The recent terrorist acts in Paris reaffirm Thomas Kadmon’s belief that the faiths are in conflict.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Kadmon and his wife Derrian founded registered charity organisation Interfaith Conflict Resolution in February this year to focus on education and raise awareness about the different faiths around the world.
‘’When I look around the world I see the biggest gaping need is for this interfaith conflict resolution,’’ he said.
‘’There is no argument that the faiths are in conflict. So much killing and bombing and terrorising and so on flow from the fact that at least the faiths are perceived to be in conflict and that is what’s motivating people.
‘’Perceptions motivate people more sometimes than the reality.’’
Derrian Kadmon said her husband founded the organisation because he could see the world was judging some faiths and religions too harshly.
‘’We are about focusing on education and raising awareness around the faiths... the beauty of them, what they have added to the world and the great contributions they have made,’’ she said.
Mr Kadmon added religion inspires the most passionate idealism and strongest values and consequently the strongest sense of outrage in human beings.
‘’A lot of people have attributed all the cause for all wars to religion, in some senses that’s true but religion can also be a force for peace and enlightenment,’’ he said.
‘’I don’t see it as a feasible proposition to eradicate religion from the world and I think most people would agree with me. But we have to practise our religion rightly and we have to look at this interfaith terrain.
‘’This is going to be critical going forward in the 21st century because the ground between the faiths. The territory there can either be unholy ground or holy ground. It can either be ranked with weeds and planted with mines and booby traps or it can be a cleared and cultivated garden with safe passage for people to walk between their belief group and the next. To commune, to enjoy fellowship together, to learn from each other, to share the treasures of their faith traditions with each other.
‘’That’s what I want to see this interfaith territory become.’’
He said the Interfaith Conflict Resolution’s launch conference at Cafe Essay in Wollongong on November 28 runs from 2-4pm.
Tickets available on trybooking.com website or at www.interfaithcr.org