Driven by passion and understanding, the New Zealand Interfaith movement has grown fast and strong over the years. Last weekend, the Auckland Interfaith Council hosted the 11th National Interfaith Forum at the Quality Hotel in Parnell.
The forum was attended by volunteers and representatives from different religious groups, faiths, community organisations and ethnicities to discuss the various issues faced by different belief groups and ways to work together.
Representatives from the regional interfaith councils in Auckland, Dunedin, Wellington, Tauranga, Hamilton, Christchurch, Palmerston North and Whangarei attended the event to share ideas and talk about issues that can be tackled for a better society.
The greatest benefit of the interfaith forums, which are held each year, is to build and strengthen networks, to build bridges between people of different faiths, and bring communities together.
The event was graced by guest speaker Reverend Victor Kazanjian Jr, the director of United Religions Initiative, a global grassroots interfaith network based in San Francisco. The attendees were then divided into smaller groups to discuss ways to make the bonds between different communities and faiths stronger.
Post lunch, representatives from different regional councils presented their annual reports on their activities and identified new issues within the regions. Prof. Edwina Pio, AUT’s Professor of Diversity, spoke about her book Work and Worship; Dr Anwar Ghani (former President of FIANZ) discussed the concerns faced by the New Zealand Muslim community, and Mr Qemajl Murati, Manager, Refugee Quota Branch, Settlement and Protection, Immigration NZ, gave a brief report on Mangere services and refugee intake history of New Zealand. In the past, there have been different issues raised such as racial discrimination, defacement of Jewish gravestones and tagging abuse on mosque walls.
The various councils throughout the country work together to mitigate discrimination, raise awareness of religious diversity, and organise dialogues to promote interfaith engagement. To create safe spaces for learning about religious diversity, the interfaith movement engages communities by organising events such as Islam Awareness Week that invite non-Muslims to visit the mosque, interact, and understand Islam.
The interfaith movement is taking steps to engage the society and people of different faiths to help create a better multicultural and multi-religious future for all.
