On November 11, 2024, Peace and Freedom Organization (PFO), in collaboration with Search for Common Ground and as part of the Al-JISRA Project (Joint Initiative for Strategic Religious Action), organized a purposeful dialogue session and field visits to important religious sites in Sheikhan District. The event brought together youth, religious activists and women representing the Yazidi, Christian and Islamic faiths to enhance cooperation, deepen mutual understanding and promote peaceful coexistence.
Highlights of the dialogue session: The session focused on highlighting the common values between religions, especially with regard to their impact on daily life, customs, traditions and humanitarian principles that unite religions. Religious representatives provided valuable insights on a number of topics, including:
• Religious holidays and events: Participants discussed the importance of major holidays and the exchange of greetings between religions.
• Fasting and Holiday Traditions: Representatives explored customs surrounding fasting periods and subsequent celebrations, sharing unique aspects related to each religion.
• Marriage, Dowry and Divorce Customs: Ideas were shared about traditions and regulations related to marriage, dowry and divorce practices.
• Humanitarian Principles: The group reflected on the common values of humanity, respect, peace and acceptance of others that each religion promotes and the importance of promoting these values within the community.
• Site Visits to Holy Sites: As part of the event, participants visited the Mosque of Omar ibn al-Khattab, the Chaldean Church of St. Joseph, and the Temple of Lalish. Religious activists shared the significance of each site, explaining the unique aspects of the prayers, rituals and celebrations that take place there.
It is worth mentioning in this context the participation of Mian Khaton (as a woman and a leading religious activist in the Yazidi community) in one of the session’s axes. She stressed on her part the necessity and importance of activities that enhance mutual trust and peace between different religions. She expressed her cooperation to consolidate the role of youth, men and women in the importance of establishing a religious council that brings together different religions to work together to support advocacy campaigns towards issuing laws to reject hate speech in society.
