Jordan Times
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Jordanian youth join
int’l interfaith conference
By Mohammad Ghazal
AMMAN — Emphasizing the role of the youth in promoting interfaith dialogue and
tolerance, religious leaders at a recent conference in Beirut said young people
are key players in the global fight against terrorism.
The remarks were made during an event focused on the role of inter-religious
dialogue in combating violence and advancing shared security, which brought
together religious leaders, representatives from youth-concerned institutions
and young people from the Ecumenical Studies Centre from Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon,
Sudan, Egypt and Japan earlier this month.
“Youth are the catalyst for change. If we want to see the world get better and
people become more understanding and tolerating, we have to focus on the young
generation in interfaith activities,” Deputy Director of the Amman-based Royal
Institute for Interfaith Studies Baker Al Hiyari said.
“Such events are likely to open more channels of communication between young
people from various religions. These youth will one day be leaders in their
respective communities and will eventually deliver the message of interfaith in
the most proper and effective way,” he added.
Organised by World Conference of Religions for Peace, in cooperation with the
World Student Christian Federation and the World Congress of Religions for
Peace, participants discussed the effect of the lack of security on the
performance of the youth in contributing to the development of their countries.
Father Qais Sadiq, president of the Ecumenical Studies Centre, said: “The
meeting itself was very important as a first step, during which participants
from individual countries, the region and the world had the opportunity to
exchange ideas and to network.” He explained that it was a preparatory meeting
for the 8th general assembly of the World Conference of Religions for Peace that
will be held in Kyoto in August, where the recommendations of the Beirut meeting
will be presented and discussed.
“It was a very enriching conference for all of the participants. We, the young
people at the event, come from different backgrounds and cultures, yet, we all
share the same values as we, the youth of all faiths, condemn terrorism and
violence and call for peace and respect of human rights,” Farah Saad, a
participant from the Jordanian delegation said.
“The event provided us all with an opportunity to exchange opinions on issues of
concern to the world such as terrorism and we believe that we can play a role in
combating this phenomenon,” Saad told The Jordan Times.
At the end of the three-day conference, youth taking part in the event called
for holding similar events in the future, stressing that they enrich their
experience and enable them better understand people from other religions and
cultures.