This has been a difficult week. The attack on Westminster has dominated our news. Immediately the killings were labelled terrorist which always sounds as though there is a grand plan and strategy afoot. This wasn’t the case and like other instances elsewhere the attack was perpetrated by one man, known to the police for his violence, who seems to have been given a purpose to live for while coming under the influence of Islamic radical philosophies in prison.  This purpose, I can only suppose, gave him the confidence to react against a sense of being dominated by the West, of not being respected for who and what he was and the resulting anger was such that he was driven to violence. Immediately society was seen as a battle ground between those wanting to destroy democratic processes and those strong in their convictions that no amount of violence would deter them from the values of a democratic and liberal society – them and us, the kind of thinking that leads to competition, conflict and even violence.
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There was the usual raft of press releases condemning the violence and encouraging faith communities to work together. It’s right to protest about this kind of violence.  I’m reminded of the saying that all it takes for violence to thrive is for good people to say nothing but I also have some lingering doubts. These statements suggest, at least implicitly, that the problem is with religion, with Islam in particular, and while many people will blame Islam, a whole religion cannot be blamed for one person’s actions.  Do we suggest a problem that is not really there by highlighting interfaith relations? I suppose I wonder what it would have been like if statements had been issued every time there was an IRA bomb. As a Catholic would I have felt a bit ‘got at’ if statements had said let’s not blame all Catholics or people even suggested that Irish Catholics didn’t have a place in British society? There was some anti-Catholic feeling around in the time of the Irish Troubles and I did hear it from some quarters but the Catholic community in my experience didn’t feel under pressure or ‘got at’.
I’m very aware of the IRA connection because Martin McGuinness died this week. Martin McGuinness was an IRA official, he engaged in violence to free Northern Ireland from British rule and establish a united Ireland.  But he changed, he gave up arms and the last years of his life were spent as a parliamentarian working for peace. He never lost his vision for a united Ireland but he worked through parliamentary processes.  For many people it was like a miracle especially when they saw traditional enemies, Martin and Ian Paisley, not only working together, but obviously enjoying one another’s company.  They came to respect one another in spite of their differences of opinion.  Martin met the Queen on more than one occasion even though there would have been a time in his life when she would have been seen as the enemy and oppressor.  There was a time when it seemed as though the Troubles in Northern Ireland would never be resolved, the hatred never dissipated and peace an impossible ideal.  But it was resolved. The architects of the Peace Process were many but at the heart of it was a refusal not to opt out of dialogue and negotiation. Instead of pulling up the drawbridge and remaining in their polarised position they were open to listening to one another and something new emerged. There are still difficulties of course and sometimes it seems an uneasy peace but there is a commitment to working together for peace.
Martin McGuinness was central to this process. His funeral and obituaries were very moving. People who at one time would have been his enemies, who recognised his violent past and even suffered from it spoke movingly about his later life and his determination to work through democratic processes. One of the most inspirational eulogies came from Bill Clinton. He spoke of what he called the amazing unfolding of Martin McGuinness’ life, of how he grew up in a time of rage and resentment and fought for his ideals with violence. But at some point he decided to give peace a chance, he listened, compromised and was faithful to his word.  He worked for all sections of the community, expanding his definition of ‘us’ and shrinking his definition of ‘them’ – a lesson for our times with its new wave of tribalism. Mr Clinton exhorted those present to honour his legacy by continuing this work for peace which sometimes demands a leap into the unknown against our better judgement. The way forward, he suggested, is for those who have legitimate griefs on both sides to face the future together.
Martin McGuinness’ funeral was a witness to a life well lived; an inspiration and encouragement that people can and do change; that determination to lay aside differences and work together for a common future is possible.  Is it possible that something like this could happen with our Muslim brothers and sisters who feel alienated and discriminated against?  The situation in Northern Ireland bears witness that such hope need not be in vain

The Christian season of Lent is now in its third week. It's a time for prayer, almsgiving and fasting. The Baha'i community are also in the second week of their fast. It's always from 1st to 21st March which is Naw Ruz, the Baha'i New Year. The Baha'i fast resembles the Muslim fast (their founder was Muslim) in that it lasts from dawn to sunset but, because it takes place at this time of the year, the hours to daylight and darkness are more or less the same unlike Ramadan which can have very long days when it occurs in summertime.  Compared to these fasts the Christian one always seems a bit wishy -washy - giving up something for lent like chocolate or crisps as I believe Teresa May is doing. The whole idea of it is to discipline ourselves, say no to ourselves but only if that helps us turn our attention to God and opens our hearts to other people.  This year there  has been a suggestion going around social media to get rid of one superfluous belonging on each of the forty days of lent, put it into a bag which can be taken to a charity shop after Easter. It's been taken up by a number of people I know.  There's also the discipline of doing something positive of course - more time to reading the scriptures or praying. I once taught myself to juggle during lent and another time to touch type. It was good to reach Easter with a new skill - a kind of resurrection experience in its own way.  

Whatever people do for lent and i know this is true for Baha'is and Muslims too the time of fasting is like a retreat - more awareness of God, more time for prayer, more concern for others.  To help this retreat - like atmosphere the Christian Churches in Britain and Ireland produce material to be used in house groups, in Church groups or whatever. This year the material has an interfaith flavour.  Each week's reflection is written by someone who has studied a particular faith and shares how that has shone light on his or her own Christian Faith.  The series is called Journeying Home which reflects the belief of John Dunne, a Catholic theologian that the spiritual adventure of our day is to travel into the world of another faith and return to understand your own in a new way. This is something that those of us engaged in interfaith relations can relate to.

The first lenten study was entitled Journeying into the Wilderness and focused on Jesus' time in the desert of Judea which ended with his temptation to be a popular, powerful kind of Messaiah. The desert is a common theme in what Christians call the Old Testament but Jews call the Bible.  Jesus would have known the stories of the Israelites' wandering in the desert, Moses fast in the desert and other instances in the prophets where we are told that God enticed His People into the desert to speak to their heart from the Bible, the scriptures of his people which were also his scriptures. This first week reminds us that Jesus was Jewish, that his religion was Judaism, yet it's so easy to read stories of Jesus through Christian eyes.  One of the insights of this first week is to consider Jewish suggestions that Jesus trained as a Pharisee. If this is so it changes our way of understanding Jesus' relationship with the Pharisees and seeing the stories of the differences between them not as the opposition of enemies but internal disagreements about interpretations of the Law.  Another insight from this first week is from a Christian evangelical who never understood the Catholic and Orthodox  devotion to the Virgin Mary until he learned from Islam about it's devotion to Mary and its way of viewing Mohammed as the bearer of the Word of God. His encounter with Islam led to greater understanding with his fellow Christians.

The second week reflects on the Rememberance of God's Name with insights from Sikhism who often speak of God simply as the Name. As it says in the Sikh Holy Book, the Guru Granth Sahib,
          Take love as your pen and with reason as scribe enquire of the Guru (God) and list his commands.
          Write on that paper the Name with your praises; write of the infinite power!
          They who have treasured your Name in their hearts bear the marks of your grace on their brows.
          For grace is the means to obtaining the Name; all other is bluster and wind.

The idea of using what seems like a very impersonal word for God is to counteract the proliferation of names for God that would have abounded in India at the time of Guru Nanak, Sikhism's founder. To be too specific in naming God is to anthropomorphise God and limit who and what God is. For Sikhs it's love of the divine name (Naam) that brings about spiritual liberation and a daily practice is to constantly remember the Name of God and express it in praise and song. This brings about a sense of unity with God and a deep appreciation of being God's beloved, all expressed in service to the community - a good message and an inspiring one. 

The lenten journey is not over yet - there are  three more religions to explore and learn from. I do hope Churches have taken up the challenge, even if they find it a bit unusual. For those not used to interfaith relations it will be a revelation to find out how we can learn from other faiths. But it will also be a revelation to discover that at the heart of spirituality there is great unity and common inspiration.  I hope they are inspired to engage some more.