So that identity does not become a tool of devastation

This message is also available in Arabic.

Dr. Michel E. Abs

General Secretary of the Middle East Council of Churches

Nothing is more precious to a person's heart than his identity.

It defines who he is, towards himself as well as towards others, towards his narrow surroundings or towards his community.

Identity becomes more complex and richer and more diverse as civilization progresses, and it becomes made up of sub-identities and layers of belongingness.

Modern man is no longer monolithic, and there is no longer a single dimension that expresses his identity, but multiple dimensions that combine and multiply and may sometimes contradict one another, depending on the surrounding social structure as well as on the personality of the individual.

Modern man has multiple and complex affiliations. He is the son of his family, the son of his town or region and subsequently of his country. He has his religious belief. He may be of a certain ethnic affiliation and have a certain political or ideological orientation. He may belong to a scout group, a sports team, or a cultural group that pursues a hobby dear to him.

Each of these dimensions has its weight in determining the identity of the individual according to the depth of his affiliation to them as well as to the importance of one dimension or the other in his life and values. The final overall  identity of each individual is the result of the interaction between the various dimensions s/he is affiliated to.

What concerns us in this article is to consider the balance between the components of identity and the dynamics of human interactions with a person’s surroundings on the basis of the components of her/his affiliation.

When a person is reconciled with himself and with society, we find him comfortable with the components of his identity, proud of them, and grounded on them in order to respond to the requirements of social harmony. The identity components of the individual person are thereby employed in a positive way and are endowed with a force of attraction that would contribute thus to institute social harmony.

But when identity components are used in a negative, aggressive manner, then they are directed "against others" and become a tool of social disintegration that inevitably leads to destructive conflicts.

We will take religious affiliation as an example as it is important in determining the identity of the individual as well as that of the group, notwithstanding  the wealth of the components of religion, that includes all aspects of existence, from pre-life to infinity.