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Birmingham’s Faith Leaders Build Bridges of Trust
27 February 2008
Following the tragic events of 9/11, 2001, those active with Initiatives of Change in Birmingham have taken part in a bold initiative by the city’s faith leaders, write Elsa Vogel and Gail Hind.
Birmingham faith leaders (Photo: Diocese of Birmingham)
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Until recently, if anyone said they were moving to Birmingham some people would frown and say, ‘Why move to Birmingham?’ Today if you move there you are in for a big surprise. The city has been transformed. There are not so many industries, and no coal mines, but Birmingham is a great centre of trade and culture. There are millions of trees—and more canals than Venice.
The most fascinating feature, though, is the interfaith work which has developed there in the last six years. Birmingham is a cosmopolitan city with a population whose ancestors came from Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and Eastern Europe.
After the tragedy of 9/11, Birmingham’s Muslims suffered various offences and tension was high. Rabbi Leonard Tann, leader of the big synagogue, immediately offered his support, visiting Dr Mohammed Naseem, Chairman of Birmingham Central Mosque. The Anglican bishop, Mark Santer, quickly followed as well as all the faith leaders. Together with the Sikh, Catholic, Protestant, Hindu and Buddhist leaders, they made a statement to the press that they would give full support to the Muslims. During that week they met four times with civic authorities to see how to respond to any incident.
They decided to stick together and meet regularly in each others’ buildings. Thus the ‘Faith leaders group’, as it is known today, was born. Recalling those days, Dr Naseem said: ‘I vividly remember receiving a call from Rabbi Tann expressing a desire to come and demonstrate his fellowship with people of the Islamic faith. He was joined by leaders of the different churches and we had a meeting at the central mosque. This was a most joyful experience of my life.’
Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh Ahluwalia, leader of the Sikhs, says: ‘Those within the interfaith context must take the lead in educating their own members, and members of other faiths, about the commonalities between the faiths and the need to love and serve all humanity…. Such a deep spiritual bond is the best way to ensure that this century becomes the century of peace.’
Interested by all this, the editor of The Birmingham Mail, Steve Dyson, met with the Catholic archbishop, Vincent Nichols, and offered to provide a weekly space in his pages for the various religious leaders. ‘It has not been a case of the newspaper telling readers what to think but it is faith leaders sharing their spiritual thoughts, their community compassion and their positive ideas through the newspaper,’ says Dyson. The column is called ‘Faith in our city’.
The faith leaders' group is not only interested in creating links between the faiths and cultures. They have also engaged with the public to give answers to the great issues facing the world’s cities. They are doing so with other partners, academics and city leaders in a programme called ‘What makes a good city: faith perspectives’.
A Buddhist leader, Vajiragupta, says, ‘What a good city needs above all is men and women who are committed to self-transformation, to looking truthfully within, acknowledging and confronting the forces of greed, hatred and delusion within themselves.’
Education is also on the faith leaders’ agenda. In an article, Archbishop Nichols writes: ‘Secular individualism makes rational ethical discourse very difficult. “The good is what I choose it to be; tolerance is the only civic virtue.” A society does not hold together easily on that basis. What is needed is moral education based on broad and sound principles.’
Much more is found in a book, Exploring the faithful city, published by The Birmingham Mail (ISBN 978-1-85858-420-1). Steve Dyson says in the preface: ‘My final word is a promise for as long as I remain editor of the city’s fine evening paper, I will continue to provide the space for our diverse religions and communities to show how in many ways we are not that different at all.’
We of Initiatives of Change in Birmingham fully support this remarkable group. We feel privileged to have met some of the faith leaders and been involved in their conferences and events. We have shown several films produced by Initiatives of Change to some of those involved in this interfaith work, including clergy and people in education.
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