Five appointed persons from each faith community participate in the dialogue, which rotates between Jewish, Muslim and Christian venues in Sydney. The chairing of the meetings is also rotated.
In 2003 the Dialogue examined key concepts in each religion which have led to misunderstanding and tension, e.g. Jihad, Zionism, and the Trinity. Subsequent Dialogue meetings have shared and discussed issues such as the meaning of peace, festivals and prayer.
The dialogue is also connected with the three faith Journey of Promise initiative in which young people of each faith share in experiencing each other's religion and growing in their understanding. Click on the link for further information. This initiative is being overseen by the Decade to Overcome Violence unit.
Purpose and Objectives:
Purpose and Objectives:
Based on a document prepared by the Christian group, the Dialogue accepted the following as its Purpose, Objectives, Proposed Strategies and Possible Actions. Discussion considered carefully the reasons that the group was founded and the limitations on its resources and mandate.
Purpose
To provide opportunity for the national bodies of each faith to come together to build understanding and harmony in the Australian context.
Objectives
- To be a model of how different faiths can live harmoniously together in Australia
- To build understanding, good will and a sense of community between people of different faiths
- To explore and learn about each other and our faith traditions
- To share our knowledge and insights with others
- To work together to achieve common goals in Australia
- To support each other in times of difficulty
Proposed Strategies
- To inform our respective faith communities of the work and understandings that we reach
- To use our meetings to increase knowledge and awareness of the issues that face each of the faith communities
- To report back to our respective national bodies
- To address community issues together where possible
- To encourage common projects among the faith communities
- To use our meetings to inform the wider community of our commitment to each other
- To encourage interfaith dialogue at all levels
Possible Actions
- Regular meetings
- Media releases
- News stories for our own communities
- Public forums
- Creation of educational resources
