About 130 years ago Fiji was ceded to Britain by the Fijian Chiefs and, as the colonial power, Britain brought in indentured labourers from India in order to protect the Fijians and preserve their traditional way of life. The descendants of the indentured labourers now form about half of the population. They are mainly Hindu, some are Muslim, and a very small proportion are Christian.
For about one hundred years there was relatively calm co-existence. The government policy was to keep the people divided in their separate communities, and this has impacted on the social, cultural, and political scene, even since Independence was gained in 1970. There was naturally some mixing at the grassroots level, and increasingly so. The people of Fiji are on the whole very tolerant of each other’s differences. Religious festivals are shared and enjoyed on a superficial level without anyone feeling a great need to understand them. Religious dietary regulations and fasting are accepted and respected. Many of these schools are run by religious organisations, Christian, Hindu, and Muslim, and children from all sections of the community are accepted, so that there has developed a general knowledge of each other’s religious practices, while understanding of beliefs remains relatively superficial.
In these days of increasing secularisation throughout the world, Fiji is still a very religious country. For example, many meetings commence with prayer, whatever the organisation and sports fixtures also start with prayer. This prayer is Christian regardless of the faiths of those present.
When the Fijian nationalist-led Coup d’etat ruptured what had appeared to be a harmonious multi-cultural, multi-religious nation, which boasted that it was "the way the world should be", underlying resentments and prejudices leapt out as from a Pandora’s Box. Politics and religion became inextricably mixed as the new governing regime justified itself as acting according to God’s will and direction, and sought to impose Christianity with the expressed intention of making Fiji a Christian state. For some months a Decree forbade any activity on Sunday which was not strictly religious. There were sporadic outbreaks of anti-Hindu activities with desecration and even destruction of Hindu temples and idols, and religious books by Christians. Fortunately the last ten years has seen efforts to restore calm and re-create a harmonious society, including the adoption of a new Constitution suitable for a multi-ethnic country.
Within two months of the Coup d’etat in 1987 a meeting called together people from the different religious traditions present in Fiji, to discern together how the spiritual resources of each could best help with the healing process needed to restore harmony in the fractured community. Out of this Interfaith Search Fiji was formed with the expressed aim of ‘building bridges of respect and understanding between people of different religious traditions for the sake of the wider community’. There are now 16 member organisations, roughly one third each Christian, Hindu, and Muslim.
From the early months of the organisation’s existence, regular dialogue has taken place based on the model from Birmingham, England, which has been modified to suit local conditions. The dialogue is multi-lateral, each organisation being invited to prepare a short paper on a given topic. Three or four papers from a cross-section of the member organisations are presented and discussed at each Discussion Gathering, and topics covered over the years include;
In 1994 Interfaith Search Fiji received a visit from a three-member team sponsored by the World Council of Churches. The team was led by Dr. Hans Ucko who was accompanied by Dr S. Jeyapragasam, of the Institute of Gandhian Studies at Madurai Kamaraj University, a Hindu, and Professor Mumtaz Ali Khan of Centre for Research and Development of Dalits, Bangalore, a Muslim. This visit raised the profile of Interfaith Search Fiji in the country and gave much needed encouragement to the members of Interfaith Search, who were made more aware of the worldwide dimension of inter-religious relations.
A meeting of the visitors with the leadership of the Methodist Church in Fiji was seen as a breakthrough, but sadly no permanent improvement in the relationship between the Church and Interfaith Search Fiji resulted.
The visiting team challenged Interfaith Search Fiji to take more seriously the organisation’s aim to work for reconciliation and peace, and this encouraged them to make a comprehensive submission to the Commission, which reviewed the racially and religiously biased 1990 Constitution. Instead of limiting the submission to the sections of the constitution concerned with religion, Interfaith Search made recommendations on all aspects of human rights and justice. However, most member organisations, apart from Christians, remain wary of activities that can be construed as political. The challenge still stands for Interfaith Search to be more actively engaged in breaking down prejudice and working for peace and justice.
As a result of the deepening understanding between Interfaith Search members, Public Prayer gatherings have been organised at selected times, such as at the start of a new year, before the General Elections, and increasingly calls are made to Interfaith Search to organise public interfaith prayer by national organisations such as the Trades Union Congress, the Council of Social Services for Senior Citizens’ Week, etc.
We have developed a specific methodology for these prayer gatherings. They are usually held in a religious buildings. As at all Interfaith Search meetings, we commence with a minute of silent prayer together. Each prayer gathering has a theme on which each religious organisation is invited to present a short prayer, reading, chant, song, drama or meditation. The public is invited to join in or listen prayerfully as appropriate, as the contributions are presented one after another with a short silence in between each. Four years ago it was suggested that we should have an Interfaith Prayer and this came about in a remarkable way. First, it was quickly and unanimously agreed that we could all address God as Creator. Various suggestions were made for petitions and ideas to be included -- A prayer was drafted, amended and accepted at a full Council meeting, and is now used at the conclusion of every prayer gathering. One phrase is modified or another inserted to suit the particular occasion as for instance after a national disaster such as an air crash in 1999 which killed 17 people when Interfaith Search was asked to help organise a national memorial service.
Interfaith Search Fiji speaks out through the media on religious issues and on behalf of, or in defence of particular religious organisations or individuals under threat, as when temples have been vandalised. A comprehensive submission was made to the Constitutional Review Commission which prepared the ground for the 1997 Fiji Constitution, and submissions have been made to various Government Commissions reviewing such matters as the Gaming Laws, Poverty and Education.
Interfaith Search endeavours to raise public awareness of the need for respect and understanding in our multi-faith Society, and works to break down prejudice, through seminars, talks to specific groups, involvement in various non-government organisations working in human rights, etc. We have co-operated with the multi-cultural programme of the Citizens Constitutional Forum (CCF) to develop resource material for schools. The Catholic Teacher’s Training College now has a course on World Religions present in Fiji for which Interfaith Search is the major resource, organising speakers and visits to religious buildings.
Interfaith Search Fiji took part in the W.C.C.’s Peace to the City Campaign together with the C.C.F. and ‘People for Intercultural Awareness’- a programme developed by the Catholic Church.
One of the biggest problems faced by Interfaith Search is the reluctance of some Christian Churches to be involved and the strong opposition of the Methodist Church in Fiji which is the largest Christian Church in the country, having the majority of ethnic Fijians as members. Only a few individual Methodists are prepared to join with Interfaith Search activities. Interfaith Search is only active in the capital city, Suva. Branches formed in other centres have failed to maintain momentum.
As Fiji continues to try to rebuild the broken fabric of society into one harmonious nation of diverse peoples, the work of Interfaith Search is increasingly important. There is increasing political unrest in this year of 2000 with some big issues awaiting satisfactory resolution. The major issue is that of land most of which belongs to the Fijians and has been leased to Indian farmers. The Fijians are now wanting to take back the land and are refusing to renew leases. There are religious as well as cultural differences that are susceptible to political manipulation, especially when prejudices thrive through lack of knowledge and understanding.
With the recent recruitment of a young and enthusiastic co-ordinator, Interfaith Search hopes to expand the public awareness programme through seminars and visits to schools, and to revive the regional branches, so that Interfaith Search can be a positive force in reshaping Fiji’s future.
Tessa MacKenzie is Honorary Secretary to the Council Interfaith Search Fiji