Symposium ‘a really hopeful approach to peace’ says Mayor

Originally published by The Echo on April 26, 2017 and written by The Echo’s staff writer Brendan Grehan.  Other news sources that reported on the annual peace symposium held on April 2, 2017 included the Lucan Gazette on April 13, 2017, and the Lucan News (unknown source).

 

THE AHMADIYYA MUSLIM Association recently held their 11th Annual Peace Symposium at the Lucan Spa Hotel.

The theme of this year’s symposium was ‘Global Conflicts and the need for Justice’. The peace Symposium has become a permanent feature of the community’s activities for over a decade now in the proliferation of the true Islamic teachings that emanate a sense of love, tolerance, dialogue and harmony.

This year 122 people were in attendance at the event. The guest speakers included the Mayor of South Dublin, Councillor Guss O’Connell, Garda Darren Coventry, Gino Kenny TD, Yanky Fachler (The Jewish Historical Society of Ireland) and Imam Ibrahim Noonan (Imam of the Mary Mosque, Galway).

There was also an exhibition set up in the adjoining room to the main hall where the charitable work of the community was showcased.

Alongside this, many trans-lations of the Holy Quran were also on display that the community had rendered. A separate section was also set up which com-memorated the ongoing concerted efforts for the establishment of peace and justice that have been undertaken by the worldwide spiritual head of the association, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the Khalifa of Islam.

The event began with recitation from the Holy Quran that was followed by both Irish and English translations.

The Association’s National President Dr Anwar Malik presented the opening remarks which were followed by a PowerPoint presentation highlighting the worldwide concerted efforts of the community in the field of promoting its core values of ‘Love for All, Hatred for None’ to the corners of the world.

Thereafter the guest speakers took to the podium and spoke about the need for tolerance and respect being a means of building bridges and tearing down walls of hostility leading to a perpetual utopia of peace and harmony.

The keynote address was delivered by the Waterford-born Imam Ibrahim Noonan who eradicated the false notion that Islam was a religion that harboured extremist ideologies.

He further spoke about how currently the world is engulfed in 26 wars and the main reason looming behind them were the injustices that had sprouted at their very inception.

He also spoke about how the Holy Quran emphasised righteousness which is a clear harbinger of this fact that a Muslim could not sustain following radical and warped ideologies.

Afterwards a one-minute silence was held in remembrance for all those whose lives had been lost due to acts of barbarity.
The formal function ended in tradition with a silent prayer. This was followed by dinner.

Mayor O’Connell told The Echo: “A really refreshing and hopeful approach to peace. I wish them success.”