11 Jul 2005 - Looking After One Another: The Safety and Security of Our Faith Communities
The Inter Faith Network for the UK has published the document, "Looking After One Another: The Safety and Security of Our Faith Communities".
The document has been developed by the Network in consultation with the Commission for Racial Equality, the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Chief Fire Officers' Association and with the advice of the Crown Prosecution Service.
The document has been sent to the 112 member bodies of the Inter Faith Network, which include the national representative bodies of the Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and Zoroastrian faith communities and local inter faith organisations around the country, as well as national inter faith bodies and educational bodies. It is also being sent to local authority officials with responsibility for faith issues. The Network hopes the document will be duplicated and distributed widely to those for whom it might be helpful.
In general, the UK enjoys good inter faith relations and is a place where there is respect for the traditions of different faiths and for the beliefs and practices of different communities and for their places of worship. In times of tension, however, faith communities can find themselves vulnerable in a number of ways. Individually, they have their own systems for response. It is vital that there is also a shared response and mutual support where this is needed. Looking After One Another offers guidelines for faith communities to respond jointly to threats to their safety and security.
"We, as faith communities ....have a role in responding to emergency situations and to inter community tensions, both as individual communities and - very importantly - together. In our shared society we are deeply interconnected. An attack on one is an attack on all." Looking After One Another
The suggestion for these guidelines emerged from a meeting of representatives of faith communities and other organisations convened some time ago by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, to look at the issue of the safety of faith communities and their premises in the light of concerns which had been expressed to him by members of some communities.
The present document was subsequently developed by the Inter Faith Network in consultation with a range of organisations. It is planned to issue it as a booklet in the coming weeks but its text has been made available more rapidly given the possible repercussions for community relations of the terrorist attacks in London last Thursday. It is planned that the present guidelines will, when published as a booklet, also be accompanied by a checklist on making individual places of worship secure.
The document has been developed by the Network in consultation with the Commission for Racial Equality, the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Chief Fire Officers' Association and with the advice of the Crown Prosecution Service.
The document has been sent to the 112 member bodies of the Inter Faith Network, which include the national representative bodies of the Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and Zoroastrian faith communities and local inter faith organisations around the country, as well as national inter faith bodies and educational bodies. It is also being sent to local authority officials with responsibility for faith issues. The Network hopes the document will be duplicated and distributed widely to those for whom it might be helpful.
In general, the UK enjoys good inter faith relations and is a place where there is respect for the traditions of different faiths and for the beliefs and practices of different communities and for their places of worship. In times of tension, however, faith communities can find themselves vulnerable in a number of ways. Individually, they have their own systems for response. It is vital that there is also a shared response and mutual support where this is needed. Looking After One Another offers guidelines for faith communities to respond jointly to threats to their safety and security.
"We, as faith communities ....have a role in responding to emergency situations and to inter community tensions, both as individual communities and - very importantly - together. In our shared society we are deeply interconnected. An attack on one is an attack on all." Looking After One Another
The suggestion for these guidelines emerged from a meeting of representatives of faith communities and other organisations convened some time ago by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, to look at the issue of the safety of faith communities and their premises in the light of concerns which had been expressed to him by members of some communities.
The present document was subsequently developed by the Inter Faith Network in consultation with a range of organisations. It is planned to issue it as a booklet in the coming weeks but its text has been made available more rapidly given the possible repercussions for community relations of the terrorist attacks in London last Thursday. It is planned that the present guidelines will, when published as a booklet, also be accompanied by a checklist on making individual places of worship secure.
