On 31 March 2021, the Coalition of Faith-Based
Organizations (CFBOs) together with International Association of Parliamentarians
for Peace (IAPP), Universal Peace Federation (UPF) International,) and LIOS-SOIL Organization, Vienna, in partnership with several universities in Pakistan,
South Africa and Austria, held a virtual conference on Faith, Ethics and
Education. The initiator, Dr. Afsar Rathor, former
United Nations diplomat and President of Vienna based LIOS-SOIL Organization,
emphasized that the goal of the conference was to support the newly established “Interfaith Harmony Council of
Pakistan”, which is planning to establish further councils across the country
with the intention to include the subject of religious tolerance in the
curriculum while also highlighting its positive objectives to the western
audiences. Two sessions on “The Role of Religious Leaders in Crime Prevention”, and “Faith, Ethics
and Education”, brought together religious and community leaders, academics,
politicians and experts
from politics, religion, philosophy, education, medicine, business, and agriculture to
share their views and address current concerns from the perspective of
religious tolerance and acceptance.
Sessions
One on “The
Role of Religious Leaders in Crime Prevention”:
Opened by the host and moderator,
Dr Afsar Rathor, LIOS-SOIL
Organization, Vienna, this second interfaith conference contributes to nation building,
interfaith harmony, and a peaceful society.
Dr Michael Platzer, co-chair
Coalition of Faith Based Organizations (FBOs) noted that FBOs can help fight corruption and contribute to resolving
numerous issues including climate, violence against women,
social justice, urban safety, ethics, and good governance. Dr Platzer noted that the Vienna based United Nations Office of Drugs
and Crime (UNODC) has welcomed religions as a valuable stakeholder and partner
to prevent crime and to improve the criminal justice system.
HE Syed Hussain Jahania Gardezi,
Minister for Agriculture of Punjab, former Minister of Food,
and practising farmer, presented an in-depth analysis of the significance of
religious peace and harmony. He proposed to develop a code of ethics for religious journalists on how
to deal with incitement that may lead to atrocities.
HE Lal Chand Malhi, Parliamentary Secretary for Human Rights
(Deputy Minister), Ministry of Human Rights, Pakistan
journalist by profession as well as human rights
activist, observed that religious leaders can more effectively work with
juvenile substance abusers, or with the inmates returning to the community, who
then become a key resource of crime reduction. Religious leaders can influence
society in a positive manner, by not remaining silent when other communities
are targeted.
HE Archbishop Sebastian Francis Shaw, Bishop
of Lahore (Catholic Church) was inspired by St Francis and the Vatican Two document. Dialogue is the
way to bring peace, to express yourself and listen to others: there is no need
to convert anybody, let us make interreligious dialogue more visible. “Let us
plant olive trees, mentioned in the holy Bible and in the holy Quran. Let us go
beyond tolerance to acceptance, let us work together for restoration of human
dignity.”
HE Ramesh Singh Arora, Member of Parliament,
Punjab Assembly stated that the fundamental
belief of Sikhism is universality of God, duality, interfaith harmony,
humanity, and sharing. People from all faiths and those who do not profess any
faith are welcome in the Sikh gurdwara. The Pakistan National and all
Provincial Assemblies and the Senate have reserve seats for the minority, so
they don't consider themselves vulnerable, also 5% job quota are reserved for
the minorities in Pakistan, so they consider their livelihood is protected. He
suggested we need to take tolerance and acceptance one step further to respect.
HE Sardar Masood Khan, President Azad Jammu
& Kashmir recognized that communities should reach out to each other and try to understand the
basis of their faiths, banish Islamophobia, Christianophobia,
or antisemitism. We need dialogue, and at the same time there should be a
system for prosecution, a system for accountability, and this culture of
impunity for hate crimes committed by followers of a faith should be abolished.
No religion is a monolith. He also elaborated on the human rights violation to
the Muslims of India and the Kashmiris living in the Indian Administered kashmir
Rounding up the first session, Dr. Afsar Rathor, noted that dialogue is the only way forward, thus we are looking forward for more
interactions between the communities for result oriented dialogues. We had
outstanding collaboration with the Universities in the last webinar on 2nd
February 2021.
Professor Doctor Suleman Tahir, KF
University of Engineering & Information Technology, stated that dialogue between the faiths is necessary to decrease the
distances and promote relationships. We need to address corruption overall.
Corruption is not only the money: it's also in tolerance; it's also in ethical
values; it's also to respect each other. We should follow ethical values, but
these cannot be taught. These are the practical values we must practise, as it
is in engineering, we learn something in engineering lab. That cannot be in
teaching only in the classroom.
Session Two “Faith, Ethics and Education”:
The second half of the conference was moderated by Ms.
Heather Wokusch, Austria .
Mr. Peter Haider, UPF-Austria alluded to Doctor Sun Myung Moon from Korea, who during a conference in
the UN in New York in August 2000, proposed to create an interreligious
assembly to serve as a Senate or a council within the United Nations. Then he
congratulated the nation of Pakistan for establishing Interfaith Harmony
Councils at the local, provincial, and national levels to promote dialogue and
resolve sectarian conflicts.
HE Prof. Dr. Qibla
Ayaz, Chairman, Council of Islamic Ideology, Pakistan on the theme of education, ethics particularly with reference to
interfaith, should be transferred to the coming generation. It is important
that it should be part of the reading contents and the overall curriculum:
there should be stories, which should help us to understand why in the
post-globalised world it is important that we live with harmony, coexistence,
and respect for each other.
HE Senator Prof. Dr. Mehr Taj Roghani, Chairperson-
Senate Committee on National Commission on Women Status
is a medical doctor and never thought for a minute people of
different races, religion, colour, necessity, coming as patients. Harmony can mean
agreement of ideas, feelings, or actions, or it may mean a situation when
people live or work happily together. Now as a politician she believes they
should be the first example for honesty, this will have a trickledown effect.
HE Dr. Samia Raheel Qazi, former Member of Parliament, President of
International Muslim Women Union
urged us to agree to disagree, and work together enhancing
intercultural and interfaith dialogue, and understanding, to promote tolerance
and harmony, mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge, people to people,
contacts, and education. Beginning is half the task.
HE
Bishop Humphrey Sarfaraz Peters, President Bishop Church of Pakistan &
Bishop of Peshawar stated
we are dealing with faith, ethics, and education. In the first place
before safe, harmonious, and peaceful society, it must care for the well-being
of the other. Secondly the good deeds should become part of our character. But
for a safer, harmonious and peaceful society, education, ethics, and faith are
essential, education at the practical approach and faith are the base for a
change in the mindset.
HE Isphanyar M. Bhandara,
former Member of Parliament, a business magnate, politician, and
philanthropist said having faith without education does not carry much weight,
so today's problems, not only in Pakistan, but all over the world: intolerance.
We have rather too much unguided faith with too little education. “I largely
blame the primitive education system in the third world, which encourages
prejudice, intolerance and hatred towards minorities, at least in the common
schools in the rural villages and backward areas.” Curriculum has to be revisited in order to eradicate anything
derogatory for the minorities.
HE Sahibzada Sultan Ahmed Ali, Chairman
MUSLIM Institute, Research Think Tank, Islamabad-London
stated that education
lays the foundation for the prosperity of the nation, practising such ethics on
larger scales demands their inclusion in educational syllabus and dissemination
through modern methods prevailing in societies. We need to harmonise traditions
and prevailing educational systems: a blend of traditional and modern
methodology for faith-based societies for peace, prosperity, and stability as
desired by the teachings of all great religions.
Closing Remarks
by Dr. Thomas Walsh, Co-Chairman
CFBOs & Chairman, UPF International, USA underscored the advances made
and the need to continue in interreligious and
intra-religious dialogue, and its importance for peace, development, for crime
prevention and criminal justice. He suggested that dialogue does not mean
talking all the time, it means spending 99% of your time listening. and not
just listening with our ears closed but listening to try to learn.
Dr. Afsar
Rathor, concluded that morality refers to
the set of standards that enabled people to live cooperatively in groups.
Sometime acting in a moral manner means individuals must sacrifice their own short term interest to benefit the society, and that is the
ideal situation which we are looking forward to. Furthermore, he mentioned that
the partner organizations can only provide a
platform for an everlasting dialogue between the various religious communities
for better understanding, more tolerance and peaceful society. He appreciated
the positive contributions made by the panellists and the partner organizations
and universities.
hermore,
Organizing Committee:
Dr. Afsar
Rathor, President LIOS-SOIL Organization, rathor@lios-soil.org,
Mr. Peter Haider, President Universal Peace Federation Austria, info@weltfriede.at
Dr. Michael
Platzer, Co-Chairman Coalition of Faith-Based Organizations, michaelkplatzer@yahoo.com
PARTNERS:
KF University of Engineering & Information
Technology, Rahim Yar Khan; Superior University Lahore; University of Jhang; PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi;
University of Sailkot;
Muslim Institute, Pak & UK; Iqbal International Institute for Research
& Dialogue, International Islamic University Islamabad; Dept of Islamic
Learning, University of
Karachi; King Letsitsa International
University, South Africa; Bakholokoe Kingdom, Harrismith, South Africa; ADPULSE Integrated Media,
Karachi; Greenwich University Karachi &
Mauritius; Interfaith Forum, Pak; Academic Research
& Policy Development Foundation, Pak; Sigmund Freud Private University
Vienna Austria