I wish export this ability of Kazakh people living together so peacefully and friendly– Ishmael Noko, Sec Gen of Lutheran World Federation
Mr. Ishmael Noko, you have been working in the Lutheran World Federation since 1982. Could you tell please about the Organization, its activity? As far as I know, its main purpose is to provide Christian unity ...
Well, the Lutheran World Federation is a church-based organization. It is centralizing its work around humanitarian work, especially people who are in need. It is also involved in peacemaking activity in the conflict areas. We are also involved in refugee work, in assisting to the people who were displaced because of disasters. Sometimes there are discussions in the Lutheran family itself. I do resolve these conflicts in order that we can provide energy for other global situations. So we try to respond to these problems.
Yes, you are right, the main purpose of our organization is to bring unity among the Lutherans, to bring unity between the Lutherans and other Christians, and bring dialogue between Christians and other religious communities, like what is done in Kazakhstan.
Are there any difficulties in this process? I mean disagreements among different Christians....
Yes, there are some misunderstandings among the Christians themselves, primarily around interpretation of the Bible. They sometimes interprets differently meaning the same word. It brings about some practices which are different, like in marriage, for example. We try to harmonize them through a dialogue to reach understanding. There are also other levels of contradicts, like for example, that people do not trust each other! I do believe that it is is very important to build up trust, I am standing for dialogue. Only through dialogue we can solve the problem.
Can you say that today more people come to churches?
Yes, I can, especially in developing countries the Southern hemisphere. More people are going to churches, mosques, synagogues, and shrines there.
Did your expectations from this Congress come true? Do you have any recommendations regarding the forum?
Yes, I am very optimistic, because I believe in people. I believe in people who try to change things for better like your President. Your President is an optimist, so I share his optimism!
The forum was fruitful for me, as I say it all the congresses. As I mentioned in my welcoming speech, "through encounter and dialogue in each of the three congresses we have achieved a certain level of comfort and trust between us". Being a moderator of the section, I can address the Secretariat with certain recommendations what we should do to make progress. As for myself, I saw that transformation took place. I would like to recommend the Secretariat to find sufficient time for real dialogue. In the next congress we shall try to organize it in such a way that there is encounter over specific issues. Also I want to get way in which we can speak in a very dignified way to one another. We want to speak in peace, but not in pieces. We need to move from speeches to action for the promotion of good neighborliness.
How do you appreciate the inter-ethnic and inter-religious relations in Kazakhstan? Can these relations serve as a model for other countries?
Kazakhstan is a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural country. We do not know how your people managed to hold different ethnic groups together so nicely. I wish, if we could export this ability of Kazakh people living together so peacefully and friendly, and export it to Africa, other part of Asia and other neighboring countries!
I would like to repeat, that the religious leaders of Kazakhstan together with the Government are custodians of the example offered by your country to the world. I hope that the religious leaders and communities of Kazakhstan will encourage and support President Nursultan Nazarbayev in the directions he has taken on this matter. I am appealing to all of you and your people: be a model, because you are a model!
Kazinform note:
Ishmael Noko is a southern African Lutheran Priest who has been the General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation since 1994. He was born on October 29, 1943 in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). I. Noko received his primary and high school education in Pretoria and at the University of Zululand. He completed his Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1971, majoring in systematic theology, church history and biblical studies. After his ordination in 1972 he studied for a Master's Degree at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and completed in 1974. From 1974 until 1977 Noko studied at McGill University in Quebec and earned his Ph.D. with a doctoral thesis on "The Concept of God in Black Theology: An Appreciation of God as Liberator and Reconciler". During his studies in Canada, Noko worked as a parish pastor and university lecturer. In late 1977 he accepted lectureship at the University of Botswana where two years later he was appointed head of the Department of Theology. He also served for three years as Dean of the Faculty of Humanities. In May 1982 Noko was called from the University of Botswana to join the LWF Department for World Service where he worked for refugee services related to the churches, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Organization of African Unity and other organizations. Noko was appointed as General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation in June 1994, becoming the first African to hold the position in the LWF.