Mumbai; Thursday, July 16, 2015!

WE, the representatives of various faith communities in Mumbai, joyously

participated in the Inter-Faith IFTAR: Prayer for Peace and Harmony today.
In the holy month of Ramzaan, and with Eid-ul-Fitr approaching, non-Muslim
participants in this prayer meet send their greetings of solidarity to their Muslim
brethren in Mumbai, India and worldwide. On their part, Muslim participants thank
their non-Muslim brethren and reciprocate the sentiments of unity and fellowship.
Religion means a system of rules of virtuous conduct promulgated by God, our
common Creator, which people are called upon to follow at free will. All religions
preach the fundamental ethical values of service to our fellow humans -- indeed
service to all Gods creatures, respect for the environment, inner and outer
cleanliness, truthfulness, etc. Different religious beliefs, customs and spiritual
traditions, have always cohabited the world, our common home, and will continue
to do so. Unity in Diversity and Diversity in Unity has been Gods own
architectural principle manifest in all His creation.
The obligation not to violate this divine principle casts an obligation upon all faith
communities, and also others who believe in humanism, to accept the pluralism of
beliefs and ideas, learn from one another, live in peace and harmony, and work
cooperatively for the common good of all. This necessitates cultivation of the spirit
of Respect for the Sacred not only in ones own tradition, but also in others. The
imperative of mutual tolerance, understanding and cooperation has become all the
more pressing in our increasingly inter-connected and inter-dependent world which
has shrunk to a Global Village. The alternative is hatred, bigotry, coercion, strife and
bloodshed, leading to a widening circle of destruction and suffering.
Mindful of the duty imposed on us by our respective religions, and also by
humanitys common heritage of cultures and civilisations, we declare:
1) WE are proud of the fact that India has been a multi-faith society since the
dawn of human civilisation. Few countries in the world have such a rich and
diverse religious-cultural-spiritual heritage, and such a long tradition of mutual
tolerance, respect and non-discriminatory co-existence, which in modern
times has been guaranteed by our Constitution and our democratic
framework. We pledge to strengthen peace and communal harmony in India.
This will boost Indias moral appeal to the international community.
2) WE unreservedly condemn terrorism and communal violence in all forms.
No religion preaches war, violence and killing of innocent people. Hence
perpetrators of war and violence in the name of religion must be regarded as
enemies of religion and humanity.
3) WE are opposed to misuse of religion through its politicisation for sectarian
ends.

4) WE pledge to combat all those divisive forces that spread stereotypes and
prejudicial thinking about people of other faiths.
5) WE strongly support normalisation of relations between India and Pakistan.
The continued Indo-Pak tension and hostility is not only hurting the progress
our two countries, but also undermining the noble goal of SAARC to make
South Asia which is home to the largest human population sharing a
common civilisational heritage a region of peace and progress.
6) WE demand that religious minorities all over the world, and especially in all
South Asian countries, enjoy inviolable freedom of religion, also equal and
inviolable rights of security and development without any discrimination.
7) WE believe that governments (at the local, provincial, national and
international levels), multilateral agencies, businesses, civil societies and faithinspired organisations should work together to eliminate injustice of all kinds,
since there cannot be peace without justice. They should also work together
for a common actionable agenda to eliminate poverty and deprivation;
promote better health, education, livelihoods, gender justice and womens
empowerment, family welfare, and care for those among us who are
vulnerable and oppressed; protect the environment; and safeguard and further
enrich mankinds previous cultural-artistic patrimonies.
8) WE urge that religious leaders who are widely respected for their sustained
efforts to promote inter-faith understanding, peace and harmony should be
suitably empowered at all levels, so that their efforts become effective on a
larger scale, which is the need of the hour.
Towards these ends,
WE shall redouble our peace-promoting efforts in Mumbai through joint
programmes, projects and partnerships by involving, especially, youth, children and
the mass media.

The Inter-faith IFTAR: Prayer for Peace, Harmony and Solidarity is

a joint initiative of

Suat Canan
Regional Director
Indialogue Foundation

Sudheendra Kulkarni
Chairman
Observer Research Foundation Mumbai

Rafeeq Ahmed Khan

President
Minhaj-ul-Quran International India