Last Update: January 31, 2023, 17:30 IST
The idea of World Interfaith Harmony Week was first proposed at the United Nations in 2010 by King Abdullah II of Jordan. (Representational Image: Shutterstock)
The United Nations General Assembly encourages all countries to spread the message of mutual tolerance and goodwill voluntarily according to their religious traditions or beliefs.
World Inter-Religious Harmony Week 2023: The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) designated the first seven days of February as the World Interfaith Harmony Week in 2010. Since then, it is celebrated globally every year. These celebrations focus on building mutual understanding and inter-religious dialogue to promote harmony among people regardless of their faith. The General Assembly encourages all countries to spread the message of inter-faith tolerance and goodwill voluntarily according to their religious traditions or beliefs.
World Interfaith Harmony Week: History
The idea of World Interfaith Harmony Week was first proposed at the United Nations in 2010 by King Abdullah II of Jordan. The UNGA swiftly adopted the resolution, declaring that February 1–7 would be observed annually as World Interfaith Harmony Week. The United Nations also urged governments, institutions and civil society groups to celebrate the week with events and initiatives that promote its objectives.
World Interfaith Harmony Week: Objective
Some of the objectives of the resolution that have brought to life the World Inter-Religious Harmony Week are:
- To raise the collective momentum of all interfaith groups doing positive work by coordinating and uniting their efforts under a focused theme at a specific time annually.
- To harness the collective power of the infrastructure provided by places of worship to advance the goal of peace and harmony in the world.
- Encouraging preachers to declare themselves for peace and harmony.
World Interfaith Harmony Week: Celebration
There are many activities that can be done at the community level to celebrate the week and further its principles. For example, people may gather together for a goodwill breakfast, breaking bread with those who are different from us in a show of tolerance. Movie screenings are also a great way to generate conversation and better understand the beliefs of other religions.
Leaders of various religious congregations may gather in your locality and issue a declaration supporting inter-faith harmony, uniting their followers in the cause as well. Another great way to celebrate World Interfaith Harmony Week is by coming together for community work. A community cleanliness drive or feeding the homeless can help people realize that humanity is ultimately working towards a common goal.
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