Speech given by one of December 2004 Youth Encounters Muslim youth participants

Sydney Morning Herald, 3rd December, 2004. Students meet faith to faith in spirit of mutual understanding.

Australian Students Unite In Good Faith

Year 2004

Some 60 Year 11 students from diverse backgrounds and faiths met for the first time to discuss each other’s heritage and beliefs. The initiative was aimed to share experiences based on their belief background.

The program was initiated by the Jewish Board of Deputies, Affinity Intercultural Foundation whereby students from Sydney’s Sule College, Kincoppal Rose-Bay and Masada College met at the exclusive Rose Bay suburb in the backdrop of Sydney’s harbour to discuss ‘My Identity & Place in Australia’. That was the theme for the day.

Naturally there’s was an air of excitement and cautiousness as some students have not met a peer from another faith. This was obvious as most students initially kept to themselves but once the ice was broken, their inquisitiveness kept the questions coming as there was so much they wanted to ask and share. Most students realised they weren’t different from their own friends as they shared many common interests from their favourite sitcom and how regularly they attend footy matches on the weekends.

All participants were volunteers, who went through an educational program to learn more about their own faiths before being exposed to others. They also learnt conflict resolution and interpersonal skills.

The morning started with a series of parallel workshops whereby a facilitator gathered a mixture of students to discuss 3 similar topics based on the theme. This helped to warm relations and be the impetus for further questioning during lunchtime. "Two years ago I didn't practise my religion, I was just a normal teenager," Nurdan Cetin told the circle of attentive peers. "But now that I know more about Islam I feel I can contribute more to my faith by wearing a scarf. It's a sign of respect to my religion.".

They talked about outward signs of religious identity such as the kippot cap worn by Jewish men and "Christian" names and deeper questions such as the existence of evil in the world. One Muslim boy asked: "If God loves us, why is there all this calamity in the world?". Another Muslim boy replied: "We can't attribute evil to God. It's like the good things that come after rain. Problems force us to think about ourselves."

Students freely roamed each others stall and appreciate their art and heritage that was on display. That was followed by the official program where students were in chorus to sing Advanced Australia Fair.

"Instead of thinking of everyone as 'others' we'd like them to realise they are all human, all Australians," said one of the organisers, Memet Ozalp, president of Affinity Cultural Foundation. "The foundation of the world's problems occur when we make judgements without knowing each other.". He added "Education is not just about maths and physics. It's about learning to be part of the world when you leave school."

Both Mr Levin from Jewish Board of Deputies and Mr Ozalp believe that facilitating a common community identity could help promote self-awareness and individual identity in students. The organisers plan to hold more forums, and include more faiths.

Interfaith interface ... Jewish, Muslim and Christians talk religion - and possibly other things too