UN World Interfaith Harmony Week

ING would like to invite you to join us this year in observing the second annual World Interfaith Harmony Week, February 1-7. Religiously motivated and related conflicts claim thousands of lives every year, while bigotry and discrimination diminish the lives of millions more across the globe.
Even here in the San Francisco Bay Area, a region known worldwide for its rich diversity and culture of openness, Muslims and those perceived to be Muslims have been victims of hate crimes, bullying, profiling and employment discrimination.
World Interfaith Harmony Week, established by the UN General Assembly in 2010, is an opportunity for us to join together in speaking out and taking action against sectarian violence in all its forms and lifting up the values of mutual respect, humility and peace that form the core of our varied faiths.

ING’s work throughout the year promotes the goals and values of World Interfaith Harmony Week, as it seeks to build intercultural and interreligious literacy, understanding, and cooperation. It is perhaps not coincidental that the first ING-sponsored event in the annual Silicon Valley Reads program, this year dedicated to the theme “Muslim and American,” falls in the middle of the Week: a presentation by Islamic Speakers Bureau member Reshma Hyder at the Saratoga Library, 13650 Saratoga Avenue, Saratoga, Saturday, February 4, 10:30am-12:00noon.
ING also recommends using tools prepared by United Religions Initiative(URI) for the World Interfaith Harmony Week, including a tool card with ideas for activities to promote interfaith understanding, both for individuals and congregations. Click here to view or download it.
ING invites you to use this card to plan an event or activity to build bridges among faiths in your community, and urges you to share it with your members and congregants. If you would like printed copies of the card, please email [email protected]with the number of cards needed and a mailing address.
As a special tool for faith leaders, URI has also prepared an outline of an interfaith sermon or discourse that can be adapted for any tradition. Click here to view or download it.

Of course, World Interfaith Harmony Week would also be an excellent time to support ING in its year-round efffort to promote interfaith understanding and combat religious and cultural prejudice, hatred, and violence.
Date: February 1, 2012
Start Time: All Week
End Time: February 7, 2012
Venue: N/A
Address: N/A