Faith Matters will be launching the Connecting Communities project on the 9th of October 2013 at Westminster Abbey and we are truly honoured to have as our key speaker, the Rt Rev Dr Rowan Williams. The Rt Rev Dr Rowan Williams has always been a keen supporter of Pakistan and has, throughout his tenure as the Archbishop of Canterbury, hoped and prayed for the future of Pakistan. In fact, just before he left office as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams was awarded the highest civilian award in Pakistan, namely the Sitara-i-Pakistan award.
During his time in office, Dr Rowan Williams was assisted in his interfaith work by Rev Rana Youab Khan, an Anglican priest who is Pakistani and who was recently licensed to serve a parish in the London Borough of Harrow. Rev Rana, as he is known to us, has been a strident campaigner for better Muslim and Christian relations in Pakistan and his work has influenced many in Pakistan and here in the UK. We are therefore proud to announce that Rev Rana will be working with Faith Matters on the Connecting Communities project, whilst also advising the organisation on how it can support equality and human rights in Pakistan.
The Connecting Communities project will reach out to British Muslims of Pakistani heritage in the UK, many of whom are leaders in civil society work in the UK around equality rights. The diaspora community is the second largest in the world apart from Saudi Arabia and the mobilization of this community to ensure equality and human rights in Pakistan is one of the pillars on which social change can be built. This is the primary aim of the Connecting Communities project. Ensuring that the diaspora community can share information and knowledge with groups in Pakistan and ensure that equality is placed front and centre at the social agenda of Pakistan.
The Connecting Communities project also demonstrates that Muslim communities in the UK care passionately for the human and civil rights of minority faiths in majority Muslim countries. That is a fundamental part of Islamic theology and we are proud to launch this project at a time when it is most needed in Pakistan.