This inter-faith conference was held October 18 at Bishop Ryan and organized by Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (AMC) with the support of its partners Hindu Samaj Temple, Ramgarhia Association, Redeemer University College, Jewish Students Association of McMaster and Ahmadiyya Muslim Association of McMaster.

Dr. Ann Pearson, chair of the Hamilton Interfaith Council, moderated the session. Mayor Fred Eisenberger, MP David Christopherson and Hamilton Police representatives spoke about nurturing an appreciation of similarities among faiths to promote peace.

Nazeem Mahdi, from AMC, expressed his delight at the progress achieved by the initiative through promoting several events in Canada.

“Dialogue is an essential choice for societies to make progress and achieve peace” he said.

AMC was founded in 1889 and is the leading Islamic organization to categorically reject terrorism in any form. Over a century ago, the holy founder Ahmad emphatically declared that an aggressive “jihad by the sword” has no place in Islam.

Today, AMC has reached all corners of the earth and continues to be an advocate for universal human rights and protection for religious and other minorities. It champions the empowerment and education of women. Its members are among the most law-abiding, educated, and engaged Muslims in the world.

Addressing at the inauguration of the largest mosque in Canada on July 5, 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper referred to Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, head of worldwide AMC, as a “champion of peace.” Ahmadiyya’s guiding principle is “love for all and hatred for none.”

All religious leaders began their speeches with a prayer and spoke of the significance of the session. They underlined the need to focus on common values shared by religions, and that “we all believe in one God, we are all His creation, we are all equal before God irrespective of our color, creed and race.”

Traditional Elder, Walter Cook, from the Aboriginal Health Centre, spoke about how materialistic our society has become especially our children’s lifestyles.

Sister Thick Nu Tinn Quang spoke about Buddhism which originated 2,500 years ago when Siddhartha Gotama, known as the Buddha, taught the Dhamma or truth. Sister Quang explained that Buddhism goes beyond religion and is more of a philosophy or way of life.

Justin Trottier from the Centre for Inquiry delivered the Atheist perspective.

“Atheism first and foremost is not a belief system such as religion, and atheism most definitely is not a religion. Atheism is simply a word to describe a person that does not subscribe to religious beliefs in a God, Gods, or a supernatural being. And because Atheists do not subscribe to religious belief systems, they open themselves up to a wide range of other freedoms” he said.

Hamilton is a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-faith city. If we look for differences between us we can see many, but it will not serve any purpose. Rather we should look at the factors that unite us. This was the main message of this inclusive conference.

Sadhna Jayatunge, Hamilton