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News and Issues |
| Final report of the New Zealand Delegation from the Asia Pacific Regional Interfaith Dialogue, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, April 2008 now online |
| The Asia-Pacific regional interfaith dialogue process began in Yogyakarta in December 2004. The governments of Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand and the Philippines co-sponsored the first dialogue which brought together delegations of 10 faith and community leaders from each of 14 countries in South East Asia and the Pacific. The process continued with meetings in Cebu, the Philippines in 2006 and Waitangi, New Zealand in 2007. Cambodia hosted the fourth dialogue in Phnom Penh on 2-4 April 2008. The full final report of the dialogue is now available online (PDF). |
| New Blog: Jews, Christians and Muslims working together |
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| Rasheed Memorial Dawah Trust: New Website |
| The Rasheed Memorial Dawah Trust has begun to use its new website to publicise its activities and events, replacing the previous occasional emails. Members will now be notified via a monthly digest of news and activities that are coming up. If you would like to receive the monthly update, you can register on the Rasheed Memorial Dawah Trust’s website. Current events include tree planting, an upcoming diploma course in Islam, and an Insight into Parenting workshop in August. |
| Third Interfaith Seminar in 2008 Series Deemed a Success |
Please note in your diaries the date of the next seminar in the series, Wednesday 13 August, on the topic of immorality, and watch for further details. |
| New Executive Committee for Auckland Inter-Faith Council |
At the Annual General Meeting of the Auckland Inter-Faith Council (AIFC) held on Tuesday 10 June 2008, the executive committee of the Council was renewed for the coming term. Attended by some forty members and supporters, the AGM voted to have the following individuals serve on the AIFC as its executive:
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Mrs Ruth Cleaver (Family Federation for World Peace)
Mr Tipene Daniels (Jewish Community – Vice-President of Beth Shalom Synagogue)
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Mr Kampta Maharaj (Hindu – President of the New Zealand Brahman Society)
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Dr Kanwal Jit Singh (Sri Dashmesh Darbar – leading member of the Sikh community)
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| Waikato Interfaith Council Meeting 17 June, Hamilton |
| The next Waikato Interfaith Council meeting will be held on 17 June. Agenda items include discussion regarding the inclusion of groups such as Rationalists and Humanists in the Council, the Parliamentary Prayer, and the planning of a local event to acknowledge the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. |
| Debate Between Atheist Historian and Christian Philosopher 17 June, Auckland |
| The Tertiary Students Christian Fellowship & the New Zealand Association of Rationalists and Humanists present a debate between Atheist Historian Bill Cooke and Christian Philosopher William Lane Craig on 17 June at 7pm at Lecture Theatre OGGB5, 12 Grafton Road, Auckland University. The debate will be adjudicated by John Bishop, head of Philosophy Department, Auckland University. The topic of the debate is: Is God a Delusion? William Lane Craig is Research Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, California. Bill Cooke is a Senior Lecturer at Manukau Institute of Technology. |
| The New Zealand Muslims Stakeholders Forum 30 June, Wellington |
| The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ) has organised the NZ Muslims Stakeholders Forum, which will take place on 30 June at the Banquet Hall, Parliament Buildings. The Prime Minister will give a keynote address at the event and officially launch the forum. The theme of the forum is To Build Strong NZ Muslim Families. For more information please contact FIANZ at fianz@xtra.co.nz . |
| NZ Association for the Study of Religion Conference 2-4 July, Rotorua |
| The NZ Association for the Study of Religion is holding its annual conference in Rotorua from 2-4 July. The theme of the conference is Being Heard, Being Engaged: Religious Diversity and the Diversity of Religious Studies Research. The conference chairs are Douglas Pratt from the University of Waikato and Christopher van der Krogt from Massey University. More information is available from the conference website. For more information about the conference and registration, please contact Douglas Pratt at dpratt@waikato.ac.nz or Todd Nachowitz at tn37@waikato.ac.nz . |
| Seminar on Secularism and Religiosity in Modern Society 23 June, Auckland |
| The Councils of Christians and Muslims are presenting a seminar on Secularism and Religiosity in Modern Society on 23 June at 7.30pm at the Ponsonby Mosque, 17 Vermont Street, Ponsonby. The speakers at the seminar are Professor John Bishop, Jocelyn Armstrong and Fethi Ahmed. For further information please contact Joan Brock on (09) 625 5465 or Gul Zaman on (09) 271 3347. |
| Christchurch Interfaith Council Meeting 26 June |
| The Christchurch Interfaith Council’s next monthly discussion meeting will be held on Thursday 26 June from 6.30 – 8.30pm at the Refugee and Migrant Centre, 201 Peterborough Street. The discussion will be about the Baha’i Faith. For more information contact Rafaa Antoun on rafaaantoun@hotmail.com . |
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Future Events |
| New Zealand Diversity Forum: 25-26 August, Auckland |
| The proposed theme of the Religious Diversity Forum (part of the 2008 NZ Diversity Forum) on the afternoon of Monday 25 August is Discrimination, Harassment and Desecration, How safe is New Zealand for religious minorities? The NZ Statement on Religious Diversity affirms the right to freedom from discrimination on the grounds of religion or other belief, and the right of faith communities and their members to safety and security. The forum will provide an overview of minority faith communities’ experience of discrimination, harassment and desecration in New Zealand; members of various communities will speak of their own experiences; and there will be a discussion of what can collectively be done to address these issues. Speakers will include Professor Paul Morris of Victoria University and Deputy Police Commissioner Rob Pope. The workshop will continue the process of considering the Religious Diversity Statement, commenced at last year’s Diversity Forum with a consideration of religion and education. Further information on the Diversity Forum is available here. If you have experiences or information that you feel should be communicated to this forum, please email nzdiversity@hrc.co.nz. |
| Sea of Faith Network: One Day Conference 19 July, Auckland |
| The Auckland Branch of the Sea of Faith Network is holding a one day conference on 19 July at the Somervell Presbyterian Church, Remuera from 9am – 4.30pm. The topic for the day is Religion, Terrorism and the Limits of Freedom. There will be three speakers: Dr Doug Pratt, head of Philosophy and Religion at Waikato University, whose specialist research area is religion and terrorism; Dr Tracey McIntosh, joint Director of the Centre of Research Excellence for Maori Development and Advancement (University of Auckland) who is a Sociologist and of Tuhoe descent, who will address the subject from a sociological and Maori perspective; and a third speaker yet to be confirmed. There is no pre-registration required. |
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| The Dunedin Abrahamic Interfaith Group and Otago Tertiary Chaplaincy present the 2008 Annual Peace Lecture, Visions of Hope for a Terrorised Planet by Dr Kate Dewes, which will be held on 11 August at 5.30pm at the St David Lecture Theatre, University of Otago. The presentation will explore some positive approaches to disarmament and conflict resolution in New Zealand and internationally. Examples will be given of a range of non-violent faith-based actions for change by ordinary individuals throughout the world. The lecture will be followed by discussion and a vegetarian supper. For further information please contact Greg Hughson on (03) 479 8497 greg.hughson@otago.ac.nz or Dr Najib Lafraie at najib.lafraie@otago.ac.nz . |
| Multi-faith Conference at the University of Auckland 8-9 September |
A multi-faith conference entitled Uni-Diversity: The challenges of change will be held at the University of Auckland in September. The conference will seek to address some of the issues and challenges that are reflected by the increasing diversity of New Zealand society. In the past, much of the thinking and talking about religion in New Zealand concerned Christianity. Today it includes Buddhism, Islam, Baha’i, Hinduism and many others. Some of the questions raised from this growing diversity are how various religious practices are accommodated in public institutions such as schools and universities, and how to cope with the fear of religious conflict. The Uni-Diversity conference will see to address some of these questions in the presentations of both international and local speakers from a variety of perspectives. For more information and for the programme please visit the conference website.
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Did You Know? |
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understanding and experiencing Maori culture. Mr Vinod Kumar also announced the establishment of HEART – A humanitarian emergency aid & relief team, an initiative of the Hindu Council of New Zealand. This is in response to help needed with natural disasters happening around the world, for example, Myanmar.
Mr Rahui Papa, who spoke on behalf of King Tuheitia, mentioned the similarities between Maori and Hindu communities. He said, “We are the same family but speak two different languages”. He also spoke about common words such as ‘Mana’ which have the same meaning in Maori and Sanskrit. He said this is a good beginning and we need to take it forward, and assured the delegates that all cooperation will be extended to foster inter-community cultural relations. He appreciated the work of the Hindu Council of New Zealand and also congratulated the organization for celebrating Matariki (Maori New Year). He was impressed by the welcome by the Hindu community and told the audience that he felt at home.
This conference provided a platform for all organizations dealing with yoga, meditation and ayurveda to showcase the health benefits to New Zealand society.
As a result of discussions over the three days of the conference, an ad hoc committee was formed to take further the concept of AROGYA – Aotearoa Research Organization for Generic Yoga and Ayurveda.
The Conference organizers were overwhelmed by the response they received, and it appeared that the conference had caught the imagination of the people, like the first New Zealand Hindu Conference. There was active participation from various government agencies, professionals, university staff, business leaders, Maori elders, and community and youth leaders.
It was announced that the 3rd New Zealand Hindu conference would be held on 1-2 May 2010 on the theme of “Sustaining New Zealand through strengthening
The Hindu Council is a participant in the New Zealand Diversity Programme. More details of their 2008 projects are available here. |