The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is bringing together faith leaders to share their beliefs with Battlefords residents.
The community is organizing the Pathway to Peace conference which will have representatives from the Christian, Muslim and Sikh faiths as well as First Nations speakers.
Imam Mansoor Azeem says when he brought the idea forward to the other religious communities, they were sceptical and thought it would turn into a debate.
“This is not a debate. What we’re trying to do is gather people from all the different faiths and religions to talk about a single topic and bring peace to society.”
The goal of the conference is to talk about the problems the city faces and possible solutions to create a safer community. Azeem hopes by having multiple leaders talk about the problems, they will have a bigger impact.
“If every single religion fulfils their responsibility to instruct their people to remain peaceful and to reduce the crime rate in the city and make the city a better place to live in. It will have a larger impact in the city and everyone will be trying to achieve a single goal.”
The conference is also set up to introduce people to different members of the community. Azeem says it is his responsibility as a leader to help his people integrate into society as the province continues to become more diverse.
“We’ve achieved a population of one million in Saskatchewan for the first time and there are diverse people who come from around the world with their different ethnicities, religions, faiths and communities. It is the responsibility of the leaders of the religions to call their people towards peace, no matter where they come from.”
Azeem says they’ve organized an inter-faith conference multiple times in Lloydminster but it’s a first for the Battlefords. He adds that the previous events received a good response and expects the same from this one.
The conference will be held at the North Battleford public library on February 29 from 2 to 4 p.m.
