Witnesses of Mercy for Peace and Reconciliation

52 WITNESSING MERCY FOR PEACE AND RECONCILIAT ION lthough I am not worthy to be called an exemplar, I will try to share my experience with you regarding my humble action in the peacebuilding process. Myanmar is a multiracial and multireligious, plural society. We have been living together in peace and har- mony for hundreds of years. I do not mean that we have had no disputes throughout our history. Yes, diverse groups quarrel about anything under the sun but the quarrels have never been branded as religious conflict. No religions originate from our country but Thera- vada Buddhism is professed by the majority of the people living in Myanmar. Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Animism are also constitutionally recognised as reli- gions followed by people of Myanmar. Our forefathers, Myanmar Muslims serve the country loyally, faithfully and dutifully. However, since the military coup in 1962, religion has been manipulated as a political tool. The hijacking of religion became more prominent after the 1988 democratic uprising when people from different religions joined to transform the country from a dictatorship to a democratic state. Since the early 1970s, I have been involved in inter- faith movements. The attempt by the dictators to portray Islam as a threat to Burmese Buddhist nationalism was initiated when I was just 12 years old. My father, a prac- ticing Muslim, served as a vice-principle of the health assistance training school. He was very broad-minded and had friends from different faiths. After the coup, he would discuss the political situation with his friends. Since then I came to learn that the military despots were intoxicating the pious, simple but closed-minded Bud- dhist majority with Islamophobia. I matriculated from the Methodist English high school which was run as a missionary school until it was nation- alised by the military junta. I therefore had the chance to study the Bible and Christianity and was obliged to attend Church regularly. During my university days, I attended talks and sermons delivered by Buddhist lay preachers and monks. I was also fascinated by Hindu Dharma when a like-minded friend of mine from another religion started to study Vedanta . I visited the Rama Krishna mission, especially during the birthday ceremonies of Sri Ramakrishna where the multifaith leaders spoke about their religions in a special programme known as the “Parliament of Religions”. I became a member of the The- osophical Society after my graduation from the university. The golden opportunities to learn about the different dimensions of Buddhism came when I learnt about the Zen Buddhist study group. I became an ardent observer and was occasionally asked by the group members to pres- ent Islamic views during discussions on different aspects of Buddhist doctrine. The study group invited speakers from all of the differing sects of Buddhism, ranging from moderates to Orthodox scholars. I am recounting these experiences to show how much the negative impact of Islamophobia has been instilled in the mind of the Buddhists in Myanmar by the junta. Since then, I have been trying to counter the narrative propagated by those with a hidden agenda. I do not con- sider myself a defender of Islamic faith, although I try my best to refute misconceptions regarding Islam. My main effort has been to revive the spirit of tolerance that has existed in Myanmar throughout its history. By “toler- ance” I do not mean anything high-handed or arrogant. Generally speaking, you tolerate something that is unde- sirable and wrong, with the presumption that you refuse to stoop to deal with somebody inferior. According to my understanding, though, tolerance means trying to understand a view different to yours, building a bridge to narrow the gap of difference, attempting to acknowledge that a coin has a side other than the one we see. Celebrating diversity is nothing new toMyanmar. The sinister plan of the hijackers of religion has been to posit diversity as a threat rather than a strength. Dignity of difference has been welcome in our country for hundreds of years, until those with vested interests intoxicated the minds of the pious Buddhist majority. I have been deeply involved in detoxifying these poisoned minds with the assistance of my brothers and sisters from Myanmar interfaith movements. Myanmar Institute of Theology (MIT) launched its interfaith wing, the Judson Research Centre, a decade ago. I have been a humble but regular participant in all of its activities since its inception. In fact, the core members of Religions for Peace Myanmar, an interfaith organization founded in 2012, met during the Al Haj U Aye Lwin A