NZ Interfaith Group

Human Rights Commission Te Korowai Whakapono: NZ inter-faith Network Te Korowai Whakapono – 11 July, 2006 The Human Rights Commission facilitates an interfaith network as part of the New Zealand Diversity Action Programme.  To join the network mailing list e-mail nzdiversity@hrc.co.nz and specify Interfaith Network in subject line. Kia ora mai koutou katoa – welcome to Te Korowai Whakapono, an interfaith network update which aims to support and publicise groups that undertake interfaith activities, projects and programmes that contribute to religious tolerance, public understanding of religions, and interfaith cooperation. The content of Te Korowai Whakapono is driven by the network. The network operates on the principles of inclusivity, mutual respect, acceptance of difference and the autonomy of participants. For more information visit www.hrc.co.nz/diversity . Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to others.   NEWS AND CURRENT EVENTS   Ngä Kaitiaki o Te Whare a Te Kainga, International Muslim Association of NZ (IMAN), Federation of Islamic Associations of NZ (FIANZ), and the Office of Ethnic Affairs (OEA) organised a groundbreaking powhiri in June for members of Wellington's Muslim communities as part of the Office of Ethnic Affairs Building Bridges Programme.  The event was organised to provide a traditional Maori welcome by members of Te Kainga Maori Catholic community to people from the Kilbirnie mosque, during the regular Sunday mass at Te Kainga.  The idea was to bring people together as neighbours and as members of different faith communities and ethnic and cultural groups, as the mosque and Te Kainga marae are located within two blocks of each other. Kaumatua/Pou Ärahi from the Department of Internal Affairs, Bob Penetito gave the opening speech for the manuhiri. Please contact Craig Nicholson from OEA for more information, craig.nicholson@dia.govt.nz or (04) 494 0609.   The Auckland Interfaith Council held their Annual General Meeting on 28 June. Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Sikh and Baha'i participants were among the 19 different faith groups represented at the meeting at the Auckland Zen Centre. An executive comprising all of the major Faiths was elected, following a series of readings from the various sacred texts on the theme of Unity in Diversity. The spirit of unity in diversity that prevailed during the evening mirrored the readings that were offered. The Auckland Inter-Faith Council looks forward to another year of building closer bonds of collaboration and friendship amongst the faith communities in Auckland.      The Women’s Federation for World Peace New Zealand held a Women’s Friendship Conference entitled, “The Role of Women: Building a Culture of Peace”, in Auckland on 1 July, at the Ellerslie Event Centre. The conference offered women an  opportunity to promote friendship and peace. There were presentations exploring Women’s Spirituality and role in creating peace in the family. The issue of how best to educate children to provide the basis for good moral judgment and skills needed to generate peaceful lives was also highlighted.  A Bridge of Peace Ceremony, which has become a signature activity of WFWP for reconciliation, was conducted. Please contact Barbara Minett (secretary)  E-mail:minett7@actrix.co.nz   ph/fax 267-3630 for more information.   Interactive Community Forum on Interfaith Initiatives in Auckland. The Auckland City Council Interfaith Project team, with the aid of Councillors Cathy Casey and John Hinchcliff, hosted an Interactive Community Forum on Interfaith Initiatives in Auckland on June 27, 2006 at the Fickling Centre. The forum was organised as an opportunity to provide a space for dialogue and information sharing.   70 people attended with a large and diverse mixture of faiths represented. Members of the Muslim, Christian, Ba’hai, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Society of Friends, Spiritualist and Jewish communities attended. Opened by Cr Hinchcliff, the evening was divided into 2 sections. The first provided an opportunity to hear about national, international and regional interfaith activities and developments. The Rt Rev Richard Randerson, Rohan Jaduram from the Human Rights Commission and Suzanne Mahon representing the Auckland Interfaith Council, were the speakers.   The second part of the programme involved a facilitated small group work session. During this process participants discussed the work they do and their visions for interfaith activity. The evening was an opportunity to share, meet others and build upon existing work. It was a night of laughter and much enthusiasm from the participants.   The Auckland City Council has established an Interfaith working party to maintain and develop strong interfaith relationships as a result of this engagement process. Auckland City plan to follow up by hosting an interfaith media forum in September which will be modeled on the Media and Ethnic Communities Forum held last year. The Auckland City Interfaith Project contact person is Abigael Vogt. She can be contacted via email on abigael.vogt@aucklandcity.govt.nz or by phone on 353 9647     The Jewish participation in Wellington and New Zealand life has been the subject of an Exhibition at the Wellington Jewish Community Centre in Webb Street. The exhibits have been collected for over 160 years to demonstrate the Jewish Community's contribution to Wellington and New Zealand since the first three Jews arrived at Petone in 1840. The Curator is Michael Clements. Please contact Harold Klug on 0212653811 for more information.     The Jewish – Christian – Muslim Association of Australia held its third annual conference from 3 – 6 July 2006 at Pallotti College in Millgrove, a small seminary 75 Km East of Melbourne. The conference was attended by 63 people, in roughly equal numbers from each of the three religions.  Most attendees were either clergy or religious leaders, including two Rabbis, three Imams, a Nun, and many Priests and Ministers.  Many had never spent a significant amount of time with members of the other faiths.  All engaged in meaningful dialogue with others, and learned much about the other religions, other people, and themselves.   People had the opportunity to observe the way that others pray, engage in study of each others’ sacred texts, and hear about the experiences of individuals’ journeys in their own faiths, along with plenty of time to network and make new friends.  Please contact Dave Moskovitz for full conference review, dave@thinktank.co.nz.   FUTURE EVENTS   The third annual New Zealand Diversity Forum organised by the Human Rights Commission in association with the Office of Ethnic Affairs and Te Papa will take place in Wellington on Monday and Tuesday 21-22 August 2006. Again there will be a special focus on interfaith on Tuesday, 21 August, Victoria Victoria University of Wellington 1.00 – 5.00pm. The theme this year is “Faith Communities and Government Working Together for Understanding, Peace and Security.”     The aim of this Interfaith Forum is to bring together faith communities, interfaith groups and local and national government officials and representatives to focus on issues of shared concern. The sessions will look at three topics: (1) diversity education in schools ; the fostering of diverse communities and the development of a national statement on religious diversity to guide policy and a process for consultation and endorsement.  The programme is:       1.00 p.m. Introduction and Welcome   (1)         1.15 - 2.30 p.m.                                                                                                                        Education and Schools:Promoting Religious Diversity through Education    The aim of this first session is to open a dialogue between the Ministry of  Education and faith communities on the teaching of religious diversity in the curriculum. It is hoped that a working party consisting of MOE and faith communities will be established on the teaching of religious diversity in the NZ schools curriculum, to review current syllabuses and develop new recommendations.   (2)         2.30 - 3.45 p.m.                                                                                                                        Community: Building Positive Local Religious Diversity                  The purpose of this session is for local government officers and                  councilors, faith communities and interfaith groups to meet                  together to discuss the ways to promote religious communities                  and their positive interactions at the local level.  This will include:                  MSD - Building Strong Muslim Families                  OEA – Building Bridges                                                                                                                                            3.45 – 4.00 p.m. Tea and coffee                                                                                                                                                                         (3)            National Statement on Religious Diversity                                  The presentation of a draft national Statement by Professor Paul                  Morris.                  The general principles underlying the draft national Statement                  will be applied to education, work, public services, and the                  implications of religious diversity for policy at the local and                  national level will be examined.  The aim is to agree that the                  statement be forwarded to faith communities, local government,                  and government departments to return to the 2007 National                  Interfaith Forum for ratification.   If you would like to register your interest for the forum then please contact Tina Chiles at nzdiversity@hrc.co.nz      New Zealand will be hosting the third Asia-Pacific regional interfaith dialogue in Waitangi  29-31 May 2007. A NZ delegation has attended both the previous dialogues, in Yogyakarta Indonesia in December 2004 and Cebu Philippines in March 2006, where the Prime Minister was a keynote speaker.   Universal Peace Federation (UPF) monthly meeting, 7 – 9pm, Thursday 13 July 2006, Fickling Convention Centre, Hillsborough Room. Topic: “Models of Interfaith Understanding: Special Focus on the Abrahamic Faiths”. The evening explores the process of promoting reconciliation among the Abrahamic faiths. There will be a screening of the Federation’s “Middle East Peace Initiative”. Speakers include Adel Jamati, UPF Director of Education, Ashraf Anwar, Co-President of the Council of Christians and Muslims (NZ) Inc.  and Steve Daniels, an active member of the Jewish community in Auckland. A special feature will be an art exhibition by Ahmad Esau, artist and and founding member of Aotearoa Islamic Impressions. For information please contact: Ruth Cleaver, 813-1600 (evenings) or mcleaver@xtra.co.nz     Zainabiya Women’s Association has organised a “Muslim Women in New Zealand” seminar to mark the occasion of the Prophet’s Daughter, Sayida Fatima Al-Zahraa on July 16, 3.00 – 5.00pm.  There will be speeches on topical issues by Muslim Women, poems and presentations by young girls and other activities along with a diverse range of art and craft displays. The seminar will be followed by a dinner and maghrib prayer. A special feature of the seminar is the integration of Maori protocol into the programme including mihi. The event is open to women only. Please contact Nikaht Abbas on zainabiya2006@hotmail.com for more details.     Islamic Awareness Week will be held again on 7 – 13 August. This is an opportunity for the New Zealand public to learn more about New Zealand's Muslim community and their beliefs. It also an opportunity to demonstrate interfaith cooperation.  You are encouraged to join others to do something extra for this week in your workplace, business, community etc. Please contact Tariq Ashraf, tariq.ashraf@med.govt.nz or 0276122833 for more details about the week.      Maori Language Week – a reminder that this is on 24-30 July 2006. You are invited to undertake an activity in your own faith community and encourage others to do so. You can get more information and ideas from www.nzreo.org.nz   DID YOU KNOW ABOUT?   INTERFAITH ONLINE The NZ Interfaith group has expanded and added new features to its website that include: -          a multifaith calendar with information on holy and special days for all the major world religions -          a newsboard for items of interest to the interfaith community -          an events calendar with items of interest to the interfaith community -          links to internet interfaith sites and resources -          contact details for the different faiths represented in the group -          papers and proceedings of the National Interfaith Forum   These areas have been registered as projects with the NZ Diversity Action Programme.  The intention is to expand the site so that it can be used by all regional interfaith groups, so they can have their own areas with contact details, calendar etc. You can contact Paddy Payne, paddyp@intergen.co.nz or phone 04 472 2021 if you would like to submit any items. The website address is www.interfaith.org.nz. Please note that items have to be reviewed and approved by the site moderator.      The latest edition of Global Issues magazine features a close look at religion. The issue explores the religions of the world and what they mean to people.  It notes that religion is a force to be reckoned with which influences what people do and how they act towards each other. It draws connections between people separated by inter-religious strife and what their faith means in their path to New Zealand. Feature pages include: religious diversity, keeping the faith, change-makers influenced by religion, and indigenous spirituality. Copies can be downloaded from www.globaled.org.nz.   Global issues is a quarterly magazine produced for secondary schools and community education programmes by the Global Education Centre, which is part of the Development Resource Centre: a Wellington-based education and information service on global and development issues. The latest issue includes teachers notes to assist learning on religion. Please contact schools@globaled.org.nz or 04 472 9549 if you would like more information on global or development issues.     A year after the launch of the Aotearoa Ethnic Network, Ruth DeSouza and Andy Williamson have launched the AEN Journal. Providing critical discussion on issues facing ethnic communities, the AEN Journal features articles from New Zealand's ethnic community and from overseas. AEN Journal offers a new perspective on ethnic community issues - challenging, informative and thought-provoking.   AEN founder Ruth DeSouza says that the AEN Journal "is about communication; telling our stories, giving our views and having our say. It's a place for smart and creative thinking, somewhere to raise issues and challenge assumptions." Issue 1 was launched on July 3 and contains writing from Joris de Bres, Tariana Turia, Mervin Singham, Tze Ming Mok, Kumanan Rasanathan and Mua Strickson-Pua. It also features two articles on Palestine and Israel written by New Zealanders of Jewish and Muslim faiths. The journal will be available on line at journal.aen.org.nz and is free.                 For more information about the Human Rights Commission Te Korowai Whakapono: NZ inter-faith Network, please contact:   Rohan Jaduram rohanj@hrc.co.nz 09 3758640