Joseph Aranha

New York - The Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia under the guidance and leadership of its Consul General - the Hon Trie Edi Mulyani organized an interfaith discussion which brought leaders of various religions together on a common platform, in order to bring to the audience the beliefs of their individual religions.
The Hon Mulyani introduced the various speakers who represented Kong Hu Cu, Hindu, Buddhist, Jew, Christians and Muslims. She stressed that interfaith-dialogue was too important a subject to be just left to the government and attached great importance to non-governmental organizations who played an important role in the creation of society where all faiths could co-exist harmoniously. It is important she said that faith communities are ready to speak to one at the grassroots level. She thanked the Indonesian Muslim community in New York who had spared no effort to organize the present discussion.
The Hon Mulyani made clear that all people at the grassroots level must first understand how their own faith promotes acceptance and love for their fellow men, no matter what their religion. And she said that they also need to be encouraged to be open to other faiths.
She said that Indonesia was committed to the advancement of inter-cultural and inter-faith dialogue which she said would lead to the development of mutual understanding and common interests. The Government she said was determined to reaffirm the paramount significance of continuous dialogues among different faiths with efforts to promote constructive pluralism in order to achieve peace and tolerance.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia has made ‘dialogue’ among various faiths as a critical priority in his agenda and had been responsible in organizing international interfaith dialogues. This promotion of inter-faith harmony through dialogues have been bolstered by the flourishing of moderation in various countries and their religions.
The Hon Mulyani said that it was dialogues like the present one that would allow peace and understanding to sustain in a durable manner and prevent the condition that set faith-based conflicts in motion from surfacing. She encouraged the gathering that this discussion and the ones that will be organized in the future should lead to concrete actions which would lead to more peace and harmony in a globalized society.
The dialogue was moderated by Imam Shamsi Ali who is Chairman of the Indonesian Muslim Community in New York and has traveled far and wide in his pursuit of the study of the Muslim Religion. He serves with various mosques and other civic organizations on an international level as an authority about the Muslim religion. He is also on the advisory board of the largest inter-religious organization in the US - the Tanenbaum Center.
The speakers who spoke about their own religions were Dr Uma Mysorekar who is President of the Hindu Temple Society of North America and since 1976 has organized numerous programs to bring the community together, which includes both spiritual and cultural activities.
The Venerable Kondanna is a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk and believes that all human beings should grow up with a spiritual foundation. He is Abbot of the Staten Island Buddhist Vihara and President of the Buddhist Council of New York.
Mr John Kung is Director and an Ambassador of Peace for the Universal Peace Foundation, which is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Mr Kung gave the gathering an insight into Confucius (Kung Fu Tse) and its beliefs. Mr Kung is the 76th generation decedent of Confucius himself.
Rabbi Delphine Horvilleur was ordained this year from the Hebrew Union College, the reform Rabbinic Seminary. She teaches Hebrew and Jewish thought and will soon return to Paris, to become only the third woman rabbi in the whole of France.
The Reverend N L’Heureux, Jr. is the Executive Director of the Queens Federation of Churches, which relates to over 700 Christian Congregations in Queens. He is also Secretary of the Commission of Religious Leaders of New York City and is active also as a community activist.
Daisy Khan is Executive Director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement. An excellent speaker Ms Khan is dedicated to developing an American Muslim identity and to building bridges between the Muslim community and the general public through dialogue in faith, identity, culture and the arts.
Throughout the discussion all speakers stressed that every religion professed peace and tolerance, though there were some people who twisted facts to suit their own agendas. They also stressed that every God or Prophet wanted people to live in harmony with others and that any authentic religion shied away from extremism.
Various dignitaries from the many consulates in New York attended the discussion and among them was Mr Sasi Kumar, Head of Chancellory from the Consul General of India.