CEED
Sikhs in the spotlight at the Parliament of the World’s Religions 2015
Langar Served, Turbans Tied, Sikh Issues at Forefront at the Parliament.
Salt Lake City, USA-The Parliament of World Religions came to an end on Monday after five days of interfaith dialogue, demonstrations and panels. The Parliament sees visitors from 10,000 people, 80 countries, and 50 faiths, and dates back to 1893. This year, UNITED SIKHS attended all five days and represented the Sikh community while speaking on utilizing service as a pathway to alleviate human suffering; addressing hate crimes and prejudice; addressing poverty within South Asian villages; and Peace, Justice, and Reconciliation as demonstrated in the Sikh faith.
Langar was served to thousands of attendees every day of the Parliament. In the Sikh faith, Langar is the concept of a free communal meal, offered to everyone regardless of race, religion, gender, or class. As non-Sikh Parliament attendees continued to enjoy and learn about langar, they began participating in the distribution of the food alongside Sikh sevdars, or servers.
Sikhs were also front and center when Parliament attendees lined up to have turbans tied on them and to learn more about the Sikh faith and its tenants.
The Parliament of World Religions states its mission is “to cultivate harmony among the world’s religious and spiritual communities and foster their engagement with the world and its guiding institutions in order to achieve a just, peaceful and sustainable world.” In our efforts as an advocacy and humanitarian aid organization, UNITED SIKHS strives to achieve a similar goal of unity and tolerance. We are honored to have been invited to represent the Sikh community at one of the most prominent international interfaith conferences, and aim to continue to help our community achieve representation at such events. By attaining this platform and visibility, we are able to shed light onto the contribution of the Sikh faith and Sikhs around the world, and to give a voice to the struggles faced by Sikhs internationally.
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Issued By-
Mejindarpal Kaur
Director, International Legal Attorney.
International Civil and Human Rights Advocacy (ICHRA),UNITED SIKHS
E:law-global@unitedsikhs.org
