For public release – October 8th 2012
South Auckland Community Seeks Global Peace Through Promoting Justice And Equality

This October Pakuranga is becoming the heart of local efforts to achieve global peace.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim community New Zealand, with its centre in Manukau, is inviting together leaders from all the major faiths in Auckland to discuss how global peace can be achieved through promoting justice and equality. The community aims to improve relations amongst various religions by holding an annual interfaith Peace Conference helping to build understanding and peace amongst religions, and promote their motto ‘love for all hatred for none’.

The worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community held the first peace conference in the 1920s as a Religious Founders’ Day, to help relieve the growing tension among different faiths in the Indian sub-continent. Since then it has become a global event celebrated by local Ahmadi communities as an opportunity to bring together leaders of different religions. The New Zealand branch adopted the event ten years ago to promote interfaith dialogue and understanding within communities.

Mr Mohammad Iqbal VRD, JP, National President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, believes that there has never been a greater need for finding a way to achieve global peace. The world is in the danger of plunging into chaos due to an imminent clash of cultures, and people need to be accepting of one another to avoid conflicts.

“We are witnessing significant conflicts the world over, which have the potential to lead to a worldwide war. The need to establish the basic principles of Justice and Equality at this critical juncture in human history cannot be over estimated. Religion as always has a central role to play in achieving these principles, and it is our duty to ensure that the purpose of religion is to spread peace, tolerance and understanding,” says Mr Iqbal.

“The conference reflects the desire for peace that the heart of every truly religious person languishes for, and offers the perfect culmination for ‘the week of prayer for world peace’ being celebrated throughout New Zealand from 14th – 21st of Oct.”

The Peace Conference is inclusive of all faiths with speakers from Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Islam sharing common beliefs of religious harmony. It will be held on Saturday 20th of October at the Te Tuhi Centre for the Arts, 13 Reeves Road, Pakuranga starting at 4:00pm. The event is open to the public with refreshments and dinner provided by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is a religious organisation, international in its scope. With its sincere desire for peace, the Ahmadiyya Muslim community has grown and is established in more than 200 countries with a following of over 200 million. It is internationally renowned for its services to humanity by providing disaster relief, medical facilities, energy and education worldwide.

ENDS

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