One of our most popular programs is back! Where can you engage in a series of fun, fast-paced conversations about belief, identity, and culture while meeting lots of new people? Join us for our next Speed Dialogue Event, a dynamic program filled with connection and discussion. Community members of all ages, beliefs, and backgrounds are welcome and encouraged to attend. You do not need to be a part of a particular religious tradition or belief system to participate. Cost is $10 for non-students and $5 for students.

A panel of three leaders--a Christian, a Muslim and a Jew--will reflect on the question "What are the barriers to the harmony we seek?" in front of an interfaith audience of invited community leaders.

Le bambine e i bambini della Scuola Primaria di Via del Calice, Roma (Italia), su proposta della Dott.ssa Rosa Dalmiglio (Rappresentante UNESCO) hanno celebrato la Settimana Mondiale per l'Armonia Interreligiosa attraverso la visione di un viideo-documentario esclusivo sulla vita e la cultura tibetana: "Tibet Today" promosso dal Ministero della Cultura Cinese (in 10 lingue).

Background: Nevada Faith Forum is a highly popular one-of-a-kind weekly dialogue on religion published in Reno Gazette-Journal (RGJ), a Gannett publication in Nevada (USA). Its objectives are to promote interfaith dialogue, educate residents of northern Nevada about different religions, and ultimately suppress hate and spread peace among the people of various faiths. Rajan Zed, a religious statesman who has been bestowed with “World Interfaith Leader Award”, assembled a panel of distinguished area leaders of various religions and denominations to produce this weekly discussion. Posed weekly by religious statesman, Rajan Zed, the questions deal with life and death, love and loss, marriage and divorce, morality, community, politics, and everything in between. Northern Nevada has been greatly affected by this column as it has opened doors for communication, broadened acceptance, and created a dialogue between people of all faiths. Members of the community express gratitude and thanks to the contributors. The authors are frequently engaged in conversations within the community regarding their public forum. The participants represent the views of: Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, Muslims, Mormons, Jews, Buddhists, Bahá’í, and religious educators. The representatives take readers on a journey to better understand the countless ways in which people of faith deal with loss, love, morality, and politics. Further, they elucidate an assortment of doctrine by answering questions people everywhere wonder but rarely have opportunities to ask. Readers can expect to gain knowledge, perspective, and comfort from the collective insights gleaned from reading this book. It is a must read from people with or without religion as it encompasses all walks of life. Nevada Faith Forum offers a glimpse into the beliefs, thoughts, and doctrine of various faiths. Rather than seeking to dispute theology or doctrine, Bridge of Faith provides unity and acceptance. Though perspectives and responses are vastly different, each member of the column provides insightful, eye opening, and sometimes controversial revelations about their various faiths. Not always in harmony with one another, the authors kindly disagree and, as is more often the case, help illustrate the many ways in which they do agree. The column has brought a community closer in examining their beliefs while also forcing readers to determine what they themselves believe about so many pressing inquiries. The Faith Forum touched two-year mark on February 4th, 2013 without any break. Due to the high popularity of the weekly articles, RGJ moved the publishing day from Fridays to Sundays in order for the forum to reach out to more audience. What Inspired the Event Originally presented as a weekly newspaper column in The Reno Gazette Journal, the thoughtful responses to life’s hardest questions have affected a community profoundly. Consequently, members of the faith forum felt compelled to reach out to more audience. In addition, although, RGJ publishes the articles online as well as in its paper distribution, it does not offer free archiving of previously published articles. With almost 107 questions been answered about religion, the members of the faith forum wanted to provide a mechanism through which interested readers can go back and search different questions and explore how most religions deal with the issue. In summary, the members of the faith forum wanted to break through space and time barriers when extending the knowledge base. Consequently, it was decided to establish a website dedicated for the faith forum activities under the leadership of Rajan Zed and Sherif Elfass. Dr. Elfass, who is the President of Northern Nevada Muslim Community (NNMC), was responsible for designing, maintaining and sponsoring the hosting of the website. Event Description The website, which can be found at www.nevadafaithforum.org, was designed and implemented in collaboration between Mr. Mahmoud Ahmad, a Ph.D. candidate in Physics and Dr. Sherif Elfass. On February 5, 2013, the website was launched in a ceremonial event hosted by RGJ and attended by members of the faith forum as well as other local religious and community leaders. Mayor Geno Martini of City of Sparks attended the ceremony and officially launched the website. During the event, Rajan Zed (Leader of the faith forum), John Maher (Publisher of RGJ), Beryl Love (Executive Editor, RGJ), Geno Martini (Mayor, City of Sparks, NV), and Sherif Elfass (President of NNMC) gave short talks highlighting the significance of the faith forum and its impact on the promoting interfaith dialogue, suppressing hate and spreading peace among the people of various faiths. The event lasted for one hour however its impact should last many years by the will of God. Description of the Website The website includes eight pages. The following is a description of each page: 1. Home: This is the home page which includes a description of the Nevada Faith Forum and its objective. It includes a graphic art depicting the mission of the faith forum in increasing the knowledge base of the average person about the various religions in a climate of peace and harmony. Information about the sponsors and supporters, pictures from recent events and a schedule of upcoming events are provided on the home page. 2. Questions: This page presents the last five questions in reverse chronological order. Only the most recent five questions will always be presented. Older questions will be presented in an archive page which is currently under construction. a. Answers: This page presents the answers to the questions which were provided by the leaders of the different religions/denominations. 3. Religious Leaders: This page includes a short biography of all religious leaders participating in the Nevada Faith Forum. As it can be seen, all major religions are represented on the forum. 4. Events: This page provides a picture archive from the recent events in which members from the faith forum participated. 5. Suggest a Question: Until now, all questions have been provided by Rajan Zed, leader of the faith forum. However, in effort to tailor more to readers’ topics of interest, this page was designed to provide them with an opportunity suggest questions to the forum. 6. Invite a Speaker: This page provides a mechanism for the readers to invite member(s) from the faith forum to deliver talks on topics pertained to religion. 7. Book Project: This page will be used to update the readers about the progress of the book project which will be a collection of all previously published questions and answers. 8. Endorsements: This page provides a collection of the endorsements received by the faith forum for their effort in promoting interfaith dialogue and peace among the people of various faiths. These endorsements were provided by prominent community leaders such as Mayors of the three largest cities in Northern Nevada (Sparks, Reno, and Carson City) as well as the Governor of State of Nevada. Other endorsements were provided by Steve Keefer, Chief of Police for the City of Sparks and Beryl Love, Executive Editor in RGJ. 9. About: This page provides extended information about the Nevada Faith Forum. Future Improvements to the Website The Nevada Faith Forum website is no different from any other website. It is a living project that will be enhanced and perfected with time. One immediate enhancement will be to include an archive of all previously answered questions which is currently under construction. Another improvement which to include a mechanism to track the number of visitors as well as for them to provide a feedback on the website is also under construction. Other improvements will follow. Media Coverage of the Event The launching of the website was covered by RGJ and other media outlets. Links to the media coverage are listed below: http://thejetnewspaper.com/2013/02/28/interfaith-forum-at-nevada-newspaper-completes-2-years-launches-website/ http://www.webnewswire.com/content/interfaith-forum-nevada-newspaper-completes-2-years-launches-website http://www.forpressrelease.com/forpressrelease-110734-interfaith-forum-at-nevada-newspaper-completes-2-years-launches-website.html http://www.prlog.org/12088916-interfaith-forum-at-nevada-newspaper-completes-2-years-launches-website.html http://rajanzed.com/rajan/index.php/2013/02/27/interfaith-forum-at-nevada-newspaper-completes-2-years-launches-website/ References for the Nevada Faith Forum 1. Mr. Nicholas F. Frey, Area Public Affairs Director, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Woodburn and Wedge Attorneys, 6100 Neil Road, Suite 500, Reno, NV 89511-1149, USA; Telephone 775-742-1343; Email [email protected] 2. Reverend Jikai’ Phil Bryan, Priest, Reno Buddhist Center, 820 Plumas Street, Reno, NV 89509, USA; Telephone 775-527-9308; Email [email protected] 3. Father Stephen Karcher, Priest, Saint Anthony Greek Orthodox Church, 4795 Lakeside Drive, Reno, NV 89509, USA; Telephone 775-815-4050, Email [email protected] Endorsements and Supporters For a copy of the endorsements and the list of supporters to the Nevada Faith Forum and its website, please consult the NFF website at www.nevadafaithforum.org.

The World Interfaith Harmony Film Festival is an annual event to be observed during the first week of February in conjunction with the United Nations World Interfaith Harmony Week. World Interfaith Harmony Week was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in October, 2010 as a resolution which points out that mutual understanding and inter-religious dialogue constitute important dimensions of a culture of peace. In the spirit of achieving a culture of peace, The World Interfaith Harmony Film Festival has been created to promote and celebrate harmony between all people regardless of their faith tradition or country of origin. Recognizing the imperative need for dialogue amongst different faiths and religions to enhance mutual understanding and cooperation, this film festival encourages a gathering of people from all across the United States and from nations around the World. We invite filmmakers from near and far to share their spiritually based film stories with us so that we may be inspired to learn from one another. The Festival Program will showcase and celebrate the works of independent filmmakers who strive to make a difference in our world by creating films on themes of peace, non-violence, social justice, and environmental balance as these themes pertain to interfaith harmony. The voices of young filmmakers will be an added highlight to our programming, in addition to traditional jury prizes awarded to filmmakers in feature length and short film dramatic and documentary competitions. We aim to contribute to a culture of peace through celebrating exceptional U.S. and International cinema, as well as through dialogue and programming which endeavors to enlighten and empower individuals, families, and communities to overcome the darkness of ignorance, conflict, violence, and divisiveness, and replace it with the light of communication, tolerance, understanding, and compassion.. 2013 is the inaugural year of this annual International Film Festival of peace and good will. Please visit our website www.worldinterfaithharmonyfilmfestival.com

I like to present the book: Initiation into Reality. This book has been written to promote Interfaith Harmony (published 11-11-11). All great Religions are based on the relationship between the Absolute (Allah, God, Reality) and man. Man in general has lost his understanding about this relationship and consequently people live in confusion. Initiation into Reality explains the most profound Truth in simple words. Religion is more than faith, it can be understood. Humanity has to restore its relationship with Reality in order to end suffering and confusion. It should be good if all religions reveal their mystical essence. Only Wisdom Can Save The World...

Every year at this time Ancient Egyptians gathered to celebrate the Feast of Nut (pronounced “noot” like “boot”), whose vast blue star-covered body stretched across the sky above them. The sun (symbolized by the scarab beetle in the painting at left) traveled across her body each day, was swallowed by her at dusk, then rebirthed each dawn. Nut’s arms and legs were the four pillars on which the vault of heaven rested. With her lover, Geb, the earth, she gave birth to the Heliopolitans Isis, Osiris, Set and Nephthys. Each of us makes our own journey through the night, seeking the light of understanding. While we must make a solitary journey, we are not alone. The deep blue body of Nut, the sky mother, embraces and receives us all, and gives rebirth to us with the dawn. Members and friends of Osireion will gather to hold a short ceremony called Lights of Nut, at 5:30 PM, and will repeat the service at 7:00 PM, on Saturday, February 2, 2013. In honor of World Interfaith Harmony Week, you are invited to join us for this special occasion. Because Lights of Nut will be held in a private home, attendance is by invitation only. You are welcome to bring a guest, however. The service will last about twenty minutes, then will be followed by coffee and cake. You need not be familiar with New Egyptian Spirituality, Paganism or Osireion in order to attend, and no particular attire is required. Just come and enjoy the communion of Spirit and friends. RSVP to sekhmet @ osireion.com for an invitation and directions to the home location. “Nut and the Cosmic Dream” and more beautiful art by Francene Hart may be found at www.francenehart.com

A celebration of South Carolina’s many faiths featuring a festive procession, music, ethnic food, dance, song, drumming, small group discussion pavilions and a stroll through the interfaith neighborhood. Bring your family and friends to this colorful temporary village made up of our many faith traditions, the culmination of S.C. Interfaith Harmony Month in January and World Interfaith Harmony Week in early February. The interfaith neighborhood includes Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Native American, Pagan, Sikh, Unitarian Universalist booths. Free admission. All ages and all faiths are welcome at this family event. Presented by Interfaith Partners of South Carolina.

The project Faith in Action DC in collaboration with the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington is organizing a one-day summit for DC area young adult faith leaders on February 9th 2013. Our generation is the most pluralistic generation in our country's history; however, we still need to organize in order for our cooperative efforts to have sustainable social impact. Therefore, we are convening this summit with the goal of gathering 100 young leaders from the DC area to learn more about each other's faith traditions, share successes and challenges, and build relationships across communities with a strong network of supportive allies. 'Leaders' in this case also represent a variety of experiences. They are clergy and laypersons; work with faith-based organizations and as community activists; belong to traditional religious institutions, have multiple affiliations, no affiliations, or are somewhere in-between. Whatever their background, this summit will be a great opportunity for us as young people residing in the Capital Region to strengthen interfaith ties and uphold Washington DC not just as a national capital but a global model of interfaith harmony. Recognizing that change-makers like the ones we are engaging typically have many responsibilities and commitments already, our coordinating group has planned this one-day event to be a unique occasion for focused dialogue on subjects that relate directly to the participants' work in the community. The program will be organized around small-group discussions that will provide an intimate setting for our diverse participants to truly get to know one another. Our hope is that these introductions will spur collaboration beyond the summit, although the specifics are left open for participants to create organically. Certainly, at the end of the day, everyone will go home with a resource list in hand as well as other materials that will hopefully lead to deeper interfaith engagement in the future. We are eager to have participation from all communities and with more than 50 individuals already committed to attending, this event is shaping up to be a phenomenal success.

From1-7 February 2013 `A Common Word` would be taken as the subject , each day to celebrate the World Interfaith Harmony Week, at Bahawalnagar Campus of Islamia University of Bahawalpure Pakistan. 1st day the History Of Common Word Movement, 2nd day How it was supported and spread, 3rd day It Importance for world peace 4th day, It`s Necessity, 5th day It`s benefitness, 6th day It`s status as common platform for all religions of the world and on 7th day the Royal efforts of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to make the Initiative a successful, based on the wise words of His RoyalHighness Dr Professor Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal and other Common word documents. Dr Allama Abulfateh G R Chishi the Auther of Urdu Translation of A Common Word/ Coordinator of Common Word In Islamabad and Lecturer now adays at IUOB Pakistan will speak on the subject.