{"id":35507,"date":"2013-11-21T15:18:12","date_gmt":"2013-11-21T15:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=1aae0f5341d96300956cf5a1b532daa8"},"modified":"2013-11-21T15:18:12","modified_gmt":"2013-11-21T15:18:12","slug":"speech-together-in-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=35507","title":{"rendered":"Speech: Together in Service"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s great to see you all here today. <\/p>\n

Of course this Sunday is an apt anniversary, during Inter Faith Week<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Our Sikh friends will remember the death of Guru Tegh Bahadur.<\/p>\n

You might recall, only 500 or so years ago, he beheaded for standing up for his Sikh faith, giving his life to save the freedom of all religions. <\/p>\n

You might be wondering why this is relevant in 2013, as it\u2019s such a long time ago. <\/p>\n

Just last week, a French priest was kidnapped in Cameroon. Forty one Shia Muslims were killed in Iraq during a religious procession and police in New York were investigating a spate of anti-Semitic attacks.<\/p>\n

A week\u2019s snapshot of a world still marred by intolerance. <\/p>\n

Religious persecution remains one the greatest challenges the world faces.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why, thanks to the Inter Faith Network<\/a>, Inter Faith week is a special date in our calendar.<\/p>\n

As we launch Together in Service<\/a> today, the anniversary of the Guru\u2019s sacrifice reminds us that we will always fight to overcome violence and prejudice. <\/p>\n

Together in Service is born out of everything we achieved last year with A Year of Service.<\/p>\n

It marked the Queen\u2019s Jubilee by celebrating the contribution our faith communities make to the United Kingdom, and it was a great success. <\/p>\n

Faith communities might also be seen as our army of volunteers. Whatever the need might be, you are there to answer the call.<\/p>\n

I remember on the first day of A Year of Service, I visited a Baha\u2019i centre where we baked and decorated cakes for a homeless shelter. The most attractively decorated bun was my one! <\/p>\n

Other great projects took off around the country.<\/p>\n

Croydon Hindus ran healthy living stand, to help residents quit smoking and to offer other dietary advice.<\/p>\n

Leicester\u2019s Jain community visited local hospices to entertain patients with live music.<\/p>\n

Muslims packed hampers for Ramadan.<\/p>\n

What they all have in common though, is they were very much part of our multi-faith efforts <\/p>\n