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Baha'is participate in interfaith parliament
BARCELONA, Spain, 14 July 2004 (BWNS) -- The high point of 20 years of
interfaith activity by Lally Lucretia Warren, a Baha'i from Botswana, came
this week when she chaired a session at the 2004 Parliament of the World's
Religions.

The Parliament, a major interfaith conference, drew more than 8,000 people
from 75 countries to this Mediterranean city 7-13 July.

Acting as master of ceremonies, Ms. Warren steered a plenary session through
the granting of a new international award for interreligious dialog, speeches
by prominent Jewish and Muslim leaders, and prayers from representatives of
various religions.

Ms. Warren, a nurse and midwife, began her involvement in interfaith
activities two decades ago by being one of the organizers of local
observances
of World Religion Day.

"Baha'u'llah said 'Consort with the followers of all religions in a spirit of
friendliness and fellowship,'" said Ms. Warren. "So that is what we tried to
do."

Ms. Warren attended the Parliament in her capacity as one of 15 members of
the
Parliament's international advisory committee -- a group that includes such
figures as the Dalai Lama, Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, and Ela
Gandhi, the granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi.

Ms. Warren was largely sponsored by the Lutheran World Federation, in part
because of her participation in Interfaith Action for Peace in Africa, which
was initiated by the Lutherans.

Her role reflected the participation of Baha'is here -- many making
presentations were representing various interfaith and academic
organizations.

Denise Belisle of Canada, for example, was sponsored by the Goldin Institute
because of her work in an interreligious "Partner Cities" project that came
about because of her activity on the Interfaith Council of Montreal.

Jan Saeed of Salt Lake City, Utah, USA was sponsored by Brigham Young
University because of her efforts on the Salt Lake Interreligious Council
during the 2002 winter Olympics.

And Brian Lepard, a professor of law at the University of Nebraska, came at
the invitation of the Global Ethics and Religion Forum because of his
scholarship on international human rights and religion.

More than 20 Baha'is were involved in panel discussions, speeches or other
events at the Parliament, and another 80 Baha'is attended as participants,
coming from more than a dozen countries.

"The goal for Baha'is at the Parliament is to help further understanding
between the different religions," said Miguel Gil, who represented the Baha'i
community of Spain.

Mr. Gil said the Spanish Baha'i community gave significant support by
providing volunteers and organizational assistance.

Moojan Momen, a Baha'i scholar of the United Kingdom, who gave a
well-attended
talk at the Parliament on "The Baha'i Theological Basis of Interreligious
Dialogue," said that Baha'is are able to contribute particularly well to
interfaith dialogue because of a belief system that defuses those elements of
religion that tend to produce conflict.

In speeches and discussions, religious leaders and activists from virtually
every religious tradition repeatedly called for tolerance, and recognition of
human interdependence and the common spirit in all religions.

"We need a new global spirituality that affirms the unity of all being, that
affirms the interconnectedness of all, and affirms a new bottom line of love,
caring, and generosity," said Rabbi Michael Learner, a noted Jewish author,
in
a panel discussion entitled "The Battle for God."

Taking the theme "Pathways to Peace," the 2004 Parliament was organized by
three entities: the Chicago-based Council for the Parliament of the World's
Religions, the UNESCO Centre of Catalonia, and the Forum Barcelona 2004.

Open to religious leaders and lay people alike, the event involved more then
400 workshops, panel discussions, and artistic presentations. The overall
focus was on promoting interreligious dialog.

An assembly of religious leaders, held in conjunction with the Parliament,
focused on four social issues: improving access to clean water, reducing
global poverty, advocating the elimination of Third World debt, and opposing
religiously inspired violence.
The Parliament is the third such gathering since 1993, when some 8,000 people
from all religions came together in Chicago to commemorate the 100th
anniversary of the World's Parliament of Religions, which was held there in
1893 and was the start of the movement for interreligious dialog. The 1893
event was also the first time that the Baha'i Faith was mentioned in a public
talk in the Western Hemisphere.

In 1999, a second modern Parliament was held in South Africa, attracting some
7,000 participants from 90 countries. Baha'is have been involved in all three
modern Parliaments, as organizers, participants, and presenters.