Celebrating Dialogue towards Harmony

This year, we celebrate the 10th year anniversary of the resolution of the United Nations which, in the general assembly of the October 20, 2010, invites all in the world to celebrate the World Interfaith Harmony Week from February 1-7 of every year. In the resolution, they affirm that the United Nations, “Encourages all States to support, on a voluntary basis, the spread of the message of interfaith harmony and goodwill in the world’s churches, mosques, synagogues, temples and other places of worship during that week, based on love of God and love of one’s neighbor or on love of the good and love of one’s neighbor, each according to their own religious traditions or convictions”.
 This new initiative of harmony in the midst of divisions and conflicts in the world has been gathered by many. In the Philippines, in the southern part of Mindanao, the Silsilah Dialogue Movement has welcomed this new voice of hope focused on the Love of God, Love of Neighbor and the Love for the Common Good. 

A voice that is different from the many local, international peace agreements, a voice that has touched the hearts of people of different cultures and religions, a voice that reaffirms the importance of the centrality of God recognized by many names by different religions and spiritual journey of human beings in search for happiness. This voice is very close to the spirit of the Silsilah Dialogue Movement and was welcome also by many other Muslims and Christians in Zamboanga City, including other sectors of society. Silsilah soon became the local group and the convener encouraging first the Bishop-Ulama Conference (BUC) of the Philippines, friends from the academe and religious groups to join together to celebrate the World Interfaith Harmony Week.

 In 2012, together as partners, we celebrated the first World Interfaith Harmony Week celebration. Zamboanga City's 1st District Congressional Representative Maria Isabelle “Beng” Climaco–Salazar (now the Mayor of Zamboanga City) sponsored a bill in the House enjoining the celebration of World Interfaith Harmony Week in the Philippines as encouraged by the UN Resolution. Senator Loren Legarda sponsored a similar version for the Senate. Both bills passed the respective houses and became a law of the land upon signing by President Benigno S. Aquino III, the Republic Act No. 10525:“An Act declaring the First Week of February of every year as World Interfaith Harmony Week (WIHW) in the entire country and mandating its observance by the different Government Agencies.” From 2012 until now, the United Nations Interfaith Harmony Partners-Zamboanga (UNI-HP-Z) has been consistent in celebrating and spreading the World Interfaith Harmony Week even before and after the siege in Zamboanga that happened on September 9, 2013 causing a lot of violence, pain and divisions in the city.

 Guided by enthusiasm and determination, Silsilah has spread this initiative among the groups present in many parts of Mindanao and Manila areas. And this year 2020, through the Episcopal Commission on Interreligious Dialogue (ECID) of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), this celebration has been spread around the country as a special event to promote Interreligious Dialogue. To help the Episcopal Commission on Interreligious Dialogue (ECID) of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines to spread this initiative in all dioceses, universities and other schools, the United Nations Interfaith Harmony Partners-Zamboanga started earlier to prepare the program and finalize the theme, these year, there are more than forty partners from different sectors of society and the theme chosen: “Celebrating Dialogue towards Harmony”. 

On the national level, different groups adapted the same theme and logo and used in different guidelines prepared by the UNI-HP-Z including the tarpaulin published in a booklet format. 

With excitement and joy, this year 2020, many groups took their initiative to sponsor activities from February 1-7.