Building links

Bessie White reports on an interfaith gathering in Coventry.

‘Do you work gladly with other religious groups in the pursuit of common goals? While remaining faithful to Quaker insights, try to enter imaginatively into the life and witness of other communities of faith, creating the bonds of friendship.’
Advice 6.

The recent EU referendum result has prompted a spike in incidents of hate crime against those who appear as ‘the other’. Communities with good relations locally often cope better, in part at least, due to the activities of local interfaith groups. These groups first began to emerge in Britain in the 1970s. There are now over 250, many members of the Inter Faith Network for the UK (IFN), which works to promote understanding, cooperation and good relations between organisations and people of different faiths in the UK.

Each year IFN organises opportunities for members of interfaith groups to meet and to share updates and experiences. Laurie Burrow of Rugby Meeting and I, who are both involved in our local groups, attended a recent one in Coventry.

After a welcome by Mehru Fitter, from the Coventry Multi-Faith Forum, Richard Atkinson, co-chair of IFN and bishop of Bedford, spoke of what groups can achieve: building neighbourly community, being hospitable, making relationships and spreading under-standing; sharing a vision of the common good; promoting understanding of each other’s faiths; witness – faiths being seen standing or working together; solidarity; and responding to social issues. On solidarity and social issues in Luton, which is in his diocesan area, robust interfaith relationships there have helped defuse the backlash from the EU decision. Faiths, in partnership with the local authority and the university, have set up a group entitled ‘Faiths against Sexual Exploitation’ – modelling what good relations between communities look like, living together yet not avoiding hard questions.

Mohamed Omar, one of several younger presenters during the day, told us about the Weekend Club, a project he runs for Interfaith Glasgow. It responds to the isolation felt by refugees, asylum seekers and newly arrived migrants. We also heard during the day about a project in the North East of England, where local residents became more understanding and welcoming of Rwandan and Congolese refugees after being told about the background and the circumstances that had caused them to flee.

Narendra Waghela, from the Leicester Council of Faiths, described how Leicester came together in the days after the EU referendum. Following the strong lead from Martyn Snow, bishop of Leicester, faith leaders wrote a joint letter to the local paper and the Council of Faiths organised a city event, which was well reported. A workshop was held to explain hate crime and, supported by the police, some faith centres acted as temporary reporting centres for incidents. Local citizens supported the ‘#safetypin’ campaign that uses safety pins to show solidarity with victims of hate crimes. Sally Sealey, senior policy adviser of the Hate Crime, Integration and Faith Directorate at the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG), described the increase in hate crime following the EU referendum and talked about its many aspects and the importance of reporting all hate incidents, however small. She set her talk in the context of the government’s Hate Crime Action Plan, which had been launched by the Home Office earlier in the week.

Birmingham Council of Faiths, in workshop sessions, described how they have tackled the challenge of working with young people by partnering with the Scout Association. Their ‘Faiths for Fun’ days involve young people, leaders and parents and are increasingly popular. We heard also from Warwick District Faith Forum and Harrow Interfaith how they contribute to increasing knowledge of faiths in their areas. Their success has been built on having a variety of approaches. Work and eat together and faith understanding will grow was one message. Jaskiran Kaur Mehmi, from Leeds, possibly the country’s youngest interfaith group committee member, talked about the wish of young people to be involved and highlighted how social media and practical projects can help that come about.

Contributors from most of the groups also shared their plans for this year’s Inter Faith Week (13- 20 November) which brings interfaith ideas and cooperation to a much wider cross section of the community each year. Finally, we heard from Preston, where regular minibus trips to Calais with supplies have encouraged much support from across and beyond faith communities.

Laurie and I left inspired with new ideas for working with others on issues of concern to Quakers.

Bessie is voluntary information officer for Hounslow Friends of Faith. She is a member of Brentford & Isleworth Meeting and currently serves on the Quaker Committee for Christian and Interfaith Relations (QCCIR).

Further information: www.interfaith.org.uk
and www.interfaithweek.org

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