Zoroastrians Abroad
Parliament of religions
"Pathways to peace: the wisdom of listening, the power of commitment” was the theme of the fourth Parliament of the World’s Religions held in Barcelona, July 7-13, 2004. Thanks to FEZANA (Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America) founding president Rohinton Rivetna’s work on the committee of the Parliament since its second session in 1993 commemorating the first such inter-religious meet held in Chicago in 1893, Zarathushtis have had a substantial exposure at these events.
Top left: Marcus Braybrooke (centre), originator of the interreligious movement flanked by Dhalla (extreme left) and Rivetna; Cooper (alongside) Below (L to R): Rohinton Rivetna, Malcolm Deboo, Susan Karani, Rusi Dalal, Roshan Rivetna, Mistree, Roshan Dalal, Firdosh Mehta, Porushasp Jilla, Dhalla and Moos
This year too the community descended in strength from US, the UK and India. Dr Homi Dhalla, Khojeste Mistree and Meher Master-Moos each led a Zarathushti morning observance with recitation of prayers, kusti and explanations, notes Roshan Rivetna in her report in the FEZANA Journal. Notable among the dozen or more presentations/panels in which Zarathushtis participated was a talk, titled "Relevance of Zoroastrianism” by Mistree and panels on interreligious dialog and peace initiatives led by Dhalla, adds Rivetna. FEZANA and ZTFE (Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe) shared a booth at the Exhibition Hall. There is but one Zarathushti resident in Barcelona, Marzban Cooper, who the visiting coreligionists were happy to meet.
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From the archive