Events & Personalities
Lamp of peace in Saravejo
Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia where Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated in June 1914 triggering off World War I, was the venue of an international conference in which religious leaders and scholars from all over the world participated. Dr Homi Dhalla was invited to represent the Zoroastrian faith and speak about it before dignitaries including heads of state and prime ministers. Dr Bakir Izetbegovic, the President of Bosnia and Herzegovina inaugurated the conference which was held from September 9-11, 2012, mentions an email received by Parsiana from World Zarathushti Cultural Foundation founded by Dhalla.
With the theme "Living Together is the Future — Religions and Cultures in Dialogue,” the conference was divided into 28 panels dealing with subjects like pluralism, future of the family, in search of God, environmental crisis, value of life, Muslim-Christian dialog, minorities in globalized world. Dhalla spoke on "Minorities in India,” with special reference to the Parsis.
At a dinner for the delegates hosted by the president of Bosnia on September 9, Dhalla met Mario Monti, Prime Minister of Italy. On the final day, there was a short ceremony from each religious tradition at which Dhalla lit a fire, gave a short talk on Zoroastrianism, played a monajat on CD, performed the kusti ritual, recited certain Avestan prayers with their translation and answered queries from the audience.
Participants then walked in a peace procession through the streets of Sarajevo, lined by thousands of cheering people. The final ceremony, during which representatives of each tradition were asked to light the Lamp of Peace, was held at Dom Armije Square and televised all over Europe, notes the email.
With the theme "Living Together is the Future — Religions and Cultures in Dialogue,” the conference was divided into 28 panels dealing with subjects like pluralism, future of the family, in search of God, environmental crisis, value of life, Muslim-Christian dialog, minorities in globalized world. Dhalla spoke on "Minorities in India,” with special reference to the Parsis.
At a dinner for the delegates hosted by the president of Bosnia on September 9, Dhalla met Mario Monti, Prime Minister of Italy. On the final day, there was a short ceremony from each religious tradition at which Dhalla lit a fire, gave a short talk on Zoroastrianism, played a monajat on CD, performed the kusti ritual, recited certain Avestan prayers with their translation and answered queries from the audience.
Participants then walked in a peace procession through the streets of Sarajevo, lined by thousands of cheering people. The final ceremony, during which representatives of each tradition were asked to light the Lamp of Peace, was held at Dom Armije Square and televised all over Europe, notes the email.
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