Before becoming a priest in 1992 he had spent many years in the oil industry in France, Nigeria and the Far East, and so he knows the international scene well. A year ago he became a Director of the International Centre for Reconciliation (ICR) at Coventry Cathedral. Its origins lay in a striking - and moving – act of faith following the destructive air raid of 1940. It is no easy desk job. He and his ICR colleagues are deeply involved in active, and sometimes dangerous, mediation in the contexts of Iraq, Northern Nigeria and the Israel/Palestine imbroglio. Indeed he spends about half his time abroad and told gripping stories about his experiences. His credibility was clear and our appetite had been thoroughly whetted for the careful analysis that followed.

Canon Welby said that in a world in which the ‘war against terror’ seemed all pervasive, there was a too ready acquiescence to the delusion that violent conflict was inevitable, in particular between the Christian and Islamic worlds – a ‘war of civilisations’. He described and challenged various examples of this often simplistic mode of thought and rooted his observations in what the church’s ministry of reconciliation has been learning in the midst of sometimes fearful events.

The intriguing title for the lecture was ‘Jihad versus McWorld: Is there a way forward?’ Jihad, of course, is the Islamic concept often translated as holy war (although, for most Moslems, it means a non-violent spiritual struggle). ‘McWorld’ was Benjamin Barber’s term for global corporatism which our speaker summarised as ‘the trivialising and overwhelming power of globalised identities through market forces’.* Many of us would agree that materialistic individualism can be no less a danger to international harmony than other forms of insistent bigotry. In this mostly non-Moslem capitalist world as well as in the Islamic one there are certainly far too many passionate ‘jihadists’ demanding utter conformity who threaten both each other and the open and interdependent forms of democracy which must be humankind’s prime hope.

Most of us would of course agree that some conflicts of interest between peoples, nations and all sorts of groups and factions are inevitable and so therefore are sometimes acute tensions. But such conflicts need not lead to violence, let alone open war. As our speaker put it, they need to be restructured within a positive respect for diversity.

Canon Welby saw the movement towards reconciliation as a multi-staged process. Careful prior research was vital and, when engaged, the human interactions had to be built upon genuine love. And that love must bring practical relief to all sides, not just a display of fine words. Moreover all efforts towards reconciliation involved risks of confrontation, failure or worse. And there could be no sudden success or final excuse to relax: reconciliation had to be renewed each day. (The travails of and over Northern Ireland constantly remind us of this.)

But most of all Christian theology taught that the critical resource of this continuing process was no less than a community of the reconciled, grounded in the worship of God. This turned the process from I-centredness to Other-centredness and earthed it in the local community.

Canon Welby spelt out what he saw as the particular contribution of the Christian reconciler but he stressed also the need for practical realism. He instanced the ICR’s experience in the Middle Eastern ‘Alexandrian’ process which seeks to engage Israeli and Palestinian religious leaders in the faltering peace process. Reconciliation was certainly energised by spirituality but was a long journey that was frankly based on politics. The political leaderships involved had to be both committed and skilful, for example in taking advantage, when it at last came, of the ultimate weariness with violence.

Canon Welby perceptively remarked that the aim throughout was reconciliation, not usually resolution. He noted that in Britain we experience this in our own politics: ‘Elections are after all only a civil war in another form; reconciled but not resolved’. This got a laugh of delighted recognition but he had made his point. In essence, we must all learn to structure conflict peacefully.

The talk had combined real learning, forceful analysis, broad sympathies and Canon Welby’s own transparent convictions. Questions flowed freely, and after the Dean had thanked our speaker for a very special evening the applause was long and heartfelt.

Ronald Higgins

*Benjamin R Barber ‘Jihad vs. McWorld’, Random House 1995, latest edition Corgi 2003.

Copies of Canon Welby’s lecture are available from the Cathedral Library, price £2.50 including postage.