The Conference of World Religions – Guest Comments

“I think it is not so many years ago that people thought faith had had its’ day and was on the way out and so I think that has proved to be decisively wrong.”
Reverend Canon Dr. Anthony Cane
Chichester Cathedral

“Coming together like this and hearing each other from different faith traditions and hearing the common notion that we all strive for peace is quite significant.”
Stein Villumstad
General Secretary, European Council of Religious Leaders

“The great thing about coming to something like this is you get inspired by it. Frankly, I go away from it with a new sense of purpose. It has been brilliant.”
Peter Quilter
Director, West Surrey Commercial Banking

“I thought it was fantastic. The idea that so many different religions can come together under one roof, to discuss how we can enhance the faith, and how we can get people to live together as one; get rid of all the problems in the world.”
HE Joselyn Whiteman
High Commissioner Grenada to UK

“There is a very, very clear message to me this evening and that is that all of the religions; one can sit down and talk together, and when you hear them speak about their own particular religion, the message is very, very similar, the beliefs are very, very similar and the one unifying aspect is God.”
Councillor Sean Brennan
Mayor of Sutton, Surrey

“What I like the most was where the statement was made about defining yourself with your own values and not by what you don’t like in other people. From that, what you get is richness of oneness; where one people, one humanity, one set of values: care, neighbourliness, care for one another, and that is what defines us all. So in that way, if we are looking for peace and tranquility and helping one another out in the world, I think that is really good.”
Commander Mak Chishty
London Metropolitan Police

“This is good. This has to be the way forward because all of us that believe in God cannot believe that God would have intended us to be killing each other in the name of one religion or another. That is not the future intended by the Almighty for humanity. So I strongly support the message of peace.”

“And one of the things that I have admired about the Ahmadis, is the fact that their central tenet is ‘Love for All, Hatred for None’ and I think that’s something which I think is a universal message and the more all faiths could get together, the better.”
Dr. Charles Tannock MEP
Member of European Parliament for London

“I chair the All-Party Parliamentary Group on International Religious Freedom; it’s about how progressive the community is in terms of protecting the rights of others and that’s what he was drawing on in his speech. We are delighted to have the support of the Community for the work we are doing. We know that the Community enjoys religious freedom here but particularly in Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh there are many people suffering so that’s we are very pleased to have them on board with the parliamentary work to raise the profile of International Religious Freedom.”
The Baroness Berridge
Chariman of the UK APPG on International Freedom of Religion

“I think, as His Holiness said, the core truths of all the major religious faiths are universal; love and tolerance and peace. And I think, actually, there is so much in the media that would seek to portray religious people as at odds with one another. When in fact I think, as we see here tonight, the reality is very different.”
Kay Carter
Secretariat of the UK APPG on International Freedom of Religion

“The message of the Khalifah was a message of peace, understanding, message that all the religions of the world have to speak to each other. We are all the descendants of Adam, who was created by God. Therefore, we are all brothers. And as brothers and cousins we have to treat each other in such a way of understanding and peace. Not to confront each other, not to have fights in the world but to try to do as much as we can, to work towards peace.”
Oded Weiner
Director General of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel

“A person of true leadership. I only saw him for a few minutes, but I was instantly impressed as I say, by the sort of genuineness of the charm that he radiates.”
Rabbi Professor Daniel Sperber
Representing Chief Rabbi of Israel

“I think, really, what the Khalifah Sahib is explaining to us is that we have a lot of things in common. All the world religions, they are teaching the same thing and we have to recognise the humanity which is in all of us, rather than trying to look for differences, or for reasons to get into disputes. And we should work together; we should work for each other’s benefit. And at all times, we should recognise that we are all children of God. And I think that’s what Khalifah Sahib is trying to explain that ultimately, it is God that we are answerable to and it is His work and His message that we should be trying to carry out as good humans on the earth.”
Councillor Santokh Singh Chhokar
South Bucks District Council, UK

“The Caliph’s very important message at the end, that we should join hands and work together for peace and I think that is what the world needs today. So that was why I came, and I hope to bring it back to Norway and to the Ahmadiyya Movement in Oslo, where I am living, it is very important for this, also in Norway.”
Billy Taranger
Christian Republic Party, Norway

“What I found impressive is that he, very eloquently, showed how the very message of Islam, the very message of the Qur’an, is not about violence but it is about peace. And I think that’s what he explained very, very elaborately. And I think that’s important, it’s a very important message.”
Prof. Dr. T. Sunier
Islam in European Studies, University of Amsterdam