Students and teachers at Meadowridge School were brought together with local religious leaders for an afternoon of discussion and reflection.
The second annual Interfaith Dialogue, put on by the school’s Muslim Student Association, featured the leaders from five different religious communities including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and Sikhism.
Religious leaders included: Rev. Grant Ikuta representing the Steveston Buddhist Temple; Aaron Jobse, the director of Ridge Youth at Ridge Church; Imam Yama Niazi, founder and director of The Blessed Tree; Rabbi Philip Bergman from Temple Shalom; and Parmjit Gill who represented Sikhism.
About 60 students and staff attended the April event, in addition to five students from the Garibaldi Secondary Muslim Association.
Grade 11 student, Hassan Elmayergi, the president and founder of the Meadowridge Muslim Student Association, and co-founder Amaryan Qamar, who is also in Grade 11, said the goal of the event was to show the similarities between the different faiths and to have proper scholars talking about their religions and giving actual quotes from their religious texts.
The scholars, who sat at the head of a round table, had four pre-determined questions posed to them by Elmayergi and Qamar, plus they answered questions from the attendees.
Questions put to the religious leaders included: how each faith articulates the idea to treat others as you wish to be treated; how their faiths encourage people to be better caretakers of the natural world; and how their faiths offer tranquility in a chaotic and fast-paced world.
This last question was Elmayergi’s favourite question, because, he said, he struggles with time management, and needs to find calmness, whether that be through prayer, meditation, or reflection.
Qamar appreciated the Islamic scholar’s response about taking care of the earth.
“Appreciate every single thing that you are given and don’t take anything for granted. It can be taken away in the snap of a finger,” explained Qamar about what he took from the scholar’s answer.
The Muslim Student Association at Meadowridge School was formed during the 2023/24 school year and since then has raised more than $20,000 for charitable projects worldwide, bringing awareness and putting their donations for people in need.
They have cooperated with agencies like Journey Home Community, which gives clothing to people in need, and Islamic Relief Canada and Penny Appeal Canada, which helps people in developing countries globally.
This event, explained Elmayergi, was not just for religious people, it was an event for everyone, whether they were religious or not.
“Knowledge is very important and it’s very powerful. We understand each other better,” he explained about why they put on the event.
“Hopefully the takeaway is not the end of a conversation, but the beginning of many more conversations,” he said.
They are planning a third annual Interfaith Dialogue event next year.