The Dead Sea from Masada |
Miroslav Volf commented that “The
past is always present with us”, when speaking at the BMS Catalyst Live (Event Website) event. He went on to outline how we need to remember
rightly if we are to find a pathway to reconciliation. The event ended with Martin Accad form the
Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Lebanon focusing upon the current
turbulent situation in the Middle East that is a product of the failure to cope
with memories of the past.
During the day a post from the
Elders. This group of global leaders was first brought
together by Nelson Mandela and is currently chaired by Kofi Annan with the
expressed aim of working together for peace and human rights. Last week their website shared a post ( The 'Elders' Website article ) that
highlighted the problems of a ‘conflict of narratives’ and a ‘clash of
victim-hoods’ in understanding the Israel/Palestine situation today. These two conflicting memories lead to a
harmful polarising of opinion across the world, and give rise to conflict that
spills over into the rest of the Middle East.
Returning to Marin Accad, I was
encouraged to find that he held onto hope for the future in terms of some
fundamental values shared across the religious divides of the Middle East
today. He pointed to the silent majority
for whom violence and hatred were not a religious inevitability, but rather
they share a desire to live at peace with their neighbour. This reminded me of my own childhood growing
up in the period of “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland. It seems that the voices for peace of the
majority in both Loyalist and Republican communities were ultimately heard, and
the conflicting memories in some way have moved towards reconciliation.
The Wall of Jerusalem |
Some years ago I travelled to
Israel/Palestine leading a group from our church in Glasgow. One of my most vivid memories is visiting Yad
Vashem, the museum commemorating the Holocaust, and speaking afterwards to our
Palestinian guide. When asked how he
felt about the place and the message it gave, he said that something terrible
indeed had happened to the Jewish people but that the Palestinians had not been
the perpetrators of the crime, yet had suffered for it.
My prayer is that there may be an
abandonment of the memories of victim-hood that leads to polarisation of
opinion and violence, and that a way of peace may be found that enables the
memories to be shared and different communities to live side by side.