The forum has been organised after leaders within the Muslim community met last year and identified areas that needed improvement. Continue reading

It was launched by the Prelature of St. Mary in Marawi City on the 100th day of the Marawi conflict, even as families awaited word on the fate of some 40 hostages, including the prelature's vicar-general, Father Teresito Soganub.

Towns around the main war zones remain dangerous, but more than a hundred Christian and Muslim volunteers showed up for the first phase of the aid and rehabilitation programme, a partnership between the prelature and Redemptorist missionaries.

"We couldn't wait for the Maute group to be defeated before beginning the process of healing peoples and communities; bridging the gaps, sharing our dreams and reconstructing our lives," Marawi Bishop Edwin dela Pena said.

"Duyog" is a Visayan term for accompaniment, often understood as the act of playing a musical instrument for songs and dances and the basis for choral harmonies.

The Duyog Marawai Facebook page speaks about their hope:

"... the people will look at this experience of losing everything as an opportunity to start anew and build Marawi City to become a model community of sustainable collaboration among Maranaos of all classes and clans and peaceful co-existence between Muslims and Christians.

"We are given that rare opportunity to prove to the world that it is possible - difficult, arduous, and exhausting maybe, but possible!

"And we will document it at every step of the way and tell that story to the rest of the world especially to the Christians."

Duyog Marawi will focus on health and wellness, healing and reconciliation, communication and protection of vulnerable sectors.

The programme will involve ulamas (Islamic scholars) and imams (religious leaders) in line with the thrust of the Catholic Church to promote interreligious dialogue, said dela Pena.

"We heard a different mission calling us to definitive action — to ensure that people's faith and culture are paid attention to and factored into the rebuilding process of Marawi and to ascertain that people's rights are protected and upheld.

"We are conscious that the mission of rebuilding the city belongs to the people of Marawi," he added.

"We, as the representative of the universal Catholic Church, are here to support and accompany them all the way."

Source

• UCAnews
• Facebook
• Image: Facebook

The joint statement was issued by Archbishop John Dew (Catholic), Archbishops David Moxon and Brown Turei (Anglican), Bishops Justin Duckworth and Richard Randerson (Anglican), Federation of Islamic Associations President Anwar Ghani and Wellington Regional Jewish Council Chairperson David Zwartz, supported by Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres.

They said that "The film, 'The Innocence of Muslims', was dishonestly made and presented, and designed to mislead, provoke hate, and cause harm. We unequivocally condemn the making and promotion of this irresponsible and inflammatory film and the resulting violence, which has seen the loss of innocent lives".

"We call on all faith communities in New Zealand to remain calm and to strive to foster mutual understanding, counter hate, and promote dialogue, within and between our communities".

Media for Christ, a New Zealand website, has been attacked because it shares a name with the US-based group that reportedly produced 'The Innocence of Muslims' and it pops up at the top of many internet searches for that name.

The NZ Media for Christ says it is is not in the business of hate speech, but instead concerned with disseminating "Christian material - from godly apologists, evangelists, preachers and prophets - to be shared with the church at large".

And they've added a message on their front page confirming that they have nothing to do with their American namesakes.

The Human Rights Commission, the Anglican and Catholic Bishops, the New Zealand Federation of Islamic Associations and the New Zealand Council of Christians and Jews are all supporters of the Statement on Religious Diversity (2007) which affirms that "the right to freedom of expression and freedom of the media are vital for democracy but should be exercised with responsibility."

Source

• The Human Rights Commission
• The New Zealand Listener
• Image: Ahmad Ali Karim's Weblog

Association president Anwar Ghani says at present, Muslims have to take up to four days' annual leave to celebrate religious holidays such as Eid-al-Fitr which marks the end of the month of Ramadan.

"It would be really a lot nicer if we had the provision to substitute one or two days of the other holidays so that we can, without sacrificing the annual leave, enjoy the festivities and feel that we have been included in the provisions of leave."

Business New Zealand chief executive Phil O'Reilly says in principal, there will be a lot of sympathy for the idea of transferring holidays.

However, he says it is not practical - especially when considering all the various faiths and the holidays they may have

Source

• Radio New Zealand - Anwar Ghani
• Radio New Zealand - Phil O'Reilly
• Image: Pakistanis for peace

The ads, paid for by an Islamic group called MyPeace, will carry slogans such as "Jesus: a prophet of Islam", "Holy Quran: the final testament" and "Muhammad: mercy to mankind".

The organiser of MyPeace, Diaa Mohamed, said the campaign was intended to educate non-Muslims about Islam.

He said Jesus was a prophet of Islam, who was to come before Muhammad. "The only difference is we say he was a prophet of God, and they say he is God," Mr Mohamed said.

"Is it thought-provoking? Yes, it is. We want to raise awareness that Islam believes in Jesus Christ," he said.

MyPeace intends to extend the promotion to Television.

Anglican Bishop of South Sydney, Rob Forsyth, said it was "complete nonsense" to say Jesus was a prophet of Islam. "Jesus was not the prophet of a religion that came into being 600 years later."

But the billboard was not offensive, he said. "They've got a perfect right to say it, and I would defend their right to say it [but] … you couldn't run a Christian billboard in Saudi Arabia."

Catholic Bishop from the Archdiocese of Sydney, Julian Porteous however has different views. He calls the billboards "provocative and offensive."

Porteous wants the billboards taken down.

"In Australia with its Christian heritage a billboard carrying the statement 'Jesus A prophet of Islam' is provocative and offensive to Christians," Porteous said.

Shared basic human values

A meeting of Catholic and Islamic scholars recently concluded with a statement that believers of both faiths "share basic human values like the sacred character of human life, human dignity, and the fundamental inalienable rights deriving from it."

The meeting jointly sponsored by the Holy See and the Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies in Jordan, called for respect for believers of all faiths, and demands that religious education should never "form identities in antagonism or in conflict."

Sources:

• SMH
• MyPeace
• Vatican Information Service
• Herald Sun

Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore condemned the desecration of the Qur'an. He described it as an act of "extreme intolerance and bigotry."

Catherine Jones, Chair of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Committee for Interfaith Relations said, "We can affirm that the Catholic church respects the sacred books of other religious traditions, and does not condone violence done to believers of other faiths, or towards objects or places they hold sacred, e.g. books, places of worship and pilgrimage, religious symbols, language"

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