By A Staff Reporter WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Assembly (board of directors) of the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington (IFC) recently voted to admit the Sikh faith community as a full member. This is the Sikh community’s first formal involvement in an interfaith organization in this country, and the first Eastern religious tradition in the IFC. The Sikh community is represented by the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation an organization which plans to build a national Sikh center in Potomac Maryland.

Unanimous Decision

The Sikhs have been Observer members in IFC since January 1988. The yearlong period provided both the IFC and the Sikh faith community an important opportunity to learn more about each other and to work together. “I am particularly impressed,” said the Rey Dr. Carl Nissen, President of the IFC, “by the warm sense of religious community which the Sikhs share with each other. Their genuine sense of joy and happiness in spite of the difficulties they are facing is also striking to me.” The decision on full membership for the Sikhs was unanimously agreed to by the board members present from the Islamic, Jewish, Latter-day Saints, Protestant and Roman Catholic faith communities.

Formed in 1978 the Interfaith Conference now brings together these communities and their leaders for interfaith dialogue and for joint work on metropolitan issues of social justice: It is believed to be the only such staffed organization in the world.

”As members of the Sikh community, we see joining the IFC as an excellent opportunity to interact with other religious traditions for mutual understanding and to work towards a more just and peaceful society,” said Rajwant Singh, a member of the Board of Directors of the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation. There are approximately 4,000 Sikhs in the metropolitan Washington area, Most have come here from India and are naturalized citizens or permanent residents. There are also a couple of hundred American coverts to Sikhism in the Washington area as well. Monotheistic Teachings.

The Guru Granth Sahib was written during the state of internal emergency in which democratic rights were suspended and press cencored imposed by the lives of the ten Gurus. It is probably the only religious scripture in the world which contains hymns by persons other than Sikh Gurus and gives equal respect to all the different names of God mentioned by the various established religions.

“It’s teachings, grounded in a strong monotheistic understanding of God, provide a key basis of the existing members of the Interfaith Conference and the Sikh Community to work together on metropolitan area issues and to discuss the beliefs of their diverse traditions,” IFC Executive Director Rev. Clark Lobenstine noted. “It is therefore perhaps not surprising,” he continued, “that the Sikhs were the first group from an Eastern religious tradition to join the IFC, we look forward to deepening our ties together.”

Kirtani Jatha Choir

Rev John V. O’Conner, S.J. Former President of the IFC said, “we have appreciated already the participation of the Sikhs and look forward to their further involvement in themonths ahead.” The Sikhs participated in the IFC’s Eighth and Ninth Annual Interfaith Concerts in November 1987 and 1988. The Sikh Kirtani Jatha Choir sang in traditional melody a part of the Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib accompanied by Indian instruments. Some of the choir also learned to read Western music and joined 200 other singers in a combined choir anthem at the beginning and end of each of these concerts.

AIDS Conference

Last year, about 15 Sikhs were among the 100 participants in the IFC’s interfaith dialogue on AIDS: The Challenge of Health: Resposes of the Religious Community to AIDS” Dr. Gurpal Singh Bhular, M.D. from Richmond, Virginia, represented Sikhism on the theological panel during the AIDS conference. He is a national director of the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation. Further Sikh involvement came through the participation of Rajwant Singh and Natinder Malik on the IFC Planning Committee for the AIDS dialogue. It was part of a multifaceted efforts by the Interfaith Conference to help its diverse faith communities understand and helpfully respond to AIDS.

Article extracted from this publication >>  May 19, 1989