Christians in the Philippines who apologized to Muslims have seen surprising positive results, reports Aldrin Penamora in a recent conversation on the All Things Reconciled podcast.
The story of peace between Muslims and the rest of Philippine society is at least two decades long, preceded by centuries of suspicion and mistrust. “Part of our narrative here in the Philippines was when you see a Muslim, you think either he is a traitor, thief or a terrorist,” says Penamora. “They were seen as enemies of Christians.”
Christian leaders began taking part in peace talks in 2009 that led to a social transformation and, since 2019, significant peace.
During these years evangelical leaders were involved in background talks and direct acts of reconciliation. Not all acts were initially well received, Penamora says. One church, when preparing relief packages for displaced Muslims, included Bibles with the relief goods. The Bibles were seen as an effort to proselytize the Muslim community, angering Muslim leaders.
Penamora was part of a group who went to the Muslim leaders in a dangerous rebel camp to apologize. He explained the church didn’t recognize the level of offence the placement of Bibles brought.
“We were surprised that the leaders accepted our apology. They said, ‘Why didn’t you say so, that you wanted to share the Bible? If you went to the proper channels, we would have allowed the Bibles and included Muslim materials so it didn’t appear that you were proselytizing.’ ”
This apology created a mutual respect between some Muslim and Christian groups. One evangelical leader, despite some Christian opposition, became a spokesperson for a Muslim group.
Evangelical leaders and their churches have been transformational agents in bringing peace to the Philippines during fierce inter-religious conflict. The Church’s courageous and practical following in the ways of Jesus is making an everyday difference.
Episodes of the podcast All Things Reconciled are available on most major podcast platforms (subscribe to the Faith Today Podcast to receive them). You can also listen in your web browser at TheEFC.ca/All-Things-Reconciled.