Every Good Friday Christians around the world remember the death on the cross of Jesus Christ and after few days the resurrection. Many times I have reflected on this mystery of the love of God up to death “and the death on the cross.” Last April 19, during the Good Friday, I prayed also for you, the Christians who in the Philippines, are called “ Balik Islam”, those who were Christians and have decided to embrace Islam. Yes, I remember you because often I hear Christian and Muslim friends who are alarmed by the fact that a good number of so called “Balik Islam” are becoming very radical and are inclined to violence. There are so many alarming news about you that today I ask in my prayer in front of the cross: “ Why?”. The first answer that comes to my mind is that we in the Philippines, a country with a Catholic back ground and many expressions of “popular religiosity,” need to teach more to our Christians the central part of the message of Jesus’ death and resurrection as a great message of love for all following the teaching of the Gospel and to be closer to Jesus message of love and not to be tempted to follow a model of society that tends to forget the centrality of God in history and in our life. Jesus reminds us to “be in the world but not of the world” referring to the many temptations that we may encounter in the world.
In my experience in Mindanao since 1977, most of the time in contact with Muslim communities, I learned many things. I have also been in two years of my life in Mindanao closer to the Moro National Liberation front (MNLF) as negotiator in my desire to share the message of peace. Because of this mission I was threatened by those who did not appreciate my closeness to the Muslims and to the MNLF and I was forced to leave the Philippines for a few years. That was the time when I decided to study Islam and Arabic undergoing formal studies that helped me to understand Islam more and to appreciate especially the spiritual dimension that we can find in Islam and in the Sufi movements of Islam.
This back ground of my life brought me to start, in 1984, the Silsilah Dialogue Movement in Zamboanga City, a Movement that today, after thirty five (35) years, is alive and continues to inspire many from different faiths to promote the culture of dialogue, path to peace. Unfortunately, there are also those who promote violence justified by a wrong understanding of their religion.
My dear friends who are called “ Balik Islam”, you are in my prayer asking the Lord: “ Why does this reality of the Balik Islam alarms also many good Muslims?” The Christian community suffers from this situation and I too suffer, but I do not write this letter to judge you but to remind you that we are brothers and sisters in the same humanity and we are called to promote dialogue and peace. All of us are people of different faiths and beliefs. In choosing the key word “Silsilah” ( that means CHAIN or LINK) for the movement of dialogue that I started long ago I was dreaming, and I still dream, to remind all that we are “LINKED” to the same human family and “genealogic tree” to the same Creator that we identify in many ways and names in our own faith.
Yes, I believe that we are brothers and sisters. In a recent document of Pope Francis in Abu Dhabi (February 4, 2019) signed together with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University, Ahmad Al- Tayyeb it is clearly stated the importance of living together. This document is entitled “ HUMAN FRATERNTY for world peace and living together” It starts saying : “ In the name of God who has created all human beings equal in rights, duties and dignity, and who called them to live together as brothers and sisters, to fill the earth and make known the value of goodness, love and peace …”
My dear brothers and sisters, at the foot of the cross in prayer I recognize also the many mistakes committed by Christians in history up to now, at the same time I am inspired by the message of love of Jesus that gives me the courage and determination to live my mission as Christian and Catholic priest living in this beautiful country of the Philippines, in spite of the many contradictions and sufferings of our people. I hear the voice of the poor, the innocent, those who suffer and those who work for dialogue and peace together. I invite you to “dream” with me a better society in the spirit of love for all.
My dear brothers and sisters who are today identified as “Balik Islam” please reflect and pray about your life and faith and be consistent in living the faith your conscience dictates to you, but do it in the spirit of love and compassion. This is the real spirit that we, as Christians and Muslims ,have to promote to build together a real “ Human Fraternity,” walking together in dialogue as brothers and sisters.
Fr. Sebastiano D’Ambra, PIME
Founder of the Silsilah Dialogue Movement