By Dr Amtul Qudoos Farhat
National Publications Secretary, Ahmadiyya Muslim Women Association, Canada

Close to 300 women gathered Saturday afternoon to recognize women’s contributions to world peace and celebrate the different religions among them.

The Interfaith Symposium, held at Bai’t-ul-Hamd Mosque at 1194 Matheson Blvd. E., was a female-only event. It was organized by Mrs Nasia Qureshi President,  Ahmadiyya Muslim Women Association (AMWA), Mississauga chapter and her regional team to bring women of different faiths together.

An annual event for roughly 10 years, the symposium aims to create an inclusive environment for women to share their thoughts and learn about different religions in a peaceful, supportive environment.

This year, the focus of the event was women’s contributions toward peace.

Outgoing Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion, who was included on the guest speaker panel, opened the symposium with her own thoughts on the event.

“What has happened every year with women getting together (here) is so important … it has had a major impact on me,” she said. “How can we influence the rest of the world to understand that human life is so precious?”

McCallen also said that if more women were in lead roles, the world would be more peaceful!

Hazel McCallion has been Mayor of Mississauga, Ontario since 1978

McCallion also brought up the current debate about the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer at city hall, saying that during her decades in office she always prefaced the prayer by saying “join with me in the Lord’s Prayer if you wish to do so.”

She said, as the Holy Qur’an was recited moments ago, she was listening and praying her own way.

“We have never had a complaint at city hall (about the Lord’s Prayer), and the complaints that are noe prevalent, they are not from the Islamic faith, they are not from the Jewish faith … they are from atheists, secular people that want no religion in anything.”

The guests panel included: Ananya Majumder (Hindu), Alriene Botnick (Judaism), Tracy Layne (Christian), Jasraji Sekhon (Sikh), Nadia Ahmad (Islam), Aliya Khalifa (Host) and Dr Amtul Qudoos Farhat (Chair)