Interfaith leaders standing together in front of the International Peace Palace, The Hague

International interfaith luminaries took part in the Peace Pledge Project Symposium, held at various venues in the Netherlands on 11^th-14^th September 2017.

The three-day symposium included:

• ‘Virtues of the Heart’ sessions, involving interfaith inspiration, dialogue and sharing educational best practice, held at the Universal Sufi Temple, Katwijk, and the Sufi Centre, The Hague.
• ’Relate your Heart to your Business’, ‘Water for Life’, and ‘70 Years of diplomatic friendship between The Netherlands and India’ sessions, involving politicians, business and spiritual leaders, held at The International Peace Palace, The Hague.

The event was sponsored by the Universal Sufi Council, led by Dr. Professor Johannes Witteveen, former Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, along with Brigitte van Baren, Director of Inner Sense, Jonathan Granoff, President of the Global Security Institute and Pir Shabda Kahn, Spiritual Director of the Sufi Ruhaniat International.

The main theme woven throughout the sessions emphasised spreading the message of Loving Kindness and Compassion through the whole of humanity, as expressed in the “PEACE PLEDGE” (attached below), in addition to connecting the water experts of the Netherlands with the need for water purification in India.

Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh, Chairman of GNNSJ, commented, “to create peace in the

Imam Umer A. Ilyasi, Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh, Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, Prof. Johannes Witteveen and Brigitte van Baren collectively lighting the peace flame at the Peace Flame Monument, International Peace Palace, The Hague.

world around us, we must all nurture peace within ourselves. We do this through the practice of divine virtues, including loving-kindness and compassion, which empower us to earnestly control our human vices. In this light, this Peace Pledge is to be highly commended.”

Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, co-founder of the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance, said, “the growing water crisis and countless drying water bodies across the globe is a concern for every individual and every nation, hence it is wonderful that this dialogue and call for collective action is taking place from the International Peace Palace, because without safe and sufficient water there can be no peace. Hence, it is time for us to join together across faiths to work as one for clean water, sanitation and hygiene for all, so that every child is allowed the opportunity not just to survive but to truly thrive.”

Interfaith leaders joining hands together at the Universal Sufi Temple, Katwijk.

The Symposium was infused with divinely inspired music throughout. Such music plays a pivotal role in the Sufi faith, as well as other faiths, with the central inspiration being the Tawhid, the Islamic concept of the oneness of God, as expressed in the prayer “La ilaha illallah”, meaning “there is no God but God”.