"God created you from a single male and female, and made you into nations and tribes, so ye may know each other, not that ye may despise each other."
When you look at a map of the world, you will notice that it's not one big homogeneous land mass. It is a world divided by borders. But look further, and there are more divisions than meets the eye. You will see people... many people... of different backgrounds, whether they are cultural, racial, social or religious. The world itself is a mosaic within a mosaic within a mosaic, and these mosaics aren't simply components of each other, but interweave at parts. Unfortunately, there are many who wish to disrupt this delicate balance, especially regarding religious divisions. Throughout history, religious divisions have been at most pseudo-apocalyptic: from the Crusades to the Inquisition, while politically driven, had religious undertones, and spiritual differences were exploited for the sake of political ends. Seeing this, many religious figures throughout history have sought to destroy such misunderstandings, for such things are what divide us as religious people.
That's why many religious leaders reached out to each other in the best form of religious diplomacy and dialogue: interfaith. The meaning of the word should be clear in what makes up the word itself. "Inter" defines the social aspect of this dialogue and the cross-religious/cross-cultural nature of the dialogue itself. "Faith" applies to the spiritual aspect of this dialogue. While there may seem to be a divide between the East and West, many people out there, both in the East and West, have sought to patch these divisions and restore understanding between people of different faiths, no matter how different these faiths seem to be. In a world where distrust and bigotry are common, it is refreshing to read about two groups of people of two different religions come together and understand more about each other's faiths.
I turn to a more recent example: 9-11. After 9-11, people had more of an interest in Islam and actually took courses regarding Islam in universities not just in America, but worldwide. Likewise, due to this dramatic change of events following the Iraq war, many Muslims, including myself, have turned towards reading about other faiths and conversing with people of other faiths in order to learn more about religion. While many people believe that religion is a reason for discord in today's societies, it can also be the source of strengthening the religious institutional orders of societies worldwide by interconnecting the many institutions that make it up: Islamic, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, etc. Even those who shun religion as a whole may at least be given another point of view in that they might be a bit softer in their criticisms if not change their minds wholly.
In this ever-changing world, we find ourselves at a loss, for we have failed to unite humanity for the sake of peace, altruism, mercy and goodness that are core to religious beliefs worldwide. Surely, we as human beings have angered God, with all our wars done in His Name, but in reality were for our own selfish and often political (secular) ends. Instead of using the pen, we have reverted to the sword, and that's why people worldwide are placed in difficult situations that could have been avoided. Religion has worldwide been given a bad name, and fanatics who "adhere" to certain religions, have blotched the name of "their" religion by committing crimes that breach universal human rights. No one can deny that this is a problem that must be addressed. However, if we were to solve this problem, we should do it together, not unilaterally for the sake of "security"; such unilateralism would broaden the misunderstanding. The American government's unilateralism is a prime example of this, especially with its headlong decision to go into Iraq, which has turned a handful of Muslims worldwide against any sort of dialogue with Western Christians (does "God told me to strike Al Qaeda" ring a bell?). Such chaos and conflict have also drove people to lose faith in God, especially in such a time of desperation and inhumanity.
However, there are people like myself and a handful of Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and other friends, along with hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, who want to see humanity restored, and are still hanging on to our faiths. But rather than using this "just cause" pretext for our own selfish ends, we invest this energy towards settling differences and putting aside all polemicals that divide us. Religions all have a core belief: to do good in this world and help your fellow man. Any two religions might be similar to each other or radically different from each other. If they're similar, it would be great to celebrate these similarities together. If they're different, one would rather accept the differences of other religions and take them as different approaches to reaching out for Divine Guidance and Help. The youth are an important component of interfaith gatherings, for they are the future and must learn from this, instead of ostracize themselves to their religions and shun all others. Those who are wholly ignorant and bigoted must also take this opportunity to understand and listen with an open mind, which is also important for interfaith dialogue.
But I think the message of interfaith is clear: Reach out. Wherever you are, form a group, or join one. It's not too late. Interfaith is important to our survival as people of different religion in this diverse world. There is unity through diversity, not homogeneity. There can be no exclusion of any group, whatsoever. We're all in this together, as human beings, whether we're Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Unitarian, Athiest, Pagan, Wiccan, Baha'ist, Druze, Shinto, Confucian, Taoist, Zoroastrian, or Jainist. The more we understand and develop our common roots, the better we can work together and commit to a future of peace, justice, and prosperity.
Salaam, from Saracen
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