Tony Blair: India with its unique diversity can lead the fight against religious tension
Last week marked two very important events: the anniversary of the death of Mahatma Gandhi and the beginning of the first ever United Nations World Inter faith Harmony Week. The commemoration of such a central champion of peaceful interfaith relations was a very appropriate time for this week-long promotion of interfaith solidarity.
Last year, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution declaring the first week of every February as the World Interfaith Harmony Week. The resolution's mention of "love of the good and love of one's neighbour" is important because whilst for believers the Good is God, love of the good and the neighbour is the very essence of goodwill for all.
Thus the resolution includes everyone in the world of all religions, faiths and beliefs, and those of no religion.
World Interfaith Harmony Week has unprecedented potential to help turn the tide against religious tensions. It can build understanding and provide unity and strength to counter those who use faith to divide and discriminate.
India could play a leading role in this movement. It is a living example of the concept of interfaith coexistence with so many different cultures and faiths having lived together side by side for hundreds of years. The Indian people have experienced the tensions and opportunities that such diversity brings and can help inform and enrich the pursuit of global interfaith harmony.
Some of the most ancient and profoundly influential traditions have sprung from India; at the same time, it has welcomed other traditions from around the world - and in most cases, given them a uniquely Indian quality.
While it would be naive and foolish to suggest that this relationship has been without friction, it must also be emphasised that India is the home of a number of mystical tr! aditions where the very greatest depth of inter-faith dialogue has been plumbed by great saints such as Kabir who have emerged, not from one tradition, but from the point of contact between the two - calling all believers to concentrate upon the profound and mysterious things that they have in common, rather than the things that divide.
Alongside the tension and conflict that can break out, India is also living proof that different faiths can live together harmoniously. My Faith Foundation aims to promote respect and understanding between the world's main faiths. This summer, we held our first film competition; Faith Shorts.
Shiv Tandan, a 19-year-old Hindu from Ambala, India was one of the winners. His film, The Guide, takes the viewer on a tour around the Jama Masjid mosque in Old Delhi, behind which, on the horizon, Sikh and Hindu temples are also clearly visible. The viewer is urged to look beyond simply tolerating other faiths, to respecting and loving them.
At the awards ceremony, he told me that India was his inspiration for the film. Before he started shooting the film, he took a friend to one of the streets in Chandni Chowk where five faiths are represented; Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, Islam and Christianity.
They all play cards and eat together. "They are not tolerating one another, they are living together harmoniously, loving one another. This way of life is possible and it happens where I come from," he earnestly told me.
Gandhi encouraged people to come together for the good of the community and put aside their theological differences. My Faith Foundation has found that whatever different beliefs they might hold dear, when people of different faiths work together on areas of common concern there is a double pay off; things get done and respect and understanding grows between them through the process.
! < span>Stand up and be counted
In 2009, we launched a youth leadership programme; the Faiths Act Fellowship that brings together young people of different faiths to tackle global poverty and disease with a particular focus on eliminating deaths from malaria. We are currently recruiting for the second set of Fellows and received over 687 applications; 30% of which came from young Indians.
Last year, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution declaring the first week of every February as the World Interfaith Harmony Week. The resolution's mention of "love of the good and love of one's neighbour" is important because whilst for believers the Good is God, love of the good and the neighbour is the very essence of goodwill for all.
Thus the resolution includes everyone in the world of all religions, faiths and beliefs, and those of no religion.
World Interfaith Harmony Week has unprecedented potential to help turn the tide against religious tensions. It can build understanding and provide unity and strength to counter those who use faith to divide and discriminate.
India could play a leading role in this movement. It is a living example of the concept of interfaith coexistence with so many different cultures and faiths having lived together side by side for hundreds of years. The Indian people have experienced the tensions and opportunities that such diversity brings and can help inform and enrich the pursuit of global interfaith harmony.
Some of the most ancient and profoundly influential traditions have sprung from India; at the same time, it has welcomed other traditions from around the world - and in most cases, given them a uniquely Indian quality.
While it would be naive and foolish to suggest that this relationship has been without friction, it must also be emphasised that India is the home of a number of mystical tr! aditions where the very greatest depth of inter-faith dialogue has been plumbed by great saints such as Kabir who have emerged, not from one tradition, but from the point of contact between the two - calling all believers to concentrate upon the profound and mysterious things that they have in common, rather than the things that divide.
Alongside the tension and conflict that can break out, India is also living proof that different faiths can live together harmoniously. My Faith Foundation aims to promote respect and understanding between the world's main faiths. This summer, we held our first film competition; Faith Shorts.
Shiv Tandan, a 19-year-old Hindu from Ambala, India was one of the winners. His film, The Guide, takes the viewer on a tour around the Jama Masjid mosque in Old Delhi, behind which, on the horizon, Sikh and Hindu temples are also clearly visible. The viewer is urged to look beyond simply tolerating other faiths, to respecting and loving them.
At the awards ceremony, he told me that India was his inspiration for the film. Before he started shooting the film, he took a friend to one of the streets in Chandni Chowk where five faiths are represented; Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, Islam and Christianity.
They all play cards and eat together. "They are not tolerating one another, they are living together harmoniously, loving one another. This way of life is possible and it happens where I come from," he earnestly told me.
Gandhi encouraged people to come together for the good of the community and put aside their theological differences. My Faith Foundation has found that whatever different beliefs they might hold dear, when people of different faiths work together on areas of common concern there is a double pay off; things get done and respect and understanding grows between them through the process.
! < span>Stand up and be counted
In 2009, we launched a youth leadership programme; the Faiths Act Fellowship that brings together young people of different faiths to tackle global poverty and disease with a particular focus on eliminating deaths from malaria. We are currently recruiting for the second set of Fellows and received over 687 applications; 30% of which came from young Indians.
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