Archived News

ARCHIVE NEWS FROM 2017

The Australian National Dialogue of Christians, Muslims & Jews (ANDCMJ) held its 50th meeting at Sydney’s Emanuel Synagogue in December 2017, after which those present joined in lighting Chanukah candles and learning more about the Jewish Festival of Lights. Read more.

A student at ISRA (Islamic Science & Research Academy) in partnership with the Centre for Islamic Sciences and Civilisation (CISAC) at Charles Sturt University is one of only eight University Medal winners for the year 2017 out of more than 40,000 students currently enrolled at CSU. CISAC is a unique institution where its courses are designed to synthesize modern academic excellence in combination with traditional Islamic learning. Read more

Christian and Muslim business people from around Africa have met in Abidjan, the economic capital of Côte d’Ivoire, to reflect together on the place of God in their managerial experience. Read more

When Pope Francis met 16 Muslim Rohingya refugees during his visit to Dhaka, Bangladesh on 1 December, he not only referred to them as Rohingya he also called them “the presence of God today”. Read more

Pope Francis meets with the supreme Council of Buddhist monks in Myanmar. Read more

A Catholic bishop has been sheltering 2,000 Muslims in his seminary keeping them safe from a Christian militia in the south-east of the Central African Republic. Read more

Representatives of Victoria’s leading religions gathered in October 2017 on the steps of Parliament to deliver a joint statement regarding the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill. Read more The full statement is available here

Pope Francis speaks of his personal “closeness” to Rohingya Muslim refugees and urges ‘full rights’ be given to the persecuted minority. Read more

Ten years after 138 Muslim leaders in October 2007 signed “A Common Word Between Us and You,” the influence of the document continues through the projects and relationships it inspired. Read more

Pope Francis met with the secretary general of the Muslim World League (MWL) in the Vatican on Wednesday 20 September. Read more

Christians, Jews and Muslims have united against all forms of Extremism during a three day international conference on Anti-Semitism organized in Rome. Read more

More than 200 young people from diverse religions – Aboriginal, Baha’i, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism – participated in this year’s Youth Parliament of the World’s Religions (PoWR) in Sydney on August 20. Read more

Archbishop Ignazio Suharyo, President of the Indonesian bishops, and Sultan Hamengku Buwono X, governor of Yogyakarta, have together officially opened Asian Youth Day, an event organized by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences in which young Muslims take part in the scheduled events and are even involved in the organizing committee. The event embodies “unity in diversity” which is the nation’s motto.  Read more

The Australian Football League Multicultural Festival held in Sydney was attended by more than 15,000 people from diverse communities. Read more

One hundred Muslim and Christian pilgrims in France have joined an interreligious prayer service to honour the memory of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, a tradition common to both religions. Read more

British political journalist Mehdi Hasan, on a visit to Australia, has emphasised the need for solidarity through the promotion of multiculturalism and diversity if extremism is to be defeated once and for all. Read more

Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews and other people of faith are working together in Australia to call for stronger action on climate change.   Read more/watch the video

The Grand Imam of Al Azhar in Cairo, Ahmed Al Tayeb, has announced a new draft law to criminalize hate speech after an Egyptian preacher described Jews and Christians as “infidels” on television. Read more

Christian, Jewish and Muslim students from across the world are gathered for a three-week Interreligious Summer School at the World Council of Churches Bossey Ecumenical Institute in Switzerland. Read more

UK Muslims stand with other religions in condemning terrorism. Read more

Pope Francis has been meeting with participants in an assembly of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue to discuss the key contribution of women to interfaith relations. Read more

The Rahma Yeruham women’s group of the Interfaith Encounter Association continues to meet to share their life and their stories. IEA is an Israeli-based non-profit organization whose primary purpose is to foster dialogue between different religious groups within the Holy Land. Read more

At the annual Jewish Christian Muslim Association’s Inspiring Women of Faith Women’s Conference  held in May 2017, a group of women from Judaism, Christianity and Islam got to learn about each other’s practices and encounter deeply held beliefs. Read more

Fighting Islam, a recent book by Australian academic and author Dr Susan Carland, is a compelling read shedding light and sharing stories on the lives of Muslim women, who are a diverse bunch fighting sexism from within and without. They are as committed to The fight as they are to their faith. Read more

In Bethlehem Muslim and Christian teachers work together to provide education for children with disabilities. Read more

Pope Francis has described his April 28-29 trip to Egypt as intended as a “sign of peace” and a way of promoting a vision of “healthy secularism” for the entire Middle East region. Read more

The Vatican has called on Catholics and Buddhists to work together to teach wider society the value of a nonviolent lifestyle, in a letter which celebrates the upcoming Buddhist holiday of Vesakh. Read more

The goal of the World Conference on Peace organized by Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb of Al Azhar is “to eliminate the causes of conflict, violence and hate.” Pope Francis will be a featured speaker at the 27-28 April event. Read more

Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyib, the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, has acknowledged that interreligious dialogue is not itself enough to counter the spread of terrorism, if not accompanied by comprehensive policies based on the principle of justice, and the will to put exploitation of the poorest to an end. Read more

Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako of Iraq, Primate of the Chaldean Catholic Church, says that the international community needs most of all to support the reconstruction of the country on a citizenship basis, and to recognize pluralism and diversity as an opportunity. Read more

The recently published Australian Government’s statement “Multicultural Australia: United, Strong, Successful renews and reaffirms the Government’s commitment to a multicultural Australia, in which racism and discrimination have no place. Read the statement

English Cardinal Nichols is due to travel to Rome with four imams next week for an audience with the Pope. Read more

Does Jesus have something important to say to today’s Muslims? The Islamic Jesus, a book by a believing Muslim, Mustafa Alyol, says yes but not in a way most readers might assume. Read more

A priest from Egypt’s Catholic Church has praised local Muslims for helping embattled Christians after a series of Islamic State attacks in Sinai. Read more

Officials from Al-Azhar and the Vatican met on February 22-23 in Cairo to discuss ideas for combatting fanaticism, extremism and violence. Read more

American Muslims are raising money to repair a vandalized Jewish Cemetery in St Louis. Read more

Expressing solidarity with the Muslim community, United States Catholic bishops have expressed deep concern over religious freedom issues raised by President Trump’s Executive Order on refugees. Read more

The German Conference of Catholic Bishops has published a working document on the future of religious teaching in schools. It calls for deeper collaboration with the Protestant Church. Read more

Muslims and Christians in France continue to foster friendly relations in the aftermath of the murder of Fr Jacques Hamel in Normandy last July. Read more