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Interfaith Event builds foundations for Peace
4-05-2016
Surrey, BC -- A "Building Peace in our Time" community event took place on Sunday, April 3 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Holland Park. The purpose of the event was to bring together generations of people from different faiths to create a dialog to promote peace and understanding in a world faced with extremism and violence. Participants included: The Honorable Peter Fassbender (BC Liberal Minister of Community, Sports and Cultural Development), United Church of Langley, Surrey Interfaith Council, Vice-Consulate General of Pakistan, Pakistani Canadian Cultural Association, Maulana Naumani (a prominent Muslim scholar), Mawaddah, Friends of Allah Mosque, White Rock Muslim Association, and the Baha’i Community.
David Dalley, who helped organize the event, reflected on why he chose to lend a hand: "The purpose of the event was to communicate a universal goal that our local communities are united in promoting interfaith dialogue and co-operation to end politically and religiously motivated violence, and to create cultures of peace, respect, understanding, and healing for all living beings on earth."
Both Honorable Minister Peter Fassbender along with Sikandar Hayat (President, BC Liberals Surrey-Newton Riding Association), condemned terrorism, and assured the BC government's support of such causes. They made it clear that, "Any savage attacks against innocent civilians, whether they occur in Syria, Paris, Beirut, Brussels, Pakistan, or in any other city or country, are heinous and without justification. We stand in solidarity and condemn these demonic, horrific acts in the strongest terms possible. Today, our thoughts are with the loved ones of those killed and injured."
"People of faith across the globe must realign themselves by bringing religion back to its purpose, namely; to inculcate noble character and live an ethical life of service and devotion. In so doing, extremism and tribalism would find no validation among spiritual wayfarers of every religion," said Jamil Popatia, a faith-based family relations mediator and counsellor.
"In the midst of a world impacted by violence, those who want to create a society of love and justice must stand together. These violent attacks are meant to divide us, but with love and justice as our common foundation, our differences can be recognized as gifts rather than threats, and those different from us as friends rather than enemies," says Scott Reynolds an event organizer and Minister of Youth and Young Adults from the United Churches of Langley, Canada.
The event was organized through the Amazing Tutors’ Children’s Foundation, which seeks to build communities by supporting youth and children through educational and volunteer opportunities. For more information about this event and others through Amazing Tutors’ Children’s Foundation, see their website:
www.amazingtutors.ca
Amazing Tutors Children’s Foundation
Unit 201-13303 72nd Avenue, Surrey B.C., V3W 2N5, Canada
Telephone 1.604.765.4099
E-mail: amazingtutors@hotmail.com
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