Inter-Faith Solidarity – London’s World Religion Conference 2014 for World Peace.

[YALASH]

Peace be on you. London’s Guildhall was the venue for World Religion Conference 2014 on February 11. Scholars and representatives of various religions came to address. The theme was ‘God in 21 st century’. The conference was organized by Ahmadiyya Muslim Community U.K. to commemorate its 100 years in Britain. Holy Khalifah of Ahmadiyya Promised Messiah Mahdi delivered the keynote address.



The following are the few words from the speeches or messages from dignified scholars.

Chairman, Hindu Council in Britain, Umesh Sharma said that today’s topic means surely God exists. Political leaders have failed to bring peace. We have to come back to faith. We should lead by example.



The Dalai Lama’s message said that, all religions teach the virtue of love, altruism and patience. We should respect them all. They play significant contribution to humanity. We should encourage contact between followers of different religions.



The Spiritual Head of Druze Community in Israel, Sheikh Moafaq Tarif said that they have strong relations with all religions including Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the Holy Land. Let us join our hands in denouncing violence in all forms and sow seeds of love by developing peace, not only in the East but worldwide.



Archbishop Kevin McDonald represented the Catholic Church, said it was the sign of the times that such gathering should take place.



President of the Pontifical Council for Peace and Justice, Cardinal Peter Turkson sent message of gratefulness, especially as various faiths had gathered to consider peace.



Chief Rabbi of Israel was represented by Rabbi Professor Daniel Sperber and he said that we lived in a society where materialism is seen as a positive value of the highest order, and where the gap between the haves and the have-nots has become very great. We are depleting world’s natural resources and ecology is being destroyed. The name of God and His messages are trampled underfoot. Everyone should get together and work against these aspects.



President of Ghana’s message said that the event reminds us that God sent His beloved Prophets in this world who gave their message to people of all races without discrimination that mankind should live peacefully and in mutual harmony. A Peace Council has been established in Ghana and the country has religious tolerance where everyone has representation.



Barroness Warsi said that it was the testament to the openness, pragmatism and the humility of Ahmadiyya Community that this flagship global event is not just about their own faith but all faiths. In Britain, Ahmadiyya Community is making huge contribution in all walks of life, especially charity and social action. It has clearly been an important moment for so many faiths to come up here and express their solidarity to each other and their solidarity and commitment to inter-faith work.



The Vice-Chair, US Commission on International Religious Freedom, Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett said that Ahmadiyya Community are living proof that religion can indeed be a true friend of peace, understanding, liberty and voice against oppression toward all people. ‘We, like you, stand for tolerance and freedom. We, like you, stand for a world where people of all backgrounds and beliefs can come together and learn from each other. To learn implies listening and to listen implies respect and tolerance. I am grateful indeed that the Ahmadiyya community is about respect for our fellow human beings…May we redouble our efforts to do just that.’




The British Attorney General, Rt Hon. Dominic Grieve said, ‘I don’t think I can think of a more apt location for this interfaith conference looking forward to the 21 st century that we should meet in a great hall of merchants, the very people who took Britain, England outward towards the rest of the world and had the miraculous consequence of bringing all of you together in this place…As a person of Christian faith it has always seemed to me that it is very much easier for somebody who has faith to understand people of other faiths than it is for those who have no faith at all.’



Prime Minister David Cameron’s message said, ‘I send my sincere greetings to the Ahmadiyya Muslim community as you come together with faiths around the world to unite for social and international peace. I recognise the great work you do here in Britain from inter-faith events across the country to helping communities who had been affected by the recent floods and today highlights the significant work you do for inter-faith relations and peace overseas. I am delighted that the British Government is represented today. We join His Holiness and faiths leaders around the world to discuss how faiths can come together to help bring about peace.’



Her Majesty the Queen, the supreme governor of the Church of England and defender of the faith: Her message read, ‘The Queen was pleased to receive your kind message sent on behalf of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UK on the occasion of the conference of world religions being held today at Guildhall as part of your centenary celebrations. Her Majesty was interested to learn of the aims of the conference and appreciates your thoughtfulness in writing as you did. In return, the Queen sends her best wishes to you all for a most successful and memorable gathering.’



Ahmadiyya Muslim Khalifah (a.t.) of Promised Messiah – the Mahdi (a.s.) said that God Wills to reform human and His rights and rights of creation of God should be paid. For this purpose, God sent Prophets. Those who listen to them are successful; the rejecters of God, His existence, Prophets and Accountability eventually reached a sorry state and ending. Holy Quran is full of such mentions, as the history of other religions does.



== I believe in Holy Quran as the heavenly Scripture which mentions that by sending Prophets God Wills to establish high level of spirituality in human, connection with God and by attaining high morals human fulfill rights of creation of God.



== When God sent the Holy Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be on him) to reform the whole world, he spread the message best. To obtain results, he spent his nights in focused prayers. God said, as Holy Quran says: ‘So haply wilt thou grieve thyself for sorrow after them if they believe not in this discourse.’(18:7). God the exalted Who listens to heartfelt prayers answered the supplications. History is witness that the ignorant and uncivilized people became the people of most magnificent morals. It was pure the Grace of God. Never could any worldly power brought such spiritual revolution.



== His opponents witnessed that he responded to their brutality, hatred and vicious assaults with forgiveness, mercy and compassion. When he gained victory over them at Mecca, his forgave them with the condition to live with peace. By observing this benevolence, they believed that only Prophet of God can do so and they accepted Islam.



== In Holy Quran, Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) is called ‘Mercy for all People’. There are thousands of examples that prove it. One may ask why religious wars were fought then? To understand, the true history of early Islam must be learned. Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) never initiated a war. Even impartial non-Muslim Orientalists recognise that, right from the start, the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and his followers were subjected to the most barbaric and horrific persecution in Mecca. Yet the Muslims did not seek any revenge. After years of sustained persecution, the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and his Companions migrated to Medina. However when the people of Mecca invaded Medina to eliminate the Muslims, they responded by Divine command which is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an: ‘Permission (to fight) is given to those against whom war is made, because they have been wronged — and Allah indeed has power to help them — Those who have been driven out from their homes unjustly only because they said, ‘Our Lord is Allah’ — And if Allah did not repel some men by means of others, there would surely have been pulled down cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques, wherein the name of Allah is oft commemorated. And Allah will surely help one who helps Him. Allah is indeed Powerful, Mighty ‘(22:40 – 41)



In light of these verses, the oppressed were given the right to defend themselves.
The verses also safeguard other religions.
The verses proved the existence of God. It is state that God is Powerful and has the power to defend Muslims. God helped those Muslims to defeat the mighty, large and well equipped army. The wars fought by the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and his Rightly Guided Khulafa were in defense and to establish peace and were not for power or governance.



== The Holy Quran and Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) prophesized that a time would come when Muslims would forget the true teachings of Islam and they would decline. Today it can be seen.



== But this is not to be the ultimate condition of Muslims, just as the prophecy of the deterioration of Muslims has been fulfilled, the other prophecy of revival of their spiritual condition will also come true. This was to take place through the advent of the Promised Messiah. Holy Khalifah told the conference that he and the Ahmadiyya Jama’at believed that the Promised Messiah came in the person of the founder of the Ahmadiyya Jama’at and he established the teaching of true Islam among his followers. He formed a community that tries to practice true Islam. God’s help and support is with the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). Just as sample, here are three examples [from countless] of his truthfulness. First, he had said that in this age, many earthquakes and natural disasters will occur and this has been proven right, as compared to previous centuries, a lot of earthquakes occurred in the previous century. He had also foretold that the Russian Czar will be overthrown and this was proven correct. He also foretold about great wars and the world has seen two great wars since then. The world is trying to head that way once again. Defense budgets around the world are disregarding other needs and attention is focused on enhancing military capability. The world needs to reflect once again. Absence of peace in the world is not due to religion, on the contrary it is due to greed and politics.



God’s help is with the one He sent in this age, otherwise how could a claimant from a small village in India become renowned throughout the world. And following his passing away, without God’s help he could not have left behind such a flourishing community -- a community, which, due to being firmly attached to the institution of Khilafat, is furthering his mission throughout the world.



Holy Khalifah told the conference, ‘The founder of our Jama’at has given us the insight that the Word of God is not old fables, rather God is alive today too and speaks to His righteous servants and shows them true signs. It is our duty to pay heed to the reformer of the age and recognize our God’s true spirit. Instead of laying the blame of our mistakes upon God and upon our religions, we should take a look in the mirror and assess our own shortcomings. May God enable the world to practice this!




There were positive comments about conference by several guests:
Secretary general of the European Council of Religious Leaders, Stein Villumstad,

High Commissioner for Grenada to the UK, Joslyn Whiteman,

Commander of London Metropolitan Police, Mak Chisty,

Member European Parliament, Charles Tannock,

Chair of All Parliamentary Group on International Religious Freedom, UK, Baroness Berridge,

A member of the All-Parliamentary Group on International Religious Freedom,

Chief Rabbi’s another message,

A Councillor,

Norway’s political party, a member,

University of Amsterdam, a professor,

Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, Fr. AEthelwine,

Ireland, a guest,

European Council of Religious Leaders, Jehangir Sarosh,

A teacher of religious studies,

Catholic Chuch, a guest from,

University in Antwerp,, two academics,

Spain, a university professor from Madrid, author of many books, Mr Santiago,

Spain, a former mayor of the Pedro Abad town, Mr Garcia, in his capacity, he had allowed the construction of Basharat Mosque, in spite of opposition.

[Reference: Based on sermon by Ahmadiyya Khalifah, alislamDOTorg]

[Paulclem]

It's good that such conferences take place. Too often politicians get the floor with their questionable motives. It says something that religious leaders can still be heard and challenge the political classes on divisive policies. In the UK austerity measures have resulted in worsening conditions for many poor. This has been successfully criticised by certain church leaders, and does illustrate that alternative viewpoints to those we usually see are useful and give balance to debates.

My question Yalash, given your Muslim faith, is what do you make of a religion or religious leader like HH The Dalai Lama which is atheistic? Is there room for tolerance there?

[YALASH]

deleted for duplication, plz see next

[YALASH]

Peace be on you.
1= First of all here is the full quote of Dali Lama, as given in the source website i.e. alislam.org:

" The Dalai Lama’s message was read out by his representative in London. He said: ‘All religions teach the virtues of love, altruism and patience. Therefore even if they may hold different philosophical views we should respect them all. Every religious tradition has made significant contribution to the humanity for centuries past. In the future too such traditions can help us promote peace in our own respective communities and bring about harmony and understanding between the neighbours. The important thing is for all believers to put the teachings of their respective religious traditions into practice sincerely into their day to day life. Conflict in the name of religion occurs when people fail to grasp true intent of their respective faith. We should encourage contact between the followers of different religions…general public will develop respect for others’ religious traditions this in turn will promote harmony in society. I give my whole hearted support to the conference of world religions being convened in London on 11 February 2014 by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UK. I believe that meetings of this sort have a powerful symbolic effect …my prayers that fruits of your exchanging will be far reaching and long lasting.’ "


2=Ahmadiyya Muslims' view about BUDDHISM; Quote from their resource
“Buddhism
THE GENERAL IMPRESSION that prevails in the world about Buddhism is that it is a philosophy of life which, though counted among religions, does not prescribe to the existence of God. This impression is only partially correct. Even in contemporary Buddhism, it is wrong to say that none of the Buddhists believe in God or gods. Although the predominant sects, Mahayans and Theravadins, are known to believe only in the ultimate inherent wisdom in man which Buddha (as) perfected, they too believe in many superstitions and demonic figures which substitute God for them. This impression of the Buddhists' negation of God is also wrong on another count. An exploration of early Buddhist sources as we shall demonstrate, reveals ample proof that Buddhism began like any other Divinely revealed faith with its emphasis on the Unity of God.
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It must also be mentioned here that in the Tibetan form of Buddhism not only is the existence of superhuman deities or demons a part and parcel of their faith, but also they certainly believe in communication with them. The selection of a new Panchen Lama for instance, requires many rites and rituals to be performed, to obtain guidance from gods as to which one of the newborn Tibetan children should be the future Panchen Lama.
Among the so-called atheistic Buddhist sects, it is commonly alleged that Buddha himself denied the existence of God. They support their claim by pointing at the hostility shown to Buddha by the contemporary Hindu pundits. That hostility, they maintain, was largely due to the contempt shown by Buddha to their gods. The Buddhists in general do not bother to analyse the real factors at work which generated misunderstandings leading to the persecution of Buddha. It is quite sufficient for them to believe that Buddha must have rejected the idea of God in totality.

However, as we shall presently establish by re-examining some facts of history and some important relevant passages in the Buddhist sacred literature, it can be clearly shown that Buddha (as) is absolved from all such allegations………………………
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A close examination of Buddha's biography reveals that in his lifestyle, he was not any different from other prophets of God, who appeared in different parts of the world…….
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The erroneous popular belief in the Godless origin of Buddhism was spread largely by the Western scholars of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Their knowledge of Buddhism was largely based on the translations of Buddhist literature from the Pali language by Buddhist scholars who had permitted their own biased, godless philosophy to influence their translations. Few among them understood the Pali language, which is the language of the source material. Moreover, instead of drawing their own inferences directly from a study of reliable Buddhist sources, they leaned entirely on the beliefs about Buddhism prevailing among the major Buddhist sects……………….
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CONTRARY TO this general trend of Western scholars, a solitary voice in India was raised by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadasof Qadian (1835–1908), who presented a diametrically opposed view. He maintained that Buddhaas had firm belief in the existence of God who Himself had raised him as His messenger with a specific mission to perform. He demonstrated that Buddhaas, like all other prophets of God, also believed in the existence of Satan, as well as in heaven and hell, in angels and in the Day of Resurrection. Hence, the allegation that Buddhaas did not believe in God is pure fabrication. What Buddha rejected wasVedanta (i.e. doctrines and beliefs found in the Hindu sacred books, the Vedas). He rejected the belief in corporeal manifestations of gods as found in Hinduism. He was severely critical of the Brahmans and regarded them to have corrupted their Divine teaching through their distorted interpretation.

The voice of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) was not to remain solitary for long. Soon, other voices from among the second generation of Western scholars and researchers on Buddhism began to follow suit. The most prominent among them was the great French scholar Dr. Gustav Le Bon (1841–1931) who writes:
….."

Please find more in Buddhism at Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth By Fourth Ahmadiyya Muslim Khalifah

[YesNo]

The erroneous popular belief in the Godless origin of Buddhism was spread largely by the Western scholars of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Their knowledge of Buddhism was largely based on the translations of Buddhist literature from the Pali language by Buddhist scholars who had permitted their own biased, godless philosophy to influence their translations.

I have often wondered whether the atheism that we hear associated with Buddhism is more a western interpretation of Buddhism. I don't know.

[Paulclem]

I read about Hindu responses to Buddhism Yalash, and their response was similar to yours - they claimed the The Buddha was an incarnation of Siva basically bringing The Buddha and Buddhists into the Hindu fold, or should I say attempting to.

The pieces you quote are trying to do the same thing by reinterpreting Buddhist writings in an attempt to claim that actually the Buddhists do believe in a creator God.

Whilst I don't see this as wholly negative - it may well be positive that Islamic scholars are attempting to defend Buddhism in the face of hostility from some sects in Islam - Te Taliban who blew up the Bamyan Buddhas in Afghanistan for instance - a reinterpretation by a member of another religion is surely not where you would look in order to understand that religion.

In my opinion tolerance in its bbest form is being able to happily accept that others believe different things to you. In this case it is a fundamental belief in God. There are plenty of reasons why the religions can work togwther though as you can see from HH The Dalai Lama's words.