QUEEN'S PARK NOV 27, 2003 - Presentation by Raheel Raza

Good afternoon and Salaam Alaikum - I'm delighted to be here despite being warned at an early age by my mother, never to mix politics and religion.  I want to especially than the 
Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition for inviting me here today.

Building religious inclusiveness is not only only a global ideal, but an important Canadian initiative.  We live in perilous times where theories about a 'clash of civilizations' abound.  While the world has become a global village in terms of technology, travel and trade, the same strides are not seen in the world of faith.  It seems that the most troubled areas of the world, are areas involved in religious conflict.  Challenges faced by people of faith are enormous, but there is light at the end of the tunnel when we realize that 'humanity so one community' (al Qur'an), and many of our concerns are similar.  As people of faith we are all concerned about truth and justice, about poverty and violence and international human rights.

I believe that the clash of civilizations can be averted if we can have communication between citizens of the earth, and as theologian Hans Kung has said, there can be no survival of democracy without a coalition of believers and non believers in mutual respect.

How do we build mutual respect?  In these challenging and too often troubled times, we need new perspectives and models so that we can find humane answers to the challenges of globalization, based on a deep respect for the diversity of cultures and religions in our world community.  There is a desperate need for new and practical ways of reintroducing spirituality, ethics and faith into the international debate on globalization, and the local consultation on inclusiveness and social reform.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I believe that Canada is the model the world needs to emulate.  I'm not alone in this thought.  Karen Armstrong, prolific author and theologian was invited this summer to the launch of WEBB - Women engaging in Bridge Building on Parliament Hill, Ottawa where she spoke about building bridges and religious inclusiveness.  Ms. Armstrong said that in her travels across the globe she has seen only one country where pluralism can work successfully - that country is Canada. 

So you can imagine how energized I am to see 6the latest edition of Time magazine where the cover story is called A NATION AT PRAYER - I don't have to tell you which nation they are talking about but if you have any doubts, just look around you and tell me honestly, which other country in the world invites it's multi-faith practitioners to a discussion about religious inclusiveness in the heart of it's political arena?  

In this issue of Time magazine, they write about a Vision TV/Time poll which finds that 84% of Canadians agree that all religions have elements of truth and three quarters believe that Canada's religious diversity is a source of strength for religious beliefs.... that same diversity of religious experience in Canada may be increasing our tendency to explore faith.  Furthermore, 7 out of 10 Canadians say they are interested in learning more about other religions and spiritual matters.

To illustrate this even better, I want share with you, an email I received a few days ago.  I don't know the writer but it warmed my heart, reinforcing my belief in the powers of religious diversity.  

Palmer Clemmons, Jr. writes: Dear Ms Raza: I received information that you are participating in a conference at the Episcopal Center in North Carolina at the end of January 2004.  My wife and I had the privilege of visiting Toronto recently and we met some really fine people there.  I was really impressed by all the different racial and ethnic groups living in relative harmony, and at times felt like 
there was real brotherhood and sisterhood there.  Yes I thought Toronto was an exceptional place.  Do you feel the same way about it?  I am an American,  born and raised in the Christian tradition, and a spiritual life is very important to me.  I respect other religions as well.  I am disturbed by the pointless hatred that is so prevalent in the world.  As a person who wants to believe in the brotherhood of humanity despite all the evidence I see, if you think it would be worthwhile for me to attend, I will try to overcome some obstacles and come there to participate.   

My answer to Mr. Clemmons and to you my friends, is: Yes, you are right - while Toronto and Ontario are leaders in diversity, Canada overall is an exceptional multi-faith and multicultural mosaic.  We have something quite unique in Canada and if we don't preserve, protect and promote it - we'll lose it.  In fourteen years I've lived in Toronto, I've seen the growth of multi-faith groups their freedom of religious expression. 

Canada has given protection to people of faith who were persecuted, sometimes in their country of birth.  Here we live with freedom to practice our faith in any way we like.  Differences in belief systems don't have to lead to confrontation.  In my tradition we believe that unity of people doesn't necessarily mean their uniformity so the unique concept of a garland of different flowers making a beautiful bouquet certainly personifies what Canada means to many of us.   

Allow me to share with you that Canada is being plugged as an international model of a pluralistic society.  People will draw upon Canadian experience to help other societies engender pluralism in their institutions, laws and policies.  Forming partnerships with Canada becomes valuable for institutions, laws and policies.  Forming partnerships with Canada becomes valuable for institutions and individuals, who will serve as a strategic global source of values, knowledge, experience and practices of pluralism for diverse peoples from around the world.  I have been invited to speak at three conferences in 2004, in USA, Dubai and Spain to talk about what makes us tick. But we can't rest on our laurels.  We still have a long way to go and need to practice what we preach.

As the respected Dalai Lama said: It's not enough to belong to a religion.  You also have to put it into practice.  Religion is like a medicine.  You have to ingest it to combat the illness.

Speaking about illness, across the Lakes an to the South of us, the waters are clearly murky.  According to their diversity survey, it was found that only 54 percent of the American public thinks all religions are equally true;  47 percent of respondents were of the view that the word "fanatical" applied to the religion of Islam. Nearly one quarter (23 percent) said they favored making it illegal for Muslim groups to meet in the U.S. for worship. While perceptions of Hindus and Buddhists were more favorable, one person in five still favored making it illegal for these groups to meet.

I can only say thank God for Canada where pluralism is no longer a luxury –but has become a necessity of life, and we have a choice. Either we embrace brother-hood, or other-hood. 

You may ask what is Religious inclusiveness? As a Muslim I could say that it means inclusion of my faith in the mainstream. The good news is that I DO see inclusion of my faith.  Imagine my surprise when after a decade of writing about Islam and Ramadhan, I walked past the Hudson’s Bay Store on Yonge street and saw huge posters in their windows saying Happy Ramadan.  Similarly, IKEA has introduced décor for Muslim celebrations in their new brochure; the provincial government gives us vacation with pay for our religious celebrations and schools reflect many of Islam’s holy days. This is a small start and I’m thrilled to see the transformation.  Across the street from my home, a strip mall boasts of a halal meat shop alongside a lingerie store – this is the reality of pluralism in Canada.

However, the religious inclusiveness we are talking about here is not just acceptance of a few faiths; rather inclusion of all faith communities that make Canada their home because each faith brings valuable reflections and expands our understanding of the human community.  If we want our faith to be reflected in the mainstream, then we must also lobby for other faiths.  I should add here that a significant imperative of religious inclusiveness is to address our mutual concerns about social justice and social reform.  Together we can work towards our common goals of eliminating homelessness, child poverty, drugs, domestic violence and the pursuit of education reforms.  These issues are important to all of us, and transcend barriers of faith. United we can have a strong voice and become a force for the Government to contend with.  

One of our objectives should also be to share each other’s pain. Saadi, a Sufi philosopher writes:

Human beings are like parts of one body – when one section is wounded, the whole body hurts. You, who feel no pain for others, are not worthy of being called human.

In our pursuit of justice, we must also recognize, accept and respect the majority tradition that this country was built upon. In our rush to build bridges, we must be cautious not to harm the foundation that’s already in place. The Judeo-Christian values that Canada has upheld for decades are strong values and we can ADD to them – not eliminate them in order to promote our own agenda. Once we start the dialogue, we’ll find we have more in common than differences.

Right now we are heading into the Christmas and Hanukah season. These Festivals must be acknowledged whether we religiously celebrate them or not. Let it be POLITICALLY CORRECT to say Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Eid Mubarak or Happy Diwali instead of lumping them all together under one generic greeting of Happy Holidays - which sounds like my kids wishing us when we went on a cruise.

We must make an effort to celebrate our differences because our long-term vision should not be one of just tolerating each other – tolerance is not inclusive, it divides.  What we want to achieve is acceptance, mutual harmony and working together towards the common good. (see Canadian Living magazine December 2003 issue in the column titled O Canada)  

Critics would say this is impossible. I would offer that it’s already happening on a small scale. Ten years ago, did you or I know what a multi-faith or multicultural calendar was? No, but someone who cares about religious inclusiveness has taken the time to reflect major faith celebrations in one document.  In classrooms across Canada, various faiths are being recognized and celebrated, and it would not be at all amiss as far as I’m concerned if in the public and private sector, in education and media, a different faith is reflected, celebrated or acknowledged every day of the year. After all, students spend time and money to take a course in Religions of the World – here all of us have the opportunity to learn about world religions without benefit of a University course.

Next we come to the question of how religious inclusiveness will take place? Can it be imposed by governments? I don’t think so. Religious inclusiveness (in my humble opinion) only happens when faith communities and their leaders join hands with politicians to forge an understanding that through partnerships in a pluralistic society we can encourage socially beneficial peace, nature friendly behavior and ecumenical decisions.  To be sure, many people are already committing themselves to these goals, but a deeper change of consciousness is needed. Religious inclusivity has to be promoted from the pulpit.  In places of worship, whether they are churches, temples, mosques or synagogues – the message should be one of pluralism and respect.

This will help us gain respect for each other and work on the bases of common visions, ideals, values, aims and criteria. This will also help us eliminate the seed of racism which is ignorance. We have to understand that we have the power and need the incentive to move beyond mere tolerance towards accepting all cultures and religions.  

The Aga Khan who is the spiritual leader of the Ismaili community is in the process of building a center for Pluralism in Canada and in his remarks about the importance of such an institution he said “Fostering pluralism could be Canada's most powerful lever in enhancing its relations with all countries -- in the Muslim world, in the larger developing world, and even in the West. Promoting pluralism provides an inclusive, sensitive approach to foreign relations. It means neither promulgating a single-faith/single-culture perspective, nor risking the perception that a single faith or society is being targeted for criticism. A focus on fostering pluralism would not only enhance relations between Canada and the Muslim world, it would also increase security and prosperity in Canada and around the world. Promoting pluralism could hold for Canada in the 21st century what peacekeeping held in the 20th century.”

I’ll end with the worlds of Hans Kung which I think,  encapsulates the message I’ve tried to bring here today. "There will be peace on earth when there is peace among the world religions”,  he says. “No world peace without peace among religions; no peace among religions without dialogue between religions.”

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