interview later.]  

Mine here is not to write again about forgiveness. Julie's article in The Times in 2006 explaining her position is behind the Times paywall and I am not going there. However there is a long piece written around her story here on Rachel from North London's blog whose article appeared with it in the The Times that day.   I may venture forth on that subject another day, but for now my focus is not on forgiveness, nor really on forgetting, but rather moving on.

My hope is simply that we can move on, and quit forever stirring up the anger associated with that event. We need to move on.

And we need to stop beating the very very large majority of the Muslim population who were deeply shamed by 7/7.  I'll write more on that, but for now I am stating my position.

Having a conversation that can be heard.

I've got a loud voice. I can fill a hall easily without a PA system. But when people don't understand me, I easily switch from English to "louder English". I do the same when for whatever reason people are not listening to me. I do try to moderate my voice, but  I am a passionate person and its so easy to express that passion with volume without thinking what I am doing. At those times I understand it can be hard to listen to me.

OK, that my confession done.

Tomorrow we will be having one of what have become regularly scheduled shouting matches. On this occasion the lucky hosts is the City of Leicester. Once again it seems that on the right we have the English Defence League (EDL),  and over on the left we have Unite Against Fascism (UAF).  Little more needs really be said, we have seen the plot unfold with similar script many times.  The details may have changed but what I wrote in late August about a similar event in Bradford still stands: The EDL - deeply Islamophobic, often racist and frequently seeking violence. In fact that event further confirmed my analysis of the EDL.  My summary of the UAF there was pretty negative as well, and that remains too.

Hate-filled slogans from behind whatever barriers the police have errected in their effort to keep people apart are as useless for effective communication - and ultimately for changing things - as shouting.

Thank God (and as a Christian I use those words intentionally!) that in this hate-charged environment someone is getting the message that this sort of engagement doesn't get anywhere. Multiplying hatred really just continues the cycle ofconflict and violence.  Hope not Hate in the lead up to Bradford were developing a very different response to that which has traditionally been a part of their history. They describe the background to this change in an article in October's Searchlight Magazine.   A Journey to Hope: Anti-Fascism in a New Era

While some groups called for supporters to take to the streets for a confrontation with the EDL, we did the very opposite and prioritised working in the community, focusing on communicating with local people, in the weeks leading up to the protest. It was the latest example of a different type of anti-fascism.

Authors Nick Lowles and Paul Meszaros go on to develop that:

While some on the hard left claimed that only by taking to the streets could we defend the Muslim community, we believed that stopping the march – which the EDL wanted to go through a predominantly Muslim neighbourhood – did far more to protect communities then being kettled behind police lines and shouting slogans.

But there was a bigger aspect to our campaign, one that put local people first. It was about engaging with the community. It was about real conversations with real people, something you cannot do simply by bussing in activists on the day of a protest. It was fundamentally about winning hearts and minds of ordinary people, a major departure from traditional anti-fascism.

Surveying the way that changes in far right politics and the election of BNP candidates to local government and the European Parliament has made the traditional "No Platform" policy pretty meaningless and demonstrations ineffectual in opposing it, they turn to the rise over the past 18 months of the EDL, and similar need for different measures:

The EDL reflects a deeper cultural battle in society and this only reinforces the need to win hearts and minds. That means engaging with people in communities and not just turning out on the day of a protest.

That was what they did in Bradford, and it worked, summed up for me in Hope not Hate's post the day after the demo: It's curry and samosas all round.

Late in the evening several Asian families arrived at the police station to thank the assembled officers for their hard work during the day. They then presented them with large trays of food, curries and samosas, which was gladly accepted by the police. ... Bradford has rejected the racism and hatred of the EDL and is moving forward together as one people.

How different from the scene of July 2001!

And so Hope not Hate, together with many local community and faith groups in the city have been working on a similar model of engagement in Leicester:  Leicester comes together as one.  And so far it seems to be working. 600 people attended a prayer vigil in Leicester this afternoon -  Leicester stands together.  They have now left the streets for the police to handle as they seek to contain and keep apart those who prefer shouting in Leicester tomorrow. They will return on Sunday for a multicultural celebration!And may it be a great party as people let odwn after all the tensions.

 For me,  at the centre of my faith is the story of hatred and evil looking like it would have its day, and then in the face of that evil, a sacrifice of love triumphs over evil.  I look for the same at a lesser level in peacemaking. That out of what was intended for evil can come a greater good!  It happened in Bradford - the threat of hatred and division was replaced with a greater display of  kindness and unity!  I am praying that for Leicester tomorrow. 

Meanwhile I am reminded again that shouting is not an effective way to be heard and understood!

Spared from Burning Qu'rans. But we still need a lot more love.

Update: In the light of the current uncertainty as to whether he will burn Qu'rans or not, I will subtitle this:

"We may be spared from burning Qu'rans. But whatever the case we defininitely need a lot more love."

I shouldn't really be so surprised by it, but hatred, fear and intolerance really are so very destructive!  And by comparison, friendship and acceptance are so rich!!  This observation makes sense of the words of one of Jesus' early followers, John (in the Christian Bible 1 John 5.18):

There is no fear in love. Perfect love drives out fear.

I don't claim to be anywhere near that perfection, but I do try, and to be honest it feels good and it is easier the more you do it.

After all the silly business of the past few days as we anticipated the horrible possibility of an American Christian Pastor burning 200 Qu'rans, we can now turn our attention for a few moments to joining with our Muslim friends and neighbours and wishing them greetings for Eid.  I just wrote on my Facebook page:

Eid Mubarak to all my Muslim friends!! I appreciate you, and am richer for the different things you bring to my life. We are different, and I am not about to ignore that, but those differences need never stop us being friends or working together. And I trust that while there is hatred out there, we will continue to find ourselves growing closer. Have a great holiday!!

As I did I was thinking about what I was doing. Was I "posing for the camera", creating a good show because that's my work?  Did I have my tongue in my cheek? Did I mean it? Was I being disloyal to my Christian faith, selling my soul for favour with people I should really be hating?

No, I am glad to say after all that analysis, I can honestly say I did it because I meant it!!  I do it because that is what I believe love is, the way I have been commanded to live. And I did it because that way of living is becoming a little more natural, my first response. Paul, another early follower of Jesus Christ put it this way (Galatians 5.6):

The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. 

I can have all the wonderful theology, but unless it translates itself into love that is a reflection of the love I believe Jesus brought into the world it doesn't count for a lot. In fact John, the follower of Jesus I referred to above went so far as to say this (1 John 5.7-8):

Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God.

Sadly for all the fact that we are spared the immediate threat of a big bonfire of the book that to my friends is sacred, hatred has not gone away, not even for a day. While I hope my Muslim friends can take a well deserved holiday after the rigours of a month of fasting, we must go on addressing the horrible destructive power of hate. I wrote a piece last night while the news was breaking that it was on hold  - my focus was on a message from the church's to our Muslim leaders, the mosques and the wider community. Burning Qu'rans is not good for Luton  I awoke this morning to find the agreement that Pastor Jones thought he had on the "Ground Zero Mosque" was contested, and maybe never happened. (Was that just a face saver for a backwoods leader of a small local church who found he has become a big time player?) Even now fires are burning in Afghanistan despite the Pastors decision. I am sure they won't be the last. This weekend there will be a protest against the "Ground Zero mosque", and English Islamophobia will stand alongside American Islamophobia, as members of the English Defense League participate (even though their leader "Tommy Robinson" has been denied entry to the USA). The EDL themselves are planning another hate-fest in Leicester which is galvanising the local community. And in The Netherlands Islamophobe Geert Wilders is still working to get a place for his party in the coalition government despite a lot of opposition. The EDL plan to join in things there too as Wilders defends himself against a charge of hate speech.

Religious Intolerance is rife and growing in the nations of the west as well as much as it is established in the Muslim world. Lets not deny it. In the USA the other day, goaded by the prospect of a bonfire that could light many many fires, Christian Muslim and Jewish leaders met to talk about what to do. Patrick Cockburn wrote in today's Independent:  The fires of religious fury are easily lit but hard to put out  His focus was on the continued pressure against Christian communities in Iraq, Pakistan, and across the Muslim world. Its true. No one can deny it. But lest we be accused of being hypocrites lets work for as much freedom from fear and hatred for our Muslim neighbours as we expect from them, No, in fact I will go further, let us unashamedly give them more - because that is in the nature of love.

I was glad to note the contribution of  Rev. Richard Cizik, president of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good:

“To those who would exercise derision, bigotry, open rejection of our fellow Americans of a different faith, I say, shame on you. As an evangelical, I say to those who do this, you bring dishonor to those who love Jesus Christ.”

May many more voices like this arise. Eugene Cho in Seattle who leads a multicultural church there is one who leads the way on a different approach to such issues that divide our world; he wrote: What would Jesus do? Burn the Koran or eat with his Muslim neighbours?  He makes reference to another Christian leader there in Seattle  reported here in the Seattle Times.  Its not all bad news.

There may be a respite from the threat of burning Qu'rans. There may be some good news out there.  But my message is very simple. We  still need a whole lot more love. And a lot less hatred.

Once again, to my Muslim friends. Eid Mubarak!

Common Decency? It seems its not so common.

A couple of days ago I asked "Why do people feel the need to draw Mohammed?"

I am shocked at the lack of people who are prepared to say, without reservation, that the desire to mock Muslims is wrong. No buts ... just that it is wrong.  We don't need to say ... ahh ... but I do believe in free speech  ... they have had it coming to them ... they are so intolerant ... they have no sense of humour. 

I am more shocked at the lack of Christians saying its wrong, and seeking to guide themselves by the peaceableness of Christ. I read  of no opt out on that because the other side aren't playing game. I read of no opt out because strategically this represents ordinary people fighting back against "the follies of multiculturalism that have restricted free speech" - which of course make sit OK?  I read no opt out because of all the nasty things they did to us.

To mock someone else is wrong. When Christ is mocked, the purity of his sexual morals questioned, when his divinity is called into question in popular culture, we start to rant at free speech and call for censure. The irony is that on several occasions recently when these things have happened my Muslim friends have asked why we allow it?!!  What am I to say now?

Do I have to say more?

Ace, Kevin! Kevin Rudd's Christian and Conciliatory politics

I noted yesterday the interest in Australian PM Kevin Rudd that has been bringing people to this site. It predictably continued after that post. That interest caused me to dig around and see what was being said about the man.

Of course the fires in Australia have been holding people's attention. Rudd silently weeping on TV impressed even cynical reporters: Rudd's human face.  Writing on his BBC blog of Rudd's response to the terrible fires that have been engulfing Australia, BBC's reporter in Australia Nick Bryant noted: 

Breaking down repeatedly as he was overcome by sadness and anger, the leader who appeared on the breakfast programmes last Monday morning in the immediate aftermath of the weekend's fires was unrecognisable from the technocrat with the almost robotic turn of phrase who parliamentary sketch-writers - and foreign bloggers - have found so easy to caricature.

He has now called for a day of mourning to help the nation process this tragedy: Kevin Rudd calls national day of mourning for Victorian bushfires

Odd that for many he is seen as a technocrat. For that is not what comes out in the act he is best known for, his speech apologising on behalf of Australia's government to the stolen generation, his first substantive act on assuming government.   Full Text of Kevin Rudd's Sorry Speech.  It is a masterpiece of a true apology in the context of politics, an apology that opens up new horizons for both former oppressed and oppressor. I have written of Kevins Rudd's Sorry Speech,  as well as various stories as this apology was anticipated.

A truly gracious act is remembered - and celebrated by artists among others. His words were incorporated into a song: In Australia, From Apology, a Hit Song Grows. 

Praying with Obama and Blair

Tony Blair and Barack Obama have been together at the US National Prayer Breakfast. A little unfortunate that Blair appears to have upstaged Gordon Brown in meeting the new president, but representation was not of course the point of the occasion, despite The Times headline:

Blair beats Brown to Obama meeting and reveals true depth of his faith

Notwithstanding the possible upset to political protocol, Blair's words were key as he called for religious faith to be restored "to its rightful place as a guide to our world". His words were inspiring:

Text of Tony Blair's Speech to National Prayer Breakfast

After talking about some of his experiences in the Holy Land he continues:

.... Today, religion is under attack from without and from within. From within, it is corroded by extremists who use their faith as a means of excluding the other. I am what I am in opposition to you. If you do not believe as I believe, you are a lesser human being.

From without, religious faith is assailed by an increasingly aggressive secularism, which derides faith as contrary to reason and defines faith by conflict. Thus do the extreme believers and the aggressive non-believers come together in unholy alliance.

And yet, faith will not be so easily cast. For billions of people, faith motivates, galvanises, compels and inspires, not to exclude but to embrace; not to provoke conflict but to try to do good.

Governing with a humble touch

A mistake? Surely not? Three of them? Impossible!  At last an opportunity to aologise.

The Pros and Cons of Admitting a Presidential Error

To anyone who has followed politics in Washington in recent years, the image of a sitting president admitting error is a striking shift. The presidencies of George W. Bush and Bill Clinton were marked by the resistance of both men to confessing mistakes; Mr. Bush’s advisers long made it clear that he viewed such acknowledgments as akin to admitting weakness.  But there was President Obama on Tuesday night, pleading guilty in a succession of television interviews to mishandling the collapsed nomination of Tom Daschle to his cabinet. “I screwed up,” Mr. Obama said.

This is new ground, at least in recent political terms. And as the article points out the Republicans are being quick to exploit it. And a good number of democrats too are skeptical. But its part of a deliberate move by the new President to make major changes to the way things happen.

“There were two words: not just ‘mistake,’ but ‘responsibility,’ ” Rahm Emanuel, Mr. Obama’s chief of staff, said in an interview. “You had a culture here that was pervaded for a while with the sense of anything goes.” “People like the fact that he said he made a mistake,” Mr. Emanuel said.

Blake's Jerusalem banned by leading British church

Link: Blake's Jerusalem banned by leading British church -Times Online.

This deserve some comment!  Maybe next week.

Peace at Home, Peace in the World

A small town in China tells the world about how to make peace

Link: Peace at Home, Peace in the World -- Beijing Review.

Tangchi Town is more famous than ever, not for its hot spring spa that it has always been well known for, but for its new culture. Its reputation has attracted visitors such as Greg Budd, a writer from Australia and his entourage, as well as experts from many other countries, including representatives from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). A small town with more than 2,000 years of history and about 48,000 residents, Tangchi Town in Lujiang County, central China's Anhui Province is now a synonym for peace and harmony. ...