Eight religions come together at Imperial to mark National InterFaith Week

Eight religions come together at Imperial to mark National InterFaith Week. Representatives from different religions share insights and dialogue at Imperial- %0A " - Wednesday 18 November 2009 - By John-Paul Jones Representatives of eight religions gathered at Imperial this week to share insights from their faiths and to mark the beginning of National Interfaith Week. The event on Monday evening brought together speakers from Baha'i, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism and Sikhism. Over 300 people attended to listen to the speakers, following which 50 participants broke off into smaller groups to discuss issues around interfaith dialogue. One audience member, Obadah Ghannam, a medicine undergraduate, said: "Seeing Muslims, Christians, Jews, Sikhs, Hindus, Jains, Bahai's, and Buddhists come together in such a visible form of unity was absolutely amazing." The organisation of the event was led by members of the InterFaith group, a network of students interested in promoting dialogue and understanding between people of different faiths. Explaining the purpose behind the UniFaith event one of its coordinators, Yousuf Salmasi, said: "It's the astonishing diversity in faiths and beliefs at Imperial which adds that extra element to living out your faith. Being with people of other faiths can only open up your mind more, and help you understand your own faith further." Yousuf added: "By having an interfaith forum at imperial, and a launch event of this nature, we can ensure that there is more interaction, and of an appropriate and respectful nature, between different faith groups on campus.