Mission on the Move for Justice and Peace

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1 bs_bs_banner Mission on the Move for Justice and Peace The Case of the European Project for Interreligious Learning (EPIL) Reinhild Traitler A former WCC staff associate, Reinhild Traitler has focused for more than 30 years on education for peace-making, feminist theology, and interfaith education. Co-founder of the European Women s College and the European Project for Interreligious Learning (EPIL), she has served since 2003 as project coordinator at EPIL. Mission on the move: Toward witnessing in religiously plural societies Mission on the Move means mission still moving out of traditional perceptions of what mission is; and if witness is a new word for mission, it means re-conceptualizing what witness means in multi-faith/ religiously plural societies. This is a difficult process as the concept of mission carries with it a long history and biblical authority. Further, it has often been aligned with political powers and misused for non-religious purposes. Its practice has focused on converting the other into one s own religious likeness rather than sharing (in a variety of ways) the transformative power of the gospel in one s own life. The European Project for Interreligious Learning (EPIL) is an educational project for Christian and Muslim women from five countries in Europe and the Middle East. It is a two-year intensive learning process that was originally developed and launched as a cooperation by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Protestant Academy Boldern, Switzerland. It owes much to concepts of ecumenical learning and Learning in Community and to the liberation pedagogy of Paulo Freire. The first phase of this project (comprising three cycles) took place In the course of each two-year cycle, participants spent five weeks in live-in situations where they had to deal with cultural and religious differences and explore how these might be harnessed to live more peacefully and fairly. Interreligious dialogue and engagement should be the way for religions to relate to one another. This statement from the Birmingham Pluralist Summit (September Copyright (2015) World Council of Churches 83

2 International Review of Mission Volume 104 Number 1 April ) 1 was the basis of the learning process. There would be no proselytizing and no attempt at missionization on either side. For the Christian participants in EPIL, this marked a relational shift from mission (as a hierarchical relationship) to witnessing in the form of presence to and with the other. Learnings about religion became narratives and conversation telling each other what religion meant concretely in the lives of participants. It was a work of translation that taught students more and at a deeper level about their own faiths than about the faith of the respective other. At the same time it heightened the students sense of respect, even awe at the richness of religious experiences. And in the course of time it developed into something close to the communication of love in action, 2 an attentiveness to the needs of the other woman, her limitations, her potential, and the realization of her humanness. If the classical response to the other used to be fear of difference (with all the consequences, including suppression and even elimination of the other) there has occurred a shift to valuing diversity, to perceiving it as enriching and helpful in solving the many problems of daily living together. In the discourse developing on a pluralist theology of religions / interreligious theology we observe a shift from holding one s own religious truths as only truths (exclusivist approach) to acknowledging that the great world religions with their diverse teachings and practices constitute authentic paths to the supreme Good. 3 To be on the move then could refer in a sense to a concept of living together in complex societies with a multitude of cultural expressions and religious beliefs. A concept that allows us to be attentive to insights and ideas emerging in many locations and that preserves a certain fluidity and openness to different ways of life and different approaches to problem solving. This works on the assumption that cooperation, respect, and acceptance of the different religious perspectives can produce results that draw all into the process of building life together within a culture of justice and peace. 1 Birmingham Pluralist Summit, theses available at nationalcatholicreporter.org/word/word htm 2 The expression is from Fulata M. Moyo. 3 Birmingham Pluralist Summit. 84 Copyright (2015) World Council of Churches

3 Reinhild Traitler Mission on the Move for Justice and Peace Being on the move : EPIL s pedagogical concept In the educational process of EPIL, being on the move has been the most decisive factor. EPIL came into existence in At a historical moment when Islam in general was judged by the deeds of a few terrorists, we wanted to contribute to an alternative discourse. Exploring the history of relationships between the two religions, Christianity and Islam, helped to harness their peace potential and guided the process of finding out how to live this in our everyday lives as women in different countries and contexts of Europe. We wanted to create a frame in which students could have a positive experience of the other : the other person, the other culture, the other religion. To that end, we invented the Roaming College. Our exploration should not happen in one fixed place, but on the move, going from place to place, confronting the problems where they are, where people are working on solutions, and where sometimes a view from outside can be helpful and open up new perspectives and possibilities for peaceful living. We also want to experience the richness and diversity of different contexts and the cultural expressions of religions. Being on the move not only metaphorically, but also physically means to embody a process. EPIL students experienced this in a variety of ways. The learning process was structured around five cities in Europe and the Middle East, where modules took place and where the student groups and members of the accompanying academic team came from. This meant there was no central classroom no centre dispensing knowledge and wisdom for the others. Instead there were a variety of real-life situations on the way that constituted the themes of our investigation and study. These situations were intimately linked to the lives of all participants. Students had to prepare for them and to reflect on them afterwards, both formally with their team members, but also informally among themselves. Lectures, workshops, and public events were structured around this pedagogical concept of developing the issues around live encounters with people involved in them. This helped to break down hierarchical relationships, as all became teachers and all students at different moments in the process. The concept was based on the assumptions that most tensions and frictions between people of different cultures/religions occur in everyday life and have to be resolved there, and that positive encounters, mutual knowledge and sharing happen locally where people live and work together. In each module the local student group, along with their team and organizers, acted as hosts, helping to create conditions for fruitful working together. In this way each local Copyright (2015) World Council of Churches 85

4 International Review of Mission Volume 104 Number 1 April 2015 student group was host once in the process. Sometimes all had to assist, participating in washing up, preparing a meal, or doing other things of daily life. Friendships grew and small learning communities developed, which sometimes had their own conflicts but also their very special discoveries. On the move students also discovered in a very concrete way that there is a basic human solidarity transcending the boundaries of culture, religion, economic situation, language, age, and other factors that were the main markers of difference in the student body. An example from EPIL: During the module in Vienna ( Historic Memories and Present Day Realities ) we visited the neonatal department of the Vienna general hospital AKH, where the midwives have developed a transreligious ritual for the parents of stillborn babies. This effort of the midwives to help women and men grieving the loss of a premature child deeply moved the group, which stood in silence, some of them sobbing, all connected because of strong feelings of empathy, and in some cases personal experience. A similar moment, although in a totally different environment, occurred at the memorial site of Potocari near Srebrenica, BiH, where the remains of the victims of the genocidal massacre of July 11, 1995, are buried. The group of Dutch students and team had prepared a moving meditation 4 and then invited all of us to put roses on the marble slabs carrying the names of men of all ages, even boys, who had lost their lives in a brutal act, only because they were Muslims. Our hearts went out to our hosts, the Mothers of Srbrenica, who had lost husbands, sons, fathers, and brothers but still affirmed that they did not want revenge they wanted to be able to bury their dead in peace! The EPIL experience carried many such moments of life lived together. This reminded us of our common humanity, planted more deeply than our differences, as real and divisive as these may be. But it also made clear that being on the move compelled us to work for justice in relationships, beginning in our own learning community. 4 The EPIL III Dutch student group and academic team (Geertje de Vries and Stella van de Wetering) responsibly researched the contested Dutch presence in the safe zone of Srebrenica in July The meditation took place 8 May Copyright (2015) World Council of Churches

5 Reinhild Traitler Mission on the Move for Justice and Peace Being on the move for justice and peace: Toward a new perception of history Being on the move suggests dynamic energy. It involves our bodies and physical abilities, resilience, stamina, and care but all in the spirit of non-violence. Because we can only do so much, it does not offer fixed solutions but flexible experiments with a goal that might become clearer as we move on. Justice and peace have proven to be scintillating concepts that only become clear in concrete contexts. Being on the move therefore means exploring context and abilities, conditions for justice and peace to flourish. One such condition is the need to overcome the history of silence around the othering of religions so as to discover alternative memories. Europe has a history of enmity with both Judaism and Islam. Traditionally this history has been told by those who succeeded in silencing the respective others. The story of Muslim and Jewish Spain was told by the protagonists of the expulsion of the Jews (under the reign of Fernando and Isabella) and the reconquista (the century-long struggle to re-christianize Spain); the story of repulsing the Ottomans after the siege of Vienna (1683) became the grand posture of victory of Christian (Catholic) Europe that exploded in Baroque art and architecture. Both still influence present-day perspectives and power relations. What is needed therefore is a shift in historical perception: History needs to be reread and retold so as to regain the forgotten knowledge of certain groups and communities that have been silenced in the dominant religious /cultural discourse of Europe. As clearly articulated by one of the African proverbs capturing this reality of telling and writing of history from the exclusive perspective of the powerful: Until lions have their own historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter 5 An example from EPIL: During the EPIL pilot project ( ) one module took place in Barcelona. It presented an alternative view of the historic period of Muslim Spain, today referred to as Al Andalus. But while the programme reflected the dedicated work of Spanish historians who have discovered for themselves a rich field of investigation in Al Andalus and are eager to show the Muslim elements in Spanish culture, there was no 5 Taken from African Proverbs, Sayings and Stories website, April 2006, at -will-always-have-the-best-part-of-the-storyq-ewe-mina-benin-ghana-and-togo-.html Copyright (2015) World Council of Churches 87

6 International Review of Mission Volume 104 Number 1 April 2015 Muslim among them. It became obvious that, despite good intentions, the Spanish historians were repeating the same pattern of silencing the other and speaking on the others behalf that they had intended to overcome. Being on the move toward justice means including the right of those silenced to speak for themselves, recuperating knowledge that has been forgotten and destroyed: for example, creating alternative narratives to the dominant discourse on conquista and reconquista that so far has been part of Spanish identity. Here, the issue of who speaks when and for whom is of paramount importance. We have to be aware that our dialogue is not happening in a power-free space: There is an asymmetry of power, especially in migration contexts. As the many discussions on integration demonstrate, usually the stronger group tends to co-opt the other into their own project of unity. Similarly, the art of listening and not immediately passing judgment or explaining away otherness has to be practised constantly. Only in this way can a more comprehensive reading of history and hence a clearer analysis of present-day power relations emerge in which all can find themselves sufficiently included. A new perception of self A new perception of history will also lead to a shift in self-perception. From viewing our own religion or culture as being in the centre and as providing the hermeneutical perspective, we will shift to acknowledging various centres in communication with each other and as equal. There will be a shift from superiority to equality; from concern about solving doctrinal problems and preserving religious purity to efforts to build peace and share life and spirituality. An example from EPIL: It was interesting to note that in the recurring debates on identity, religion proved to be the most resilient identity-shaping factor. Surprisingly, students were more ready to give up on other factors (notably work/workplace, geographical location) but not on religion. There may be various reasons for this. In increasingly unstable environments, religion was considered as not movable. This observation disturbed me as it assigns to religion (or at least to certain religious practices) a place similar to a nature reserve. Does religion become aligned with positive 88 Copyright (2015) World Council of Churches

7 Reinhild Traitler Mission on the Move for Justice and Peace memories of a childhood-like feeling of trust and confidence? Or do growing demands on people to be flexible and mobile, lead to a longing to have a centre, something non-negotiable? Some clarification was offered when we did an exercise in plenary, designed to practise a change of perspectives. In this exercise (adapted from diversity management techniques) one group argues in favour of a given issue, one argues against, and one observes and afterwards offers a discourse analysis. Then the roles are changed. The debate was on a statement, My religion is the best and this is good about my religion / My religion is not the best and this is bad about my religion. After a certain time, the observers noticed that Christian and Muslim students were arguing from rather different perspectives. Muslims spoke from within their religious practice. They were able to say all the good things about their religion but had trouble mentioning something bad. With the Christians (especially the Protestant Christians) exactly the opposite was true. They found a lot of bad things to say, but could only speak ironically about the good things. When we tried to find a reason for this, it turned out that the colonial history of mission and the continuing power and practices of some churches had acted like a blockade in the minds of Christian students. They resorted to irony in order to distance themselves from this history. Reflecting on this experience, there may be yet another interpretation: While EPIL had succeeded in having almost 40 percent of Muslim participants, Muslim students were still in the minority, especially in the Western European partner cities. In such a situation there is usually a tendency to present a positive picture and to refrain from criticism. A new perception of the religiously other In reflecting on her experience as a student of EPIL, Ursula Rapp (herself a professor of theology) states: I have gained less information about another religion, in this case Islam, than I have learned from other people about their actual experience (or lack of experience) of religion. We have shared... how we actually experience our religion, found the words to communicate them and how we find our relationship with God as the deepest wellspring and challenge of our lives, or not. 6 In order to understand more deeply the religiously other, empathetic intellectual approaches will not be sufficient. Rather, it is being appropriated in practice... 6 Ursula Rapp, Dialogue as Biologue, EPIL Diploma Work, February Copyright (2015) World Council of Churches 89

8 International Review of Mission Volume 104 Number 1 April 2015 Understanding takes shape by way of practicing. The content of the exchange in this type of dialogue is not the interpretation of doctrines but a series of practices...one might say that the dialogue partners are learning to speak the words of the other as their own words. 7 An example from EPIL: In EPIL we were very much aware of the fact that inter-religious encounters that happen only at the discursive level would touch religious life neither deeply nor sustainably. We therefore made a daily morning meditation part of the curriculum. We consciously did not want to pre-structure these meditations into one or the other religious tradition; they were meant to be an open space, to be filled by the students themselves. There was only one rule to guide them: Radical respect of the other and a general prohibition to proselytize. Over the course of the years, about 75 morning meditations were celebrated. The pattern emerging was that women tried to identify similar concerns addressed in both religions (most importantly peace); that they looked to the saints of their traditions (most often remembered Mary/Maryam); and they tried to avoid potentially divisive issues and actions. The most difficult were those moments when women felt compelled to participate in something alien to them / to their spiritual life. The most moving were those that grew out of the life of the group itself. When one woman lost her husband, another woman, during the meditation, moved around the group, throwing small white feathers into the air that came floating down like words of comfort and consolation. There were also numerous experiences of shared life during the week-long modules. There was spiritual hospitality, with invitations to prayer, to share food cooked for religious feast days, etc. It was practising the words of the other as their own words and also testing the limitations of this approach. Staying connected emerged as the single most important shared value. It was in this context that it became important to affirm dialogue as staying related, and to affirm being on the move together with the goal of creating justice in relationships. 7 John Maraldo, A Call for an Alternative Notion of Understanding in Interreligious Hermeneutics, Interreligious Dialogue Series 2 (Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2010), 110, quoted by Mariane Moyaert, Unangemesses Verhalten, in Interreligiöse Theologie, ed. Reinhold Bernhardt and Perry Schmidt-Leukel (Zürich: TVZ, 2013), 143, translated from German. 90 Copyright (2015) World Council of Churches