In welcoming Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's visit to the Vatican to meet Pope John Paul II, the spiritual leader of PAS, Nik Aziz Nik Mat, said there is "no prohibition in Islam for Muslim leaders to meet leaders of other religions".

Nik Aziz added that he himself had visited Buddhist temples twice after taking office.

The PAS leader, whose son is being detained by the government of Mahathir under the Internal Security Act (ISA) without open trial for his alleged involvement in a 'terrorist' organisation, also enjoins Mahathir to "clarify (with the Pope) various issues on Islam".

It is indeed gratifying for Malaysians of all faiths, especially Muslims and Christians, to witness a rare bipartisan consensus on a major and fundamental issue in our multi-ethnic and multi-religious society.

It shows that Malaysians on both sides of the political divide are more mature and politically responsible than what some quarters would like to believe or see.

True, there are many theological and political differences among Muslims, and between Christians and Muslims throughout the centuries.

Hence, Mahathir's visit to the Vatican should inspire us to find shared values and essentially common beliefs that bind us together.

For example, Muslims believe not only in the Prophet Muhammad: like the Christians and the Jewish people, they also share the fundamental belief in the same One God, namely the God of Abraham (Ibrahim), Moses (Musa) and Jesus Christ (Nabi Isa). Christians and Muslims also believe in the Creation, the Day of Judgement as well as Heaven and Hell.

It is upon these shared and common beliefs that Christians, Muslims and Jewish people (not necessarily Zionists) should conduct dialogues in our common search for the ultimate identity, security and justice.

Above all, dialogues are not one-off diplomatic events but rather an ongoing process to be participated also by all levels and sectors of the civil society, with open hearts and minds.

Anwar's role

In this context, honest and sincere Malaysians would not forget the forerunning role played by former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim in promoting the mechanism, institutions and spirit of civilisational or inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogues as early as the early 1990s when the majority of Malaysians were still taking inter-religious and inter-cultural harmony for granted in a materially abundant and opulent environment created by the Bubble Economy.

In fact, in his book The Asian Renaissance (Kuala Lumpur, Times Book International, 1996), Anwar committed inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogues, understanding, empathy and solidarity as the cornerstone or bedrock of his vision of a good society in the multi-ethnic and multi-religious Malaysia and Asia.

The book, however, does not only discourse the inclusive links and bridges between Islam and Christianity, but also generally between the East and West. Confucianism, for example, is regarded by the now political detainee as a major input to civilisational dialogues and peace.

To be sure, there is no exclusive right of intellectual property in the realm of open ideas. In Machiavellian politics, novel and noble ideas are often over-zealously or over-enthusiastically credited to only and exclusively the wealthy and powerful who create and distribute jobs, especially the job of writing and scribbling.

It is, therefore, the duty of God-loving intellectuals to give credit where credit is really and fairly due, without fear or favour and without regard to whether the one who deserves credit is strong or weak.

The Catholic Church in Rome is a witness and testimony to the courage and fortitude of many early Christians, saints and martyrs who chose to speak the truth, whether spiritual, moral or intellectual, amid the looming threat of persecution.

Spiritual mesagges

Indeed, to this writer at least, any visit to the Vatican without appreciating the timeless messages of forgiveness, mercy, compassion and justice is all but vanity.

The Vatican is not only about beautiful architecture, magnificent paintings and sculptures, or colourful attired clerics and Swiss Guards, but also about the invisible moral and spiritual messages of Jesus Christ who is respected by Muslims as Nabi Isa.

Historically, the Catholic Church in Rome witnessed not only martyrdoms, and the follies, tyrannies and cruelties of some secular Roman emperors such as Nero, Caligula and Commodus, but also the brave words and deeds of its morally courageous clerics in protecting the weak and powerless amid barbarian invasions and occupations.

For about one thousand years between the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century and the onset of the Enlightenment in the 17th century, the Catholic Church in Rome generally protected and preserved civilised life, values and sanity as it was the only civilised institution left in the midst of barbarian destruction.

Admittedly, there were instances of corruption, decadence and abuses of power, as well as errors and mistakes committed, in the Catholic Church in Rome. The Crusade was one such example, and Pope John Paul II had publicly asked for the forgiveness of the Jewish people and Muslims.

Indeed, the true and deepest meaning of being a believer in God is not that one is henceforth perfectly faultless, but the moral and spiritual ability for self-reflection, self-criticism and self-rectification.

Above all, it is about the ability and willingness to ask for forgiveness from God, and the people one has wronged.

Tomorrow: Dr M's foreign glory and domestic woes

JAMES WONG WING ON is chief analyst of Strategic Analysis Malaysia (SAM) which produces the subscriber-based political report, Analysis Malaysia . Wong is a former member of parliament (1990-1995) and a former columnist for the Sin Chew Jit Poh Chinese daily. He read political science and economics at the Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. While in Sin Chew , he and a team of journalists won the top awards of Malaysian Press Institute (MPI) for 1998 and 1999.