Home > International > Middle East > Reconciling Religious Divisions
Reconciling Religious Divisions
By Tahir Aziz. Kashmir
No matter how noble and brilliant solutions to very violent global conflicts may be, achieving any kind of lasting peace requires changing the hearts and minds of the people. While this is difficult, it is not impossible. In addition to a sincerity of purpose and honest relationship building, changing hearts and minds requires a complete faith in God's active intervention in human affairs because controlling hearts and minds is a Divine not human task.
"The Pandit leader, who had called the Muslims ‘terrorists’ the first day, nostalgically remembered his old days when he lived in Srinagar where most of his friends were Muslims. ‘We all lived like brothers and never knew of any religious differences,’ he said. It became clear that the shared response to evil could only be reconciliation." -Tahir Aziz
Nowhere in the world is Divine intervention needed than in Kashmir where a 60 year old conflict between India and Pakistan as well as internally divided Kashmiris (Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists) has defied any solution despite well intended bilateral agreements between the Pakistani and Indian governments to end the violence. Somewhere between 50,000 to 100,000 people[1] have been killed in the most brutal ways as Indian security forces and various militant groups perpetuate the cycle of violence.
As Director of the Human Rights Commission of the Government of Azad Kashmir, I have seen first hand the plight of Kashmiris. In particular, those living along the border areas are caught in constant gunfire between Indian and Pakistani Armed Forces. I have also learned of the worst kind of atrocities this conflict has inflicted upon refugees and families who have lost loved ones. Indeed, the violence has taken a heavy toll in Kashmir and knitting the torn fabric of the Kashmiri society in any conceivable way has seemed destined for failure.
So in 2000, when I met Mr. Brian Cox, the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy's (ICRD) Senior Vice-President for Dispute Resolution Training and Project Director for Kashmir, my immediate thought was - here's another foreign do-gooder who wants to intervene in a complex and intractable problem with a naïve faith-based approach to reconciling irreconcilable differences. I was even suspicious that his faith-based theory might have missionary motives and that 'reconciliation' in Kashmir would mean that the Kashmiris would have to compromise on the denial of justice to them.
Indeed reconciliation appeared impossible in my view because the West seemed to posit anti-Muslim policies based on their materialistic interests. Religion appeared to be at the very core of these conflicts - the divisive element fuelling the violence in Kashmir and elsewhere. As such, I quite emphatically justified the militant freedom struggle in Kashmir as a legitimate right of Kashmiri Muslims. Perhaps what I was unintentionally supporting was Islam as a force for political domination in Kashmir.
By contrast, Cox introduced the idea of religion as a binding force in Kashmir (and elsewhere), which could help create a unified Kashmiri voice, enabling the Kashmiris themselves to become the architects of a better future. This idea caused me to realize that my arguments were mostly based on prejudice, anger and hatred and that rather than leading to solutions, they only created more violence. I became keen to explore the path of faith-based reconciliation which led to my participation in ICRD's seminars.
Overcoming a history of perceived injustices, violence, revenge and retribution is no small task. Cox's work was dedicated to developing a moral vision for a reconciled Kashmiri society. He drew on the commonality of different religious concepts and belief in the sovereignty of God. This seemed to be an unrealistic goal as fiery young Kashmiris started off the emotionally charged seminars with diatribes of their understanding of the Kashmir conflict.
A bridge-building meeting organized in Nepal brought Kashmiri civic and political leaders together from across the Line of Control (LOC). A total of 18 Kashmiris representing Kashmiri Muslims from Azad Kashmir, Kashmiri Pandits from Jammu and Ladakhi Buddhists and Muslims participated in seminars over a period of five days. Besides the indigenous regional differences, the biggest dividing line existed between Kashmiri Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits, an internally displaced Hindu minority that lived in the valley of Kashmir.
Armed with diametrically opposed opinions with regard to Kashmir's history and its future, these two groups waited for their opportunity to vent anger at the other. I was no exception as my Muslim identity aligned me with Muslims. This came quite early when one of the Pandit participants referred to Kashmiri Muslims as ‘terrorists' in our very first introductory meeting.
Angry, aggressive outbursts of a blame game during the opening hours of these meetings set a very tense stage. There was a complete lack of understanding. Opposing points of view were quickly dismissed as baseless political propaganda. Pandits were angry and blamed the Muslims for forced migration of over 300,000 Pandits. Muslims accused the same Pandits as collaborators of the Indian government and responsible for so many killings of Muslim Kashmiris. Disappointed with both groups, Ladakhi Buddhists felt that they had been dragged into the conflict in Kashmir and they were more interested in achieving more political rights for Ladakh. Reconciling these avowed enemies in any way was no small order.
‘God opens doors,' said Cox confidently, as he shared anecdotes from his 15 years of work in Eastern Europe intended to illuminate essential core values of disparate religious texts. As a Muslim I found each and every word used in the presentations to completely represent Islamic teachings.
God, Cox pointed out, does not want us to suffer injustice and violence - we bring this suffering upon ourselves. Alluding to the religious texts gave pause and the participants began to understand that a prophetic and divine project makes a compelling case for reconciliation.
The dynamic became emotional when people told their stories in a way that reflected the core of their faith, with honesty, humility and a sense of repentance. The Pandit leader, who had called the Muslims ‘terrorists' the first day, nostalgically remembered his old days when he lived in Srinagar where most of his friends were Muslims. "We all lived like brothers and never knew of any religious differences. Hindus visited Muslim shrines and Muslims that of Hindus," he said quite emphatically. He finally stood up and apologized to the Muslim participants for being insensitive to their feelings. "Don't worry," he said, "we will live together again, like we used to live in our homeland-Kashmir - Muslims, Hindus, Budhists, Sikhs, all side by side." This was followed by a huge applause by everyone in the room.
Every passing moment brought the participants closer to each other. There was a demonstrable effort to listen to the other person's point of view. Right and wrong was seen in a much more objective way. It became abundantly clear that the shared response to evil could only be reconciliation. This was a change, a transformation of hearts and minds that I shared with others -- a real transformation, which was clearly a result of divine intervention.
The emotional climax, however, happened on the last day when the final activity, the 'Service of Reconciliation' took place. A cathartic experience - when each of the participants voluntarily extended their apology for any intended or unintended harm they might have caused to others. All of us also forgave each other. An exchange of affectionate and friendly greetings followed. Then the participants crossed an imaginary LoC and hugged each other with affection. More significant, a joint statement was issued - not a result of conventional give and take diplomacy or interest-based strategic thinking - but rather dedicated people of changed hearts and minds ready to build a new future together under a construct of shared divine principles.
In lieu of rhetoric and violence as a legitimate political weapon, justice and forgiveness was the resolve of this group of leaders. We were committed to influencing positive and constructive change for achieving peace in Kashmir. The bridge-building meeting served as a microcosm of how the principles, practices and sacred texts of the various religious traditions could form the theoretical framework and practical basis for effecting reconciliation in intractable identity-based conflicts that exceed the grasp of traditional diplomacy.
For the first time in my life, I was subliminally driven to engage in a closer relationship with God and search for my true role in this world. This renewed connection with the divine filled my heart with pious emotions for others, even for those whom I thought of as enemies before, just because they represented the other side of the conflict. I started seeing a much bigger picture of how a conflict can complicate things for us and how vulnerable we are to assume different identities, demanding superiority for us or our group. In God's eyes we are all equal and it is only possible for us to achieve justice if we truly submit ourselves to God. I can say as a result of this process I became a better Muslim - one who is submitted to God.
The ‘bridge-building meeting' experience was absolutely liberating as the same participants spent the rest of one and a half days together enjoying sightseeing and exploring the city of Kathmandu like members of one family. It was really difficult to say good bye!
The foregoing is neither meant to offer a naive understanding nor suggest a panacea for the conflict of Kashmir. In the short term the international community must maintain diplomatic pressure on both India and Pakistan to continue the ongoing dialogue for the peaceful settlement of the Kashmir conflict and also to include Kashmiris in this dialogue.
On the other hand, and more importantly, long term strategies of peace-building and reconciliation such as that initiated by the ICRD should be supported. These strategies should draw on the local religious and cultural concepts and practices of the local Kashmiri community related to justice and healing of the wounds of history.
Peace will emerge only when the political, social, and spiritual dynamics of the region are transformed through reconciliation based on religious and cultural concepts of justice among and between the affected parties, starting first with the Kashmiris themselves.
[1] These figures vary significantly as official Indian estimates state the total loss of life, that is, militants, security personnel and civilians of approximately 50,000 people, whereas the Kashmiri separatists claim that more than 100,000 Kashmiri civilians alone have died in the last 17 years.
