Religious leaders from Perth’s Uniting Church, Anglican Church, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist and Baha’i communities, led a moving interfaith service at Wesley Church on Wednesday evening to commemorate the victims of the Sydney siege and condemn terrorism.
The event was prompted by the #illridewithyou social media campaign, a trending, worldwide Twitter hashtag created on Monday to counter a potential anti-Muslim backlash over the events in Martin Place.
More than 300 people from a wide range of cultures and religions attended the service, re-affirming both the multicultural nature of Australian society and the sense of solidarity that accompanies tragic events such as those that took place in Sydney.
Representative of the Islamic community, Sheikh Yahya Ibrahim, the first religious figure to speak, stated that, “today we gather before God in dignified congregation and commemoration.
Commemoration of all that we hold true and virtuous, and condemnation of all that we abhor and repel. We commemorate innocence, that of the victims, their families and co-workers.
We commemorate a unity of purpose that draws us closer together, binding us in the foundations that make this land great: mateship and forgiveness”.
His words were echoed by the Minister for Multicultural Interests, Mike Nahan, who was also in attendance and spoke on behalf of the Western Australian Government.
“Acts of heinous crime such as this one are attempts to divide us as a nation, attempts to undermine our values. I’m confident that the strength of our national character, together with the strong ethical and multicultural make-up of Australia today will prevent this from happening,” he said, and further added that, “coming together in support of each other and our fellow Australians through interfaith ceremonies such as this one will make us stronger and reinforce our commitment to the shared values of our democratic society.”
These, and the many more comments made at the interfaith ceremony are in accordance with the words of Archbishop of Perth Timothy Costelloe, who recently stated that the “#illridewithyou, the hashtag born out of one Australian’s commitment to another to move beyond division, judgement and intolerance, was a deliberate action to build true community so that confidence, not fear, could reign”.
The interfaith service emanated a strong sense of dignified hope and unity in the wake of an event that left many Australians stunned. It also revealed the power of interfaith initiatives to denounce and counter acts that aim to spread fear and dissension.