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Advancing Sacred goal of unity and tolerance
Progressive Rabbi Julia Margolis, the chairperson of Sacred (the South African Centre for Religious Equality and Diversity), was recently invited by the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Johannesburg to participate in an interfaith peace symposium and give an address on the topic “unity in diversity”.
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“It was beautiful to see representatives of so many communities and religions come together to discuss the importance of the interfaith work in Johannesburg,” she said.
“As religious leaders, we have to encourage interfaith communication. It’s important not to marginalise people of other faiths, including those who don’t identify with faith at all,” Margolis says.
“We understand that we won’t be able to resolve all our faith-based differences, but we can learn to appreciate others’ faiths. In spite of having different beliefs, we should still be able to work together for the betterment of our society to address issues such as homelessness, hunger, job opportunities, and projects in the community of Johannesburg.
“SACRED’s aim is to provide a progressive Jewish voice on relevant social, moral, ethical, and religious issues in South Africa, to counteract religious discrimination in all its forms, to advance freedom of religion, and to promote fundamental rights and freedoms through advocacy, activism, scholarly contributions to public discourse and public interest litigation.”