Establishing Affinity

Affinity Intercultural Foundation was established by a group of young Australian Muslims in early 2001 in order to meet the needs of the Muslim community to interact with the greater society and the needs of the general public to increase its awareness of the Muslim community, its religion and culture.

The evolution of the Muslim community in Australia was at a stage where it was ready to integrate with the wider society having established itself at the core level. Coinciding with this readiness, Australian public's curiosity and willingness to closely understand Muslims and their religion and culture were triggered by significant local and world events. The third reason for Affinity Intercultural Foundation's existence is the need to develop a constructive response to negative events and to promote education in the face of misinformation and misunderstanding.

Affinity Intercultural Foundation has positioned itself at this historic crossroads of cultural and religious encounters. It is one of the few organisations established to specifically focus on relationship building between cultures and faiths. Its timely entry provided a great impetus to the positive dialogue initiatives and resulted in its fast growth in repute and membership.

Affinity Intercultural Foundation is here for the long haul and is making its contribution to remove bigotry and establish peace and harmony in Australia together with its partner organisations. We believe that this interaction will result in Australian Muslims developing their unique Australian identity and culture. We also believe that Australian Muslims have a lot to offer to the positive development of the cultural and religious landscape of Australia. Affinity Intercultural Foundation facilitates this development by channelling the energy of young Australian Muslims towards these goals.

Mission not Impossible

We at Affinity Intercultural Foundation believe that the human touch makes all the difference. When people know and try to understand each other in the other's frame of reference, a natural affinity emerges between them. It is this affinity that shatters stereotypes, false assumptions and negative perceptions. It all starts with the individual and through building synergy influence masses. Only individuals equipped with personal leadership can achieve such desired outcomes. With this awareness in mind we have defined the following mission for ourselves:

" To create and sustain enduring affinity and relationships with people through inter-cultural and inter-faith dialogue and understanding. To add value to the lives of individuals by becoming a catalyst in their learning to lead harmonious and balanced lives, to gain true personal leadership and to apply universal principles in fulfilling their needs of the mind and the heart."

We fulfill this mission by representing these ideals in our own character.

Core Principles

Our core principles direct our decision making as well as individual and organisational behaviour.

1- Sincerity - in intention and action
2- Service - to God and humanity
3- Consultation - with the right people
4- Integrity - in self and team
5- Interdependence - with team and partners
6- Positive Action - in every situation
7- Balance - in self and organisation

Inter-faith and Inter-cultural Dialogue Activities

In line with its mission, Affinity Intercultural Foundation is creating and sustaining enduring relationships with people through inter-cultural and inter-faith dialogue and understanding.
In a short space of time since its inception in 2001, Affinity Intercultural Foundation has embarked on a number of significant projects to foster dialogue between Muslims and various Christian groups (Catholic, Anglican and Protestant) to begin with.
We plan to extend the dialogue initiative to people and groups from other religions and are prepared to accept any sincere invitation for dialogue. Please explore our website for a sample of major achievements and projects.