Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Zamboanga (Agenzia Fides) - For all believers the holy month of Ramadan is “a time to follow the style of God who is in dialogue with all and cares for all”. This was part of a message addressed to Muslims in the Philippines on the occasion of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, this year 13 September to 11 October, on the part of the Silsilah Movement for Dialogue in Zamboanga, an area of mainly Muslims, in the southern Philippines.
The message wishes all Muslims an intense experience of prayer and closeness to God: “Let us hope and pray that we will not be discouraged at this time in history that we may understand the presence of God and His continual love and compassion shown in many ways. He is creative and offers new opportunities for dialogue and peace in the world. God can make possible things which are impossible for us including a new era of peace. May Muslim communities and peoples of other faiths see Ramandan as a new inspiration to follow the style of God who is in dialogue with all and who cares for all”.
The message concludes “Let us build together a Culture of Dialogue, path to peace, respecting the dignity of every human person ”.
Silsilah Movement was started in 1984 in Zamboanga by an Italian PIME missionary Fr. Sebastiano d'Ambra, with a group of Christian and Muslim friends. The Movement promotes a culture of dialogue as a path to peace and encourages Muslims and Christians to discover the spiritual roots of dialogue and peace. Silsilah in Arabic means bond, chain, encounter. The word was adopted by the movement to recall the spiritual experience of Sufi Muslims for whom Silsilah is the bond between their spiritual journey and the Creator of the universe. The concept can be applied to all spiritual journeys for a person or a group led by spiritual experience and his own religion on a path towards God.
Silsilah is the root of the word “genealogical tree” and ideally recalls than humanity is a family. The Movement proposes to rediscover the bonds between peoples, cultures and religions.
From the Philippines the Movement is spreading and promoting "Prayer of Harmony”. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 19/9/2007 righe 26 parole 265)
