40th Annual World Religions Conference held in Cambridge

CAMBRIDGE -

Eight different faith groups gathered Sunday at the Baitul Kareem Mosque in Cambridge for the 40^th Annual World Religions Conference.

Combating racism was the main theme among the topics of discussion at Canada’s largest and longest-running multi-faith event, which had a combination of in-person and virtual speakers.

“I think the biggest problem with racism is ignorance, fear and hesitation about the other person,” said Nabil Ahmad Mirza, an Imam for the Ahmadiyya Muslim community “I think it's a good platform where people come together and present their views and education.”

The Cambridge mosque where the event was held was the target of a destructive break and enter in July. Police originally investigated it as a potential hate crime, but it was later determined there was no evidence to support it.

“We even got donations from people we don't even know and all those were donated to local charities because we manage our mosque and our expenses ourselves,” said Mohammed Khokhar of the conference organizing committee.

Even though police say the vandalism doesn't appear to be motivated by racial or religious hatred, those taking part in the conference say events like this are important to help find ways to prevent the racist acts that do happen around the world.

“Faiths and religions are not only relevant, but critical as well to solve this problem going forward,” said Khokhar. “All the faiths respect each other, respect each other's beliefs and also their places of worship.”