GENEVA: Delegates attending the international interfaith conference in Geneva have called for the next conference to be held in India, saying this would have a greater impact in terms of improving interfaith relations and spreading a culture of dialogue among followers of different religions.
Hamza Abbas, editor in chief of Gulf Madhyamam daily, argued for India to be the venue for the next conference, while addressing a session on the role of the media in promoting the interfaith dialogue initiated by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.
“There are more than one billion people in India, which is host to at least 10 major religions,” Abbas told delegates. Being the largest democracy in the world, India assures freedom of religion and expression, he added. He also pointed out that Indian secularism is not against religions like its Western counterpart.
“The Indian government also promotes dialogue between religions and cultures,” he said. Swami Agnivesh, president of the World Council of Arya Samaj, backed the proposal and said he would do his part to make that happen. “India is the land of challenges, most importantly the challenge of poverty and diseases and the challenge of making peace with Pakistan,” he said.
“Bringing this forum to India would have a great impact on interfaith relations. It would also contribute to making the subcontinent a region of peace. I can help the Muslim World League (MWL) hold a conference in New Delhi,” Agnivesh said. He said the next conference should have a specific agenda and focus more on implementation. Professor M.D. Nalapat, UNESCO peace chair at Manipal University, described India as a symbol for religious coexistence where followers of different faiths live in harmony and with mutual trust.
“The interfaith culture is deeply rooted in India and delegates will be able to see how this works successfully in our country,” he said. “All previous interfaith conferences were in the West. It’s now time to hold one in India, the land of religions and cultures,” he said.
Abdul Aziz Valiyaveetil, director of Al-Hayat School in Jeddah, who has produced four documentaries on the interfaith conference in Madrid, said New Delhi is the ideal place for convening the next conference.
He hoped the Indian government would take an initiative to organize the conference to boost communal harmony. Businessman Shantilal Somaiya, who runs several educational institutions in Mumbai, also backed the proposal. He met MWL chief Abdullah Al-Turki on the sidelines of the Geneva conference and requested him to hold the next meeting in India. Al-Turki has promised that the MWL would study the proposal.
