26.08.2013
Interfaith Forum Highlights Need to Raise Awareness of Religious Diversity
Dublin City Interfaith Forum (DCIF) has welcomed a statement from Dublin City Council confirming that people are allowed to engage in private prayer in a public park. The statement followed media reports in which two Muslim women said they were confronted by a park worker in Dublin telling them that they needed a permit to pray there.
DCIF said the incident reflected the alarmingly low levels of awareness of other religions and cultures now present in our society and confirmed the need for more education and training in dealing with religious diversity.
“Dublin City is, for some time now, a place of diversity, a place where religions, cultures and people meet and interact. We pride ourselves in believing that we live in a truly pluralist society which accepts the reality of religious diversity, a society which acknowledges that a multitude of choices exist,” the DCIF statement reads.
“Pluralism involves learning about others’ faiths, actively reaching out to form relationships, accepting that differences in belief can coexist and committing to mutual respect and an ongoing dialog. Pluralism opens the door to real tolerance and a balanced view of contrasting, and sometimes conflicting, religions in a diverse culture, which helps to minimize or eliminate the negative consequences of fear, hostility, divisiveness and prejudice,” the organisation adds.
Chair of DCIF, Sinead Lynch, explains that the Forum works towards “educating and encouraging people of different faiths to dialogue and act together in challenging all forms of injustice and discrimination”. Echoing recent media comments from the Minister of Justice, Alan Shatter TD, Ms Lynch said that the Interfaith Forum is committed to work alongside other agencies towards ensuring that there is “no room for racism in Irish society”.
DCIF is a network of people from the different Faith Communities in the City of Dublin. It aims to create awareness and dialogue through building relationships that nurture harmony, and deepen understanding and respect.
The World Faiths currently present and active in Dublin City and represented on DCIF are: Baha’i, Buddhism, Christianity (including the Church of Ireland), Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism.
DCIF works with interested members of faith communities to deliver interfaith gatherings and activities in Dublin City. Recognising the diverse nature of the backgrounds of the residents of Dublin, DCIF seeks to provide the space and opportunity for Faith Communities to build relationships with and between Dublin City communities, statutory and voluntary organisations and the residents of Dublin City.