Faith leaders come together in support of Australia’s Muslim community
Uniting Church leaders from across Australia joined interfaith and ecumenical friends last month in a statement of solidarity with Australia’s Muslim community.
Uniting Church in Australia President Rev Professor Andrew Dutney was one of more than 150 faith and community leaders who declared: ‘We’ll Love Muslims 100 Years.’
The statement is a reference to the banner headline in the Weekend Australian on 9 August ‘We’ll Fight Islam 100 Years.’
“Recent public statements and media coverage about Muslim-Australians in some sections of the Australian media have been inflammatory and divisive,” Prof Dutney said.
“In our multi-faith society, Jesus’ call to love your neighbour means that Christians are called to meet, befriend and care about our neighbours who are Muslim.
“Because of this, we can’t just stand by if they are unfairly insulted or marginalised.”
Many of the signatories are UCA’s interfaith and ecumenical dialogue partners such as the Affinity Intercultural Foundation, the Australian Council of Christians and Jews, and the Together for Humanity Foundation.
The full statement and current signatories can be found at http://www.lovefor100years.com.
Within the Synod, the Commission for Mission’s Uniting Through Faiths (UTF) unit participates in a multitude of events; from interfaith dialogue, multifaith celebrations, poetry performances and grassroots advocacy.
The team was recently part of Balloons for Bendigo joining local community members in supporting a proposed local mosque.
This year UTF is partnering with Multicultural Arts Victoria to facilitate an eight week multifaith poetry workshop, led by Muslim and Sikh community leaders.
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