Forgiveness

What a great conference we had on Sunday. i was a little worried that between the heat and the lack of public transport (half the underground trains weren't running that day) we would have to give up and go home. But 25 of us gathered for what was a thought-provoking afternoon.

The panel looked at forgiveness in the Sikh, Muslim, Christian and Jewish traditions. Obviously, we shared a lot. We all acknowledged the need for forgiveness in this world. We all stressed how we saw God as a compassionate Being who would shower us with forgiveness if we would but ask. But we also noted the creative tensions between forgiveness and justice, between forgiving before you are asked or waiting till the person who has wronged you admits their guilt and apologises.

Then Alexandra, our guest who is usually resident in Beirut, shared with us the pain she felt at the present situation. And the plan she had for a Garden of Forgiveness in the heart of the city. I found her talk particularly hard as i have a brother who lives in Nahariyah, in the north of Israel, with his family. They have had to leave the area and move in with family further south as Ketusha rockets have been falling round them and they are frightened at the long term decire of Hezbolla to destroy the Jewish State. But i also feel for the Lebanese civilians, their pain, their suffering and it's hard to deal with both of these sets of emotions at the same time.

Our final speaker, Anne, touched our hearts with the plight of the earth beneath us. Would the earth forgive us the wrongs we inflict upon her every day? She pointed out that in both Greek and Hebrew the word to 'repent' means to return or to turn. Will we turn from our habits of consumerism and repent for what we do on a daily basis to destroy the world? will we only speak or will we also act?

And the whole day was chaired so magnificently by Gwen, with many breaks for us to re-hydrate ourselves and make contact with friends, old and new. A truly fascinating and inspiring occasion and with a bit of luck, I may even get out of it a discussion on Yom Kippur and a sermon for this shabbat!

What are Interfaith Groups Doing?

Seventy years on from the founding of the World Congress of Faiths.

Here is an article about the state of interfaith dialogue today.
Click here to read it
Comments welcome
Marcus Braybrooke

Vigil for the Mumbai bombings

See Comment

Youth and the Media

See the comment for a discussion on BBC AsiaNet this morning

EXHIBITION ISLAM

I am part of the Exhibition Islam team and we wish to invite the members of the World Congress of Faiths to attend our latest exhibition on the Sacred Islamic Text - The Quran, which is being jointly launched with the Islamic Cultural Centre and the London Central Mosque by Regents Park, London. The exhibition runs from Saturday 12th August until Sunday 20th August 2006 and is open daily from 12pm until 8pm except Friday 18th August when the exhibition opens from 2:30pm.
We would be delighted to arrange group visits from any organisation.
The Quran exhibition is a pioneering, beautifully designed, visually attractive and breathtaking exhibition on the sacred Islamic text the Quran. This exhibition provides a true insight into the Quran, its revelation, its preservation and its message to humanity.
Glimpse through Islamic history to see a rare display of unique handwritten historical Quran's from across the world:
. Elegant Quran pages from the earliest days of Islam (from 750CE onwards).
. Complete highly decorated Qurans that are centuries old, from over 800 years old to over 100 years old.

All showing the breathtaking beauty and tranquillity that typifies Islam.

Discover what the Quran says about:
. The divinely revealed books.
. Peace and justice for all.
. Women's rights, kindness to parents.
. Enjoining good and forbidding evil.
. Community and social harmony.

See how the Quran changes and continues shapes the world we live in today.
We hope the members of the World Congress of Faiths can attend The Quran Exhibition. We hope the members of the World Congress of Faiths can attend our exhibition to see the positive contribution being made by Muslims towards dialogue, peace and harmony.
I look forward to hearing from you and arranging a visit to the exhibition for the members of the World Congress of Faiths.

Regards,

Shahid Munir
Exhibition Islam

Forgiveness Conference 23 July

Our next conference in London will be on 23 July at the London Interfaith Centre.
Details are on the website at www.worldfaiths.org/2006%20Events.htm
We would welcome any comments here.
Please also try to publicise this meeting

The International Council of Jews and Christians

Marcus and Mary Braybrooke have just got back from Vienna.

Globalisation for the Common Good

Recently Marcus Braybrook and Alan Race attended a Conference on Globalisation for the Common Good at Oxford