Eight religions come together at Imperial to mark National InterFaith Week
Representatives of eight religions gathered at Imperial this week to share insights from their faiths and to mark the beginning of National Interfaith Week. The event on Monday evening brought together speakers from Baha’i, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism and Sikhism.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Representatives of eight religions gathered at Imperial this week to share insights from their faiths and to mark the beginning of National Interfaith Week.
The event on Monday evening brought together speakers from Baha’i, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism and Sikhism.
Over 300 people attended to listen to the speakers, following which 50 participants broke off into smaller groups to discuss issues around interfaith dialogue. One audience member, Obadah Ghannam, a medicine undergraduate, said: “Seeing Muslims, Christians, Jews, Sikhs, Hindus, Jains, Bahai’s, and Buddhists come together in such a visible form of unity was absolutely amazing.”
The organisation of the event was led by members of the InterFaith group, a network of students interested in promoting dialogue and understanding between people of different faiths. Explaining the purpose behind the UniFaith event one of its coordinators, Yousuf Salmasi, said: “It's the astonishing diversity in faiths and beliefs at Imperial which adds that extra element to living out your faith. Being with people of other faiths can only open up your mind more, and help you understand your own faith further.”
Yousuf added: “By having an interfaith forum at imperial, and a launch event of this nature, we can ensure that there is more interaction, and of an appropriate and respectful nature, between different faith groups on campus. People may ask why this is important but the answer is simple: so that we can finish our journey in university as learned and open-minded ambassadors of the world, whilst maintaining our respective identities.”
Harsita Patel, another medicine undergraduate, speaking about InterFaith’s activities this year, said: “I believe that InterFaith is a fantastic opportunity to promote and spread the fantastic teachings and morals of various religions. I hope to educate others about Hinduism and gain a better understanding of other faiths, whilst getting to know and befriend a new group of people.”
Across each term InterFaith has a number of dialogue events examining different religious perspectives in a number of contexts, including the political and cultural. Yoni Weiner, a third year chemistry student, is currently an InterFaith representative, having previously been president of the Jewish Society. He said: “I think that InterFaith is very important for dispelling myths and misconceptions and increasing understanding and cooperation between different faith groups.”
More information on InterFaith events can be found on their website.
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