09.12.2016
Faith Communities Must Step Up if Dublin is to be More Than Passively Tolerant
Dublin’s Inter Faith landscape was highlighted at a forum in the Mansion House on Tuesday evening (December 3) which was held in the context of the visit of the Archbishop in Jerusalem to Dublin & Glendalough. The forum was hosted by the Lord Mayor of Dublin Brendan Carr in association with the Three Faiths Forum and Dublin City Interfaith Forum.
Speaking at the forum the Lord Mayor said the City Council was trying to achieve greater tolerance, understanding and acceptance of each other’s creeds and faiths. He said they were conscious of the rise of the extreme right across Europe and feared it could happen in Dublin. “There is great warmth in this community but intolerance can creep in,” he commented. “We have agreed a charter which will send a clear message out to the people of Dublin that we are a multicultural society.”
The Lord Mayor pledged full support to Dublin City Interfaith Forum as it seeks to deliver a message of peace and understanding. He recalled a recent visit to the Mansion House of Kids4Peace. Kids4Peace is a Jerusalem based NGO dedicated to ending conflict and inspiring hope in the Middle East and across the world which, coincidentally, was established by the Archbishop of Jerusalem. He said the Palestinian and Israeli children could not understand the differences between each other. “We have a lot to learn from the children’s approach and the appeal to everyone is to get their children involved in understanding all faiths. There is hope for us but we have to do as much as we can to ensure the message goes out,” he said.
Archbishop Michael Jackson said that the Lord Mayor was looking to faith leaders to close the gap between vision and enactment and that would happen through the spirit of good will that exists in Dublin. This was a progressive challenge in a city of 200 nationalities, he said. “We speak of the public space. In other parts of the world this can become contested space. It can become eroded space or exploded space… Members of faith communities need to step up and say that Dublin wants to be more than passively tolerant,” he stated.
Archbishop Jackson paid tribute to Archbishop Suheil Dawani who, he said, worked in one of the most exciting and exhausting dioceses in the Anglican Communion. He said that at two services in Dublin and Glendalough on Sunday Archbishop Dawani had delivered the Blessing in Arabic. “It’s very important that a language that is being characterised as a language of violence is seen as a language of blessing,” he stated.
Archbishop Dawani said Jerusalem, the City of God, embraces the three Abramhic faiths. “There is much beauty but much hardship because this city is exploring ways to live in peace,” he said. “Coming together in dialogue is really very important because there is distrust between people and nations everywhere. We are witnessing acts of terrorism and extremism everywhere in our country. But we are children of God in all religions. God wants us to love and worship him but to continue our worship by loving our neighbour.”
In Jerusalem the heads of Churches meet regularly to address issues of concern, he said. Last month they went to Auschwitz as one group and prayed that there would be no more wars and violence. He spoke of the importance of Kids4Peace in not only breaking down barriers between Palestinian and Israeli children but between the children’s parents and friends also.
Dr Siraj Zaidi spoke about the work of the Three Faiths Forum which has been building bridges in Dublin for the last 17 years. He said there were very positive Inter Faith relations in Dublin and there was a lot of commonality between the people of each faith and this was reflected in the Three Faiths Forum. “It’s a wonderful environment. We feel welcome and I hope it will be the same in Jerusalem too,” he commented.
Adrian Cristea talked about Dublin City Interfaith Forum which was established in 2010 in a partnership between Dublin City Council and the Irish Council of Churches. They aim to contribute to a fully integrated city for all its people and their have a full programme of events which enable people to learn about different ethnic, cultural and faith backgrounds.
Photo caption: Members of the Three Faiths Forum and Dublin City Interfaith Forum with Archbishop Suheil Dawani and Archbishop Michael Jackson in the Mansion House.