“It has been a truly inspiring few days, both from a spiritual and friendship perspective, but what are we taking away from this experience?” This comment, made by one of the participants just before boarding the short flight back to Birmingham, expressed the shared sentiment among the 16 people from diverse faith traditions who took part in an interfaith trip to explore dialogue efforts in Dublin last month.
The group was comprised of interfaith leaders and practitioners, all actively engaged in interfaith initiatives in the city of Birmingham. Some have decades of experience, others hold leadership responsibilities, and some were newer but brought with them plenty of enthusiasm and commitment. Despite these differences, all of the adults in the group shared a common role, this being leaders within our respective faith communities.
A strong sense of belonging to our own faiths united us, along with a shared belief in the need to collaborate with one another to address the increasing challenges faced by our ‘community of communities’ in Birmingham.
With a group of colleagues from Dublin Interfaith Forum and the Columban Missionaries in Ireland, we worked for months to prepare this 3-day trip. The idea had originated back in February 2024, when Irish interfaith leaders visited Birmingham to explore its interfaith scene. During our various conversations at that time, we realised that the challenges facing communities in both Dublin and Birmingham were remarkably similar: socio-economic deprivation fuelling an anti-migrant rhetoric and prejudice against minority communities. We agreed on the diagnosis and the complexity of these issues, recognising how dangerous such fractures in our societal fabric could become.
In November 2023, Dublin had witnessed anti-immigrant riots and street violence, events the city had not seen in decades. The then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the rioters ‘brought shame on Dublin, shame on Ireland, and shame on their families and themselves’. Over the summer of 2024, far-right, anti-immigration protests and riots -which included attacks on mosques and centres housing asylum seekers-had shaken British towns and cities. Echoing the Taoiseach’s words, leaders of the Abrahamic faiths in England, had jointly declared that these riots were ‘a stain on our national moral conscience.’
Against this backdrop, our group of interfaith practitioners embarked on the trip, which included a one-day conference poignantly titled Building Peaceful and Resilient Communities in Our Cities at Mansion House, the heart of Dublin’s city government. The beautiful Oak Room hosted interfaith representatives from Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Edinburgh, and Birmingham, on behalf of most of the faith traditions present in those cities. Following keynote addresses from academics and practitioners in the morning, afternoon workshops were held to harness the rich experiences of those present in the room. (Reports of the talks will be shared at a later date.)
That morning, Mahmooda Qureshi from the Faith & Belief Forum represented our Birmingham delegation, eloquently presenting the hopes and challenges she encounters in her extensive interfaith involvement, both locally and nationally.
The second day included visits and ‘reflective conversations’ at four places of worship in Dublin: two mosques, a gurdwara and a synagogue. My highlights for this day included the generous hospitality offered by our hosts in those places of worship, the insightful questions raised by our group—which sparked further reflection—and, a hope-filled symbolic moment of dialogue about the Torah between 10 year-old Mikaeel and Hillary, our host at the Progressive Synagogue on Leicester Road.
On our final day, we travelled to the Home of the Columban Missionaries in Ireland. A rainy Dalgan Park proved to be a fitting venue to reflect on our faith responses to the climate crisis. Ecologist Liz McArdle gently introduced us to the theme of reconnecting ourselves with creation, leading us on a wet nature walk around the grounds. After a lovely lunch, Anjana Shelat (Hinduism), Zahra Ahmad (Islam), and Shabana Parveen (Islam) shared profound insights on caring for our common home from their respective traditions. Shabana and Zahra also introduced us to the work of Al-Mizan, which has been described as the Muslim counterpart to Laudato Si’. Violet Owen (Baha’i) shared a reflective reading on the teachings of Baha’u’llah about nature.
With the help of Columban Fr. Pat Colgan, we also explored the theme of biodiversity loss, aided by slides prepared by Columban eco-theologian Fr. Sean McDonald, who could not be with us due to ill health. With this, the trip came to an end.
Returning to the opening question, “What are we taking away from this experience?”, three ideas come to mind. Firstly, I find it meaningful that today, Columbans working in Birmingham and Dublin can encourage cross-cultural encounters and offer faith-filled citizens from both cities an experience that bridges their interfaith efforts, focusing on two of the main missionary challenges faced by the church and society today: those issues arising from migration and the climate crisis.
Secondly, interfaith encounters find their most profound meaning in friendship, and friendships can inspire us to put faith into action. Since returning, I’ve heard from many participants about how energising and stimulating it was to spend time together, to build new friendships, to listen to each other’s experiences, and, most importantly, to reflect on how we can collaborate more effectively. Soon, our Birmingham group will meet again to continue these reflections.
Finally, I want to turn special attention to the two youngest members of our Birmingham delegation. The touching moment of dialogue between Mikaeel and Hillary still speaks to me of the hope which can arise when we promote intergenerational, interfaith, and cross-cultural encounters. The words of 22-year-old Columban Faith in Action Volunteer Abi Yendole, whose reflections accompany this piece, calls us to embrace learning, listening, and loving one another as a way to confront division and violence. With Mikaeel and Abi, and everyone else, we can only look forward to witnessing the fruits of a dialogue of friendship.
Reflection from Columban Faith in Action Volunteer Abi Yendole
Spending time in Dublin at the Interfaith Conference was transformative, inspiring and engaging. A few days to remember, such hospitality and friendships built that I believe will continue beyond this shared experience. I will treasure this opportunity as one to remember.
The opportunity to listen to different people’s faith journeys, to embrace difference and work collaboratively to dream about what building peaceful and resilient communities looks like. I learnt more about the importance of interfaith dialogue, as well as experiencing the fruit of friendship with people of different faiths. The kindness, warmth and openness were incredible. To see past people’s faiths and seeing people as humans, with hopes and dreams.
Acknowledging the sameness of our humanity before pointing out the differences was refreshing and what is needed when our instincts so often stop us seeing beyond our comfort zones.
Visiting places of worship, building relationships and being able to have honest conversations within the context of respect and with a shared goal of mutual understanding was transformative. It brought interfaith dialogue alive for me, as I am passionate about building bridges and understanding in a world ever characterised by division.
The recent riots and more general polarisation across our communities and cities are worrying and these days collaborating felt like a collective pushback. To stand against hatred and division and to stand for learning, listening and loving (each other and our communities) together.
I was so impressed by the welcome, of both our hosts and the team from Birmingham. These few days brought lots of joy, good memories and ignited an understanding for the importance of and a passion for interfaith dialogue right here, right now.
List of participants from Birmingham
Dr Peter Rookes Birmingham Council of Faiths, Shi’a Community
Ms Violet Owen Birmingham Council of Faiths, Baha’i Community
Dr Andrew Smith Interfaith Advisor to the Bishop of Birmingham (CoE), Birmingham Faith Leaders
Ms Nasrin Shah Shia Muslim Association, Hussainia Mosque Interfaith
Mr Sajid Zafar Imam at Gulzare Habib Masjid and Education Centre
Ms Shabana Parveen & son Mikaeel Hazrat Sultan Bahu Trust
Ms Zahra Ahmad Hazrat Sultan Bahu Trust
Ms Mahmooda Qureshi Faith and Belief Forum
Dr Khurram Bashir Birmingham Central Mosque, Highgate Interfaith Forum
Ms Jill Appleton , National Director of The Feast
Ms Pat Whitney Birmingham Faith leaders, RC Interfaith Commission, Focolare Movement
Mr Tarang Shelat Shree Hindu Community Centre, Birmingham Faith Leaders
Ms Anjana Shelat Shree Hindu Community Centre, Birmingham Faith Leaders
Mauricio Silva Columban IRD Coordinator
Abi Yendole Columban Faith In Action Volunteer
