Interfaith conferences

During the months of June and July 2009 Dr Homi B. Dhalla, religious scholar and founder of the World Zarathushti Cultural Foundation (WZCF), was invited to a number of international interfaith conferences in different parts of the world, as per an e-mail received by Parsiana from WZCF. As a prelude to the G8 Summit of 2009 by the world’s political leaders to be held in Italy at L’Aquila near Rome, representatives of many religions were invited by the Vatican and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on June 16-17 to help formulate an ethical perspective and spiritual support to help deal with sociopolitical issues.

Dhalla was present at L’Aquila to discuss topical issues to be debated at the inter government meetings from the perspective of men of religion. On the first morning the religious leaders held a brief interfaith prayer at the Piazza del Duomo in memory of the victims of the serious earthquake that had afflicted L’Aquila. During the lengthy debate that followed participants discussed various issues which would form the ethical framework of the draft proposal. A detailed proposal was prepared the next day by the religious leaders and forwarded to the head of the Italian government. This was placed before the G8 Summit in July, the write-up mentions. The religious leaders were also invited to the Quirinale Palace where they interacted with President Giorgio Na-politano.

Dr Homi Dhalla with Israeli President Shimon Peres

Kazakhstan was Dhalla’s next destination. He was invited by the government of that country to attend the Third Congress of Leaders of the World and Traditional Religions at Astana on July 1-2, 2009, where he led a delegation of four young Zoroastrians who have been taking an interest in the interfaith movement — Anahita and Kurush Sidhwa and Roshnek and Darius Dhalla. Participation in this Congress offered them an opportunity for dialog with prominent religious leaders from other traditions.

The opening session, on July 1, was inaugurated by President Nursultan Nazarbayev at the Palace of Peace and Accord, a gigantic pyramid designed by British architect Norman Foster, notes the write-up. Among the world leaders there was Shimon Peres, President of Israel whose presence among several Muslim leaders signaled an important stage in initiating a dialog in healing the festering wounds of the Middle East imbroglio. The speeches at the plenary session were followed by question-answer sessions. On July 2, Dhalla presented a paper titled "In the face of violence peace is possible” during the "Dialogue and Cooperation” session and participated in the general discussion on issues related to human rights.

To celebrate the 74th birthday of the Dalai Lama, an interfaith prayer meeting and tree planting ceremony was held on July 6 at the Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi at which Dhalla recited Zoroastrian prayers and planted a tree in the garden. The book, Three Missions of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, comprising papers delivered at the national seminar organized in 2008 for the Dalai Lama’s 73rd birthday, was released on the occasion. The WZCF write-up mentions that this book contains an article authored by Dhalla.