Religious intolerance often results when people believe their God is the one, true God. The All Believers Network is encouraging people of faith to look for common threads in all religions for the sake of world harmony.
The All Believers Network, also known as Belnet, is hosting a symposium next month to explore "whether all religions revere the same reality," said project director Saleem Ahmed. The Belnet board includes members from 18 religions.
The event, "One Reality, One Humanity, Converging Paths," is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 10 at the Unity Church of Hawaii, 3608 Diamond Head Circle.
"The bottom line of this entire exercise is to help bring peace and harmony to our troubled world," said Ahmed, who hopes the symposium will establish Hawaii, known for its diversity and tolerance, as "the world’s interfaith harmony capital."
Early registration is $20 by Aug. 31 and $25 thereafter. The event will be limited to 250 people, he said. The fee includes a Middle Eastern lunch and conference materials.
Commonalities in rituals, miracles and sacred foods will be explored, including "the idea that the same reality is shared by all," Ahmed said. Discussions will be held on how to change one’s attitudes toward other religions, and plans for an International One Reality Conference next year in Honolulu.
In a morning session, Ahmed will address the issue of whether there is only "one true God" or no God, and people will also be able to discuss it in a breakout session. He will also share the results of an international survey Belnet has been conducting on "how followers of various religions perceive the reality they revere."
"Results of our survey thus far show this God is revered by followers of all religions — though called by different names and worshipped through different rituals. And while some of us may think this God resides only in our religion, others believing in the same God might think he resides only in their religion. Let us not be concerned regarding where he resides — only he knows his own address," he said.
"It would be like Democrats and Republicans disagreeing over who is ‘true American.’ Since both believe in the U.S. Constitution, both can claim equally to be Americans — though their respective vision of America might be very different," he added.
A panel discussion at 11:20 a.m. will be held on "Moving from Exclusion to Inclusion in My Faith," including Gregg Kinkley of the Sof Ma’arav Jewish congregation, Maryknoll Sister Joan Chatfield, professor Dharm P.S. Bhawuk of the University of Hawaii and Ahmed, author of "Islam: A Religion of Peace?"
Other speakers include University of Hawaii professor Ramdas Lamb, Buddhist Rev. Irene Matsumoto and James Frankel, a UH religion instructor.
The public can participate in the survey by answering the following questions:
» What attributes does the reality you worship possess? (1) Eternal; (2) Flawless; (3) Formless; (4) Genderless; (5) Omnipresent; (6) All-hearing; (7) All-knowing; (8) All-seeing; (9) Compassionate; (10) Unique; (11) Wise.
» What is the name of your religion, and the name of who/what you worship? Or indicate if you don’t have one.
Go to sites.google.com/site/onerealityconference to download the symposium’s registration package and take the survey; or mail your response to Saleem Ahmed, P.O. Box 25155, Honolulu, HI 96825; or email ahmedinhawaii@aol.com. For information, call Ahmed at 371-9360 or visit www.allbelievers.net.
