Madaris Gurus, Catechists to train become teachers and models of dialogue

A seminar-workshop aimed to foster friendship and promote dialogue among gurus and catechists will be held on January 16 to 18, 2009 at the Oasis of Dialogue Training Center in Harmony Village in Pitogo, Sinunuc, Zamboanga City.

The seminar for religion teachers - madaris (plural of madrasah) gurus and catechists - is organized by the Inter-Faith Council of Leaders (IFCL) of Silsilah Movement.

The three-day activity will feature small group discussions; general assembly forums; and shared experiences of prayer and reflection with Christian and Muslim clerics as lecturers.

Seeking not only to build friendships among the gurus and the catechists, the seminar also aims to share with the participants the experience of promoting dialogue.

The movement sees that sharing of stories and experiences as religion teachers can contribute to the spread of an orientation towards interreligious dialogue.

Silsilah believes that the religion teacher’s own style and attitudes create a great impact on the formation of the attitudes of young people.

The seminar-workshop likewise seeks to make the participants become “aware of the ongoing dialogue between Muslim and Christian religious leaders and scholars” which has developed in the last several months.

A document called A Common Word, signed by 138 Muslim scholars and addressed to Pope Benedict XVI and other Christian leaders proposes a challenge to everyone to be open “to the concept and practice of love of God and love of neighbor according to the fundamental teachings of Islam and Christianity”.

Trained in the promotion of dialogue, Gurus and catechists will not only be teachers but models as well of what it is to live a dialogical style of life, according to Silsilah.

Formation of religious educators is a key component in the Movement’s mission of promoting dialogue among peoples of various faiths.

The participants will give their own assessment at the end of the three-day activity to make the seminar more effective in the pursuit of dialogue as well as to formulate plans in improving it in view of forthcoming seminars of the same concern.