On January 30th, we had the pleasure to attend a women’s led webinar. To achieve unity and peace within our communities, this conference invited a small group of four women with different backgrounds and religions to discuss the following theme: Women of Faiths —building bridges of trust and love between cultures, races and religions. The 50 guests and us had a pleasant chance to welcome: Nala Moorthy who is a Hindu, a christian woman named Catherine Biaya who is a Human’s Rights Activist, Salma Elibyari who is a secretary for the Canadian Council of Muslim Women Montreal Chapter and Jeannine Musau Kabuya who is a Unificationist Missionary.
NALA MOORTHY
Talked about Hinduism. According to her, Hinduism offers a perspective as a possible solution for the spiritual void that exists in today’s society. She said that the contributions of the Hindu’s faith is the Samsara, a set of doctrines that says that our soul -or our consciousness- is the human’s part that doesn’t change and that is present in every mortal creature. Our goal is to liberate who we are inside. She talked about Karma that teaches us self responsibility, Dharma which guides us in the path of good conduct and morality, Yoga that helps the ones who practice it unify their mind with their body, Ahimsa teaches us how to be loving, caring and compassionate towards all living things. Nala also stated that by abiding these eternal laws we can bring harmony in our society.
CATHERINE BIAYA
Talked about the dynamics on how to build bridges of trust and love between cultures, races and religions from her Christian perspective. According to her,in order to understand others and their culture, we can start by asking critical questions and by opening ourselves to them. Consequently, we are able to avoid having biases, prejudices, stereotypes, discrimination and racism. She recommended the use of the principles of mutual respect, mutual sharing, mutual responsibility and mutual recognition.
SELMA ELIBYARI
Spoke about the necessity of Muslim’s Awareness Week and the project created by the Muslims community. She stated,“The aim [ of the project ] is to improve the understanding of Quebec Muslims in a deliberate approach aiming at achieving social cohesion, minimize if not prevent conflict, curtail violent acts, and sustain harmony in our society.”
Salma resumed the project with four key factors to succeed:
1- Discussing the sources of misunderstanding towards Quebec Muslims.
2- Creating a prerequisite environment for addressing the root causes of conflict in our society.
3- Offering opportunities for rapprochement among various groups.
4- Developing effective educational tools about Muslims and advocacy for Muslims in Quebec.
JEANINE MUSAU KABUYA
Offered us her definition of a woman of faith. According to her, being a woman of faith is being a woman of word. Because a woman of word uses the power of persuasion and communication in order to build bridges. She can sacrifice herself by putting the community’s interests before hers and by serving others. A woman of faith is someone who has self-esteem, confidence and the sense of responsibility that would help her aim for change. She is an actress not a spectator. This faithful lady lives for the sake of others through her acts of service and sacrifice. She is hopeful in all circumstances. She prays, fast and puts in the work to achieve her goals because she believes that faith without action is dead.