Athanasia Safitri
Focolare, a religious lay movement from Italy, held an interreligious conference “One Human Family” inviting 480 participants from 40 countries in Rome and Assisi on 31 May - 4 June 2024. The attendees come from various economic, socio-cultural, and religious backgrounds of Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Sikhism, Baha'i, and traditional African beliefs. In line with Focolare’s aim to achieve the unity of all mankind into one family, the conference is a fruit of Focolare’s long-time efforts in building dialogue with people from different religions.
The need for dialogue with people from different ethnicities, cultures, and religions was felt when Chiara Lubich, the founder, gave a speech in front of people from diverse backgrounds while receiving the Templeton Prize in 1977. After collaborating with various religious leaders on separate occasions, the conference was the first held with the collaborators altogether. The first three days of the conference cover themes such as being the weaver of dialogue and peace, economy for peace, and religion in relation to technology, environment, and all creation. It follows with a day visit to Vatican City for a private audience with Pope Francis and to Assisi, a city famous for the prayer of peace and universal brotherhood, on the last day.
Islam and ecology
Dicky Sofjan, MPP., M.A., Ph.D., the core faculty member of the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS), gave his talk on religions and peace with creation from the Islamic perspective. He started by stating that in the Qur'an there is a saying that if God wills it, He will make us all as one family. Even so, living in plurality makes it even more interesting that we could come together diverse with our differences. However, there has been a ‘theological crisis’ in the world where people have become unaware of today’s problems including ecological degradation, climate change, and the unsustainable ways of living. He continued that people seem unable to transcend to see reality as it is now.
In the Islamic teachings, the care for the planet is depicted in the Qur’an through advice to conserve water, and to safeguard nature. Sofjan criticized that although there have been many international meetings and conferences to discuss perseverance for ecology and to address environmental issues, not many direct invitations involve the faithful or engage in a religious or spiritual sense. While it is evident that the majority of the world's citizens are people who have religious and spiritual affiliations, there is limited encouragement to utilize religious groups in sustainable and ecological development. He invited the participants to imagine how progressive projects to care for the creation will be once accompanied by universal spirituality for the common good.
Sofjan offered ‘the heartware’ of ecological sustainability, which revolves around the personal and inner dimensions of the agents of sustainability. It points to values, faith, religious convictions, and spiritual practices beyond the materiality of ecology and the working of ecological governance. It involves a sense of awareness of the role of human beings as stewards on this planet. He stated that it is important to initiate the internal motivation for people to move in action for sustainability. Moreover, it includes the core of the human being in their religiosity and spirituality to concretely work together for the creation.
The Lost Paradise
From this ‘heartware’ perspective, religion will inspire human beings to think about the goodness of others and consider the interest of one human family. They gradually, if not automatically, put their ego aside and give priority to going back to the core teachings of their religion in maintaining relations with others and all creation. Sofjan shared his experiences in practicing the authentic eco-spiritual tradition based on Islamic teachings, as in students’ awareness about our ecological obligation in the eco-pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) and the establishment of the eco-village, along with his ‘green colleagues’. The lost paradise which is our wounded world now must be restored as mentioned in the Quran as al-Jannah (Paradise), often described as gardens beneath where rivers flow. Equipped with the physical paradise on earth, our spiritual maturity can grow as well toward the eternal long-lasting paradise.
Concrete actions have been taken by the Indonesian communities to prevent bigger destruction to Mother Earth including pushing the local and state governments to adjust business policies not only for the private sector but also for the environment and general public, such as hosting the World Water Forum 2024 to raise global awareness to the use of water. Training in ecological basic knowledge, natural conservation program familiarisation, and inter-community discussion to cope with environmental issues will contribute to the new Paradise on Earth. Now it is an invitation for all people of goodwill to transform their collective consciousness and gain a renewed sense of commitment to create the Now Paradise that has been lost for decades.