By Taghred Chandab
Australian Muslims, Jews, and Christians have put aside their historical differences and united in the name of peace.
More than four hundred people attended the 2nd Annual International Interfaith Dialogue Conference, in Sydney , on Sunday, in an effort to develop a better understanding of the three major religions of the world, Islam, Judaism and Christianity.
They came from many religious backgrounds to explore and understand the different faiths. It also saw international and local speakers use the medium as a platform to enlighten participants about the misconceptions that exist between the faiths.
People were invited to participate in one of four workshops - theology, social harmony, education and women - as academics and religious leaders from the three faiths provided an insight in each area based on the idea “Abraham; A symbol of hope for Jews, Christians and Muslims”.
“The feedback we received has been very positive,” said Affinity Intercultural Foundation President, Mehmet Ozalp.
“We're extremely excited about the outcome and the input we've been given. This, I believe, is the first step for people of these faiths to work together to create social harmony in Australia . Bishop Kevin Manning was sitting next to me at lunch. He commented on how wonderful it was to see Muslims, Jews and Christians sitting at the same table and in conversation.”
It is also the first time the Jewish community has participated in this event. Jewish community spokesperson, NSW Jewish Board of Deputies President, Stephen Rothman said he believed the Jewish community would benefit by participating in such an event.
“I think it is much more important particularly in the climate that we're in at the moment. I think fundamentally Australia is a great democracy. It has in the past bred a phenomenal amount of tolerance.” he said. “Events like this help build the bridges of understanding and tolerance to enable all the faiths to understand that the life they strive for can be achieved without any disarming and tension.”
NSW Premier Bob Carr praised the organisers when he addressed the conference after lunch. In his speech, Mr Carr, said respect and tolerance was the key to achieving social harmony in our society and in the world.
“We need to respect everyone's faith and civilisation in order to achieve peace and understanding,” the Premier said. “We need to respect our neighbours faith and then we need to engage in dialogue with them. We need to move our community away from stereotyping and we have to be cautious against vilification, being hostile and ward off prejudice.”
Many of the key issues raised during the conference included the lack of education in our schools and lack of tolerance that existed in Australia over the last few years. Many participants spoke of ignorance in the wider community and lack of interest from young people.
“It was very interesting to listen to what people had to say here today,” said first time participant, Najwa Khoury. “We've got a long way to go before we reach our goals, but it's events such as this that help break down those barriers. Young people need to be more active and organisers have to find a way for our youth to get involved.”
The event was the Sydney leg of a national program of conferences. The Sydney conference was organised and funded by the Affinity Intercultural Foundation, Columban Centre for Christian-Muslim Relations, Catholic Commission for Ecumenical & Interfaith Relations, the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies and the Community Relations Commission.
The outcome of the conference was a set of recommendations that participants in the workshops sessions agreed upon. A detailed account of the recommnendation can be viewed usin this link - 2ndIIC Recommendations.
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