The Sunday Mail
Religion Reporter—
Religious leaders and academics held the second Regional Interfaith Conference in Zimbabwe last week and came up with a raft of resolutions to encourage peace on religious tolerance.
The conference was held under the theme “The responsibility and role of religious leaders and thinkers in promoting peaceful co-existence and preventing violence and extremism” and was organised by the Cultural Centre of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in partnership with Centre for Inter-religious Dialogue of I. R. Iran, Apostolic Christian Council of Zimbabwe, Supreme Council of Muslim Affairs in Zimbabwe, Department of Religious Studies of the UZ and Fatima Zahra Islamic Centre.
The participants drawn from Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa, and the Islamic Republic of Iran emphasised on the following:
1. The conference provided the participants from several countries of the region and from different religious beliefs and backgrounds with the opportunity to share their views and thoughts on the ways and means of promoting peaceful co-existence and preventing violence and extremism and the role that religious leaders and thinkers can play in this regard.
2. The conference was a practical forum for exercising co-existence and mutual understanding among the participants and proved that not only is the inter religious dialogue worth but is a necessary means for promoting the spirit of religious tolerance and understanding.
3. Dialogue is the most effective instrument for overcoming conflict, violence and extremism and, therefore, to spread sustainable justice, peace and coexistence emphasis should be made on celebrating both similarities and differences.
4. Issues discussed reflected upon the fact that peaceful co-existence calls for having better understanding of religious teachings and the fact that all divine religions inculcate basic values such as love, non-violence, equality, justice, compassion and truth.
5. People have to be convinced that there is something greater than our differences and distinctiveness, which binds us together. And that the principle of mutual understanding, unity, brotherhood and co-existence should be spread in the society at different levels in speeches, sermons, and discussions, etc.
6. Keeping in view the fact that conflicts and violence are caused by ignorance and prejudice, efforts should be made by religious leaders and thinkers to spread better understanding of values and principles common to all divine religions among their followers and in their community.
7. Any assistance provided to the vulnerable members of society through making material donations and emotional support should not be aimed at conversion and should not be conditional.
8. To encourage interactive programmes between the youth from different religious groups in a bid to make them appreciate each other’s religious beliefs.
9. To set up a committee of religious leaders and thinkers to draft a plan of action for continuous interaction with the aim of promoting peaceful co-existence at national, regional and international levels.
10. The papers of the two conferences will be published in one volume to make the proceedings of conference accessible to the public.
11. To have respect for religious rights and sanctity of religious places and centres.
12. To organise the third interfaith conference in another country of SADC, other than Zimbabwe.
13. To uphold the constitution of Zimbabwe for granting freedom of worship and association.
