“Teachers refuse Mindanao Assignments,” read the headlines of an article in The Manila Times on Nov. 11, 2009. The beheading of school principal, Gabriel Canizares, on Monday sent a shock of fear throughout the Department of Education and the nation of the Philippines.

Teachers are now refusing to accept postings in Mindanao. Legal experts from the teachers’ union fear there will be “domino effect” and called on the government to take action to stop the kidnapping and violence.

Against this morbid background, the Mindanao Peace Symposium scheduled for Nov. 11-12, 2009 went on undeterred. “It was the first time Pentecostal pastors dealt directly with Muslim leaders on issues of peace, cooperation and mutual understanding,” said Dr. Massimo Trombin, International Field Director, Global Peace Festival, one of the sponsoring organizations.

A coalition of eight sponsors, including government, NGO and religious organizations, brought together over 160 participants under the banner, “Peace Development through Inter-Religious Cooperation in Mindanao.”

For two days delegates deliberated and discussed various components of peace—but their approach was very different. Rather than focus on military strategies, arms control, and mechanisms for surrender or ceasefire, they took a journey back into history and looked at their common ancestry.

On the first day, Dr. Ronald Adamat, member of the Government of the Philippines Peace Panel for Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and an advisor to the Office of the President on the Peace Process, gave an update on the current negotiations stressing that the values and sentiments of Mindanaoans must be reflected in any peace agreement.

The next two presentations centered on healing the resentment and division in the House of Abraham, the common ancestor of Jews, Christians and Muslims. Conference organizer and President of the Aid-to-Life Ministries, Rev. William Steel, highlighted the need for reconciliation between, Ishmael and Isaac, since this was the root of the division between the Muslims and Christians today.

Complementing this, Muhammad Riza Dalkilic, President of Risale-I Nur and Executive Director of Service for Peace in Mindanao, underscored the common religiosity between Islam and Christianity as both are revealed religions and seek to reconcile the divide between God and man as the foundation for peace on earth.

An overview of the socio-demographics of the tri-peoples (Muslim, Christian and indigenous people or Lumads) that co-exist in Mindanao followed. This was given by Prof. Rudy Rodil, Director of the Peace Center of the Theosophical Society, as he examined historical and current trends that lead to the current impasse.

The Secretary-General of the MNLF for northern Mindanao, Samie Tagalog, stressed that one of the main impediments to peace occurs when vested interests and personal bias supersede the desire for peace and development.

This laid the foundation for Dr. Ronald Ernst, a professor emeritus from the United States (now living in the Philippines) to explain how prejudices and bias develop. He said they are often self-perpetuating and self-fulfilling, and that they usually emerge within isolated groups.

Life-long advocate for bringing together peace and education, Dr. Estrella Babano, gave four guideposts to achieve peace and development: 1) harmony with God, 2) harmony within yourself, 3) harmony with others, and 4) harmony with the environment. As the director of Department of Education, Region X, Dr. Babano explained why peace must be linked with development. There can be no peace in the midst of economic disparity, she pointed out.

“Peace is something dynamic,” she said, “It deals with human relationship and these are greatly affected by a number of factors—the biggest of which is our pride or ego.” The key to peace is to become “selfless,” to forget ourselves and seek peace for others first.

Following these six sessions, an equal number of break-out discussion groups followed. They were as diversified as the audience which included: 12 Imams, 30 Pentecostals, 2 Baptists, 35 members of the MNLF, 4 Sultans, 5 Datus (tribal leaders), 30 Rotarians, 2 Catholics, 15 Lumads (indigenous people), along with students and staff.

“My attitude was wrong!” With these words, Rev. Steel set the tone for the second day with a heartfelt apology to Muslims in the audience. He asked for forgiveness saying he had misunderstood the true spirit of Islam. This contrite heart of humility opened hearts and set the stage for healing.

Bishop Temotio Yap, Vice-Chairman of the Aid to Life Ministries and former history teacher, surprised many in the audience by telling them that archeological evidence shows that Islam came to the Philippines before the Spaniards brought Catholicism.

He went on to address the root of the problem from a different perspective by saying that, “When our rights are violated, it is natural to fight back.” This he did not question. Bishop Yap did, however, question the over-emphasis on “my rights” and that maybe this was one of the main factors underlying conflict.

Brig. General Ralito Abad, Assistant Division Commander of the 4th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army, described peace initiatives of another kind: “Soldiers as Teachers” where the army trains soldiers to be teachers and deploys them to some of the most backward and dangerous posts. Also “Soldier Doctors” provide medical services using personnel trained by the Philippine Army.

The closeness of Christianity and Islam as outlined by Haleem Baña dazed the audience. The Assistant Executive Director of the Risal-I Nur Institution held conference delegates spell-bound as he listed six similarities between these two religions: 1) Divine Oneness of God, 2) Belief in the Prophets (at least 28 Prophets were common in both Quran and the Bible), 3) Belief in Angels, 4) Belief in Revelations, 5) Belief in the Day of Judgment, and 6) Belief in Predestination.

The fourth speaker this day was Prof. Adhoud Syed Lingga, the Executive Director of the Institute of Bangsamoro Studies in Cotobato City, Mindanao. He strongly suggested that inter-religions dialogue should begin by knowing your own religion first. He also said the conflict in Mindanao was not a religious conflict, but that between the Government of the Philppines and the Moro’s desire for sovereignty.

Next Dr. Trombin pointed out the importance of service in reconciliation, healing relationships of hatred and mending broken families. Although the “culture of peace” has many references on the internet, searching for the phrase “culture of service” does not yield even a single reference. “And yet,” said Dr. Trombin, “it is service that must be the foundation for peace, because service is transformational.”

The final presentation was given by Dr. Robert Kittel, Director of Education for UPF-Asia, who discussed the meaning of the theme of the Global Peace Festival, “One Family Under God.” Most of our social problems can be solved by simply taking the values of the family and projecting them into society. The vertical respect for parents and elders is the model of good governance. On this foundation of equality democratic values can be built, but these originate in the equality of brotherly-sisterly relationships of the family.

Concluding the symposium, all participants—Christian, Muslim and Lumad—signed the Mindanao Peace Covenant 2009. It called for the creation of a culture of service and peace to:

• Encourage religious leaders to begin a ministry of reconciliation among all groups
• Establish a Interreligious Peace Council based on repentance and forgiveness as the first steps, and
• Support elected officials, educators, and leaders of religious and ethnic groups to find common ground as “One Family Under God.”