Good afternoon. The first item of business is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader today is Dr Maureen Sier, the director of Interfaith Scotland.
Next week will be celebrated across Scotland as Scottish interfaith week. It is also the 10th anniversary of Scottish interfaith week, which began in 2004. It is a week that focuses on bringing people together from different faith traditions and none to celebrate the multifaith society that is Scotland.
Interfaith engagement is more than a one-week pony. Week in, week out in Scotland, people are coming together from different religious backgrounds to build bonds of friendship, to tear down barriers of bigotry and to work together to make Scotland the sort of country that we can be proud of. In interfaith groups and faith communities, from Shetland to Skye, Dundee to Dumfries and in so many places in between, the story is one of engagement and dialogue. It is, in many ways, the untold story.
Sadly, the told story forces us to listen daily to the heart-breaking news of wars, sectarian violence, extremism, hatred and prejudice. All of this is not new: human beings have experienced many millennia of such behaviour. Whether it is politically motivated, ideologically motivated or simply motivated by power and greed, the story is all too common. The violence is perpetrated by the religious and the non-religious. The 20th century is witness to that, as are those who died at the hands of Hitler, Pol Pot, Stalin and others.
Despite the complex nature of war and violence, the story being told is that the cause of the world’s problems is religion. With that story comes the consequence of spiritual disillusionment. Many are turning their backs on the centuries of religious guidance that comes from humanity’s great spiritual and religious traditions: Baha’i, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism and others.
I am here today to say that there is a different story to tell: a story of equality, friendship, sacrifice, engagement, joy and spiritual enrichment. It is the story of Scotland’s great history of interfaith engagement and support. It is the story of ordinary people from every background sharing together the spiritual wisdom of their faith traditions and using that wisdom to do good in our country.
In cities, towns, villages and islands across Scotland next week, thousands will be engaged in respectful interfaith dialogue and friendship building. I urge you all to find out what is happening in your area and to take part in the celebration of Scottish interfaith week 2014. Thank you.