Office Address: 61 Moordale Street, Chapel Hill 4069
Contact: Brian Lightowler, Coordinator
Phone: 3378 0357 Fax: 3378 0112 Email: lightow@bigpond.net.au
Website: http://www.iofc.org/
Current Officer: Lorraine Birse, Member, National Coordinating Group, IofC
Brief Description/History
Initiatives of Change (IofC) globally has been involved in building trust between people of different faiths over several decades. In Queensland in 1999 we started when Dr Yusuf Al-Azhari visited Australia arranged by the national body of IofC. Dr Al-Azhari, a former ambassador from Somalia to Washington DC, is committed at a grass roots level to bringing reconciliation and the ending of violence and hatred in his country. When his country was taken over by a military junta in the late 1980s, he was thrown into jail for six years, tortured and placed in solitary confinement. His Islamic faith sustained him through this experience and when he came out of jail on the overthrow of the regime in 1991, he committed himself to building reconciliation. (ref: Forgiveness Factor pp248 et seq; Grosvenor Books 1996) In Brisbane he spoke at a major public meeting, arranged by IofC, on his commitment to reconciliation which was attended by many Somali Muslims and Australians of Christian background. He also conferred with individuals at the Key Centre for Governance and others at Griffith, the Brisbane Institute. This opened the way for IofC in Queensland to meet Muslims here.
IofC grew out of Dr Frank Buchman’s profound Christian experience and commitment and is now a multi-faith worldwide organism or movement. As a committed Christian I find key teachings of the Christian faith are reflected in the principles of IofC. They are the need for forgiveness and repentance for past wrongs; a commitment to God and to following his guidance; and the call to live according to standards of absolute honesty, purity, unselfishness and love. These principles provide a realistic basis for people of different faiths to work together for the common good of humanity.
The main goal of IofC is to find a common commitment with people of differing faiths and cultures to overcome the hatreds and misunderstandings prevalent in the world today.
IofC people have attended interfaith events organised by other groups such as the Abrahamic Project. Also attended the large event in Nov 2005 at which the Primate, the Australian Mufti and many others spoke. In Queensland IofC is not in formal partnership with other groups. They have however worked with different organisations for specific events, for example the Multi-Faith Centre, the Local Government Association, and the Elanora Uniting Church. Sometimes people representing other bodies speak at IofC events. For instance, Rev. Duncan McLeod (Project Abraham) chaired a public meeting at the Elanora Uniting Church hall, where Imam Abduljalil Sajid, a leading Muslim figure in the UK, was the speaker.
One important outcome achieved through these interfaith activities is a greater understanding and the building of links between people of different religious and cultural communities.
Helping factors in facilitating the success of these interfaith dialogue activities
A most important helping factor in facilitating the success of these interfaith dialogue activities is the dedication of people in IofC and the cooperation of many others who are either interested or who wish to support the IofC initiative
Future plans or proposals for promoting interfaith dialogue.
IofC will continue the use of the DVD, The Imam and the Pastor, to raise people’s awareness of the possibility of “enemies” transforming and embracing each other as friends. This DVD tells the story of how an imam and a Christian pastor in Northern Nigeria became reconciled after leading rival violent armed militia groups. IofC will continue with the same message but are ready to consider different or improved ways of doing things
What needs to be done by diverse faith communities, institutions and organizations to enhance the progress of interfaith dialogue in Queensland, in Australia, and/or internationally.
Interfaith dialogue is important but it must be seen as only a first step. While there are religious and community differences, human nature everywhere is basically the same. So if dialogue is to be ultimately effective, we need to address the issues of human character and motivation. For instance, IofC would suggest revenge-seeking, fear, hatred, greed, materialism, hedonism and selfish individualism need tackling, and if necessary starting with ourselves
Activities
Some of the activities include arranging international conferences, public meetings, personal talks and the use of books and DVDs. For instance, in 2005 IofC in Queensland arranged a major international 4-day conference in Brisbane. Among the speakers were Dr Mohamad Abdalla, Rev Dr James Haire, President National Council of Churches, and Mr Keysar Trad, founder of the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia. The conference was attended by people from many Asian and Pacific nations. From Indonesia came two Muslim leaders, Dr Habib Chirzin, Human Rights Commissioner and Mr Rozy Munir, Vice-Chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama (with 50 million members the largest Muslim organisation in Indonesia and perhaps in the world). One time, the Director of Multicultural Affairs Queensland arranged a showing of the DVD, The Imam and the Pastor for his staff.