Isn’t peace is an art of balancing: appreciating diverse people and communities as harmonious parts of the whole?
In Bonn members of the DMLBonn CC, URI Germany CC and the Baha’i community Bonn celebrated UN International Day of Peace with an interfaith film evening on September 15, 2015.
Baha’i, Catholic, Humanist, Muslim and Old Catholic activists came together. Starting with a delicious buffet evening snack, people had a chance to catch up with and get to know each other.
Afterwards they watched the film “Inter Religious Tolerance in Oman”, a 40-minute film about the diversity of faith communities in the Gulf state of Oman. In this country various faith communities, such as Muslims, Coptic, Catholic and Protestant Christians and Hindus, can practice their religion freely and live in good neighborhood with each other. Their places of workshop are often in walking distance one from each other.
The film was the starting point of a conversation about religious tolerance and cooperation. Participants expressed that it is important learning from good practices and appreciate them. They also exchanged their own experiences of interfaith work, e.g. the cooperation of the DMLBonn (German Muslim-League Bonn) and the Baha’i community for about thirty years, which is likely unique in the world, as it happens between Baha’is and Muslims with communities and their organisations and not only individual members.
The participants also commemorated the 15th anniversary of the United Religions Initiative (URI) as a unique global network, connecting grass roots interfaith action groups and the Intercultural Week which is conducted each year in September in support of Intercultural Dialogue.
