CAMBODIA Interreligious Council Seeks To Promote Understanding, Cooperation Among Religions

Posted: 7th June 2005

Father Un Son, who is in charge of St. Joseph Parish in Phnom Penh vicariat and a Buddhist monk

PHNOM PENH (UCAN) -- Members of a fledgling interreligious organization in Cambodia have highlighted the need for more frequent meetings among them, for interreligious cooperation at the municipal and provincial level, and for local conflict-resolution workshops.

The Cambodian Interreligious Council, established in October 2002 as a national chapter of the World Conference of Religions for Peace, brings together Buddhists, Christians and Muslims. Eighty people took part in its annual meeting May 31, chaired by Chhorn Iem, secretary of state for Cambodia's Ministry of Cults and Religions.

"Strengthening Interreligious Cooperation for a Peaceful and Harmonious Society" was the topic for the meeting, held at Buddhasasana Bendit, the Buddhist Institute, in central Phnom Penh.

The religious representatives in attendance released a joint statement focusing on three main points. In one of these, they stressed the need for religious leaders to meet frequently in order to improve understanding and to strengthen cooperation for social development and peace building.

However, the other two points highlighted the need for interreligious cooperation to involve people at all levels of society. The representatives called for the creation of interreligious task forces at the municipal and provincial level, and for conflict-resolution workshops to be held at the local level as a capacity-building initiative.

It is important to respect freedom of religion and promote solidarity among followers of different religions to encourage action in the common interest, Chhorn Iem told the gathering. Animation and guidance from religious leaders could help Cambodians "build their family, society and country" in peace and harmony, he said.

Yee Thun, secretary general of the council, remarked that the meeting of the interreligious council "as a family is meant to express a contribution of commonsense experience in order to prevent religious conflicts in Cambodia."

The Catholic representative, Father Un Son, who is in charge of St. Joseph Parish in Phnom Penh vicariate, told UCA News the meeting was very good toward improving understanding and cooperation among the religious leaders. He said he would explain to Catholics how to avoid being led astray by misinformation and prejudices involving other religions, which could lead to conflict. "We should love one another as we love ourselves, because God loves every human being," he added.

Venerable Yoh Hot Khemchara, a Buddhist monk, told UCA News that peace is central to religions, whose coexistence is natural. So people should recognize the need for religions to interact with each other and seek the mutual understanding and cooperation needed to achieve a harmonious society, he said.

An Islamic leader, Khmour Kai Tum, described the meeting was very important in urging religious leaders to improve understanding for peace building. He told UCA News that the danger of terrorism exists whenever religious leaders do not have a deep knowledge and understanding of religion and fail to foster the same among their followers.

People of all religions suffered under the radical communist Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, which ruled Cambodia from 1975 until Vietnamese troops ousted it in 1979. Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have died during that time as a result of deprivation and abuse, as well as mass executions. The number of deaths is put as high as 2 million.
Buddhists form about 95 percent of Cambodia's 12 million people. Muslims are less than 1 percent of the population and Catholics number about 30,000.

The World Conference of Religions for Peace is an initiative of senior leaders from the world's major faith traditions to explore the need for believers around the world to take action toward achieving peace. Starting in 1970 in Kyoto, Japan, there have been seven general assemblies of the conference, the last of which took place in 1999, in Amman, Jordan.

Article Source: UCAN NEWS and C.S.C. Catholic Social Communications - Catholic Church Cambodia