The 2nd Annual Interfaith Dinner and Dialogue at the Embassy of Kazakhstan

Last month Intersections co-hosted more than two dozen religious leaders at the Kazakhstani Embassy in Washington, DC for the second annual Interfaith Dinner and Dialogue for U.S. Religious Leaders. Those present represented a wide range  of traditions, including Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Zoroastrians and indigenous American peoples, in addition to the three Abrahamic faiths—Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

After opening remarks by Kazakhstan’s ambassador to the U.S., H.E. Erlan Idrissov, prayers were offered by Mr. Arvind Vora, of the Federation of Jain Associations of North America and Rev. Dr. Lewis Anthony of the American Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, one of the U.S.’s preeminent historically black churches. As noted by my colleague Eduardo Vargas the two prayers were, “a great way for participants to learn more about other’s traditions.”

Following dinner, remarks were offered by all three members of the U.S. delegation that attended the third triennial Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Astana on July 1-2. All three—Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky of the Orthodox Church in America; Rev. Dr. Bernice Powell Jackson, North American President of the World Council of Churches; and Ms. Debbie Almontaser, from the New York City Department of Education and an expert in Islamic faith and practice in the U.S.—commented on the great diversity of participation they had witnessed and the extraordinary hospitality they had experienced while in Astana. All agreed that such an embracing atmosphere made it possible for broadly respectful interreligious dialogue to discover ways to counter ideological extremism and build a more harmonious world.

A conversation followed that was moderated by Intersections' Director Robert Chase. Recognizing Kazakhstan’s impending assumption to the Chair of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2010 and the Chair of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) in 2011, several comments saw a unique opportunity for the young nation to assert a place of leadership on the global stage. Building deeper relationships both among religious leaders and at the grass roots was seen as critical in fostering meaningful dialogue across lines of faith, culture and national borders.

The evening concluded with a pledge to build sustainable working groups among women and youth, whose findings will be presented at the next Congress that will meet in Astana in 2012; and that a way be found for an exchange between religious leaders from the US and from Kazakhstan during the next two years so that both groups can learn more about day-to-day religious life in their respective countries.