International interfaith meetings held along Costa del Sol 'to break down barriers'

Gloria Uribe, director of Malaga province's international ecumenical organisation Lux Mundi, and Rafael Vazquez, San Fernando parish priest and officer for ecumenism and interreligious dialogue in Malaga, lead an excursion to group of 56 friends of Lux Mundi to the Hindu temple and Islamic mosque in Fuengirola and the 'Estupa de la Iluminacion' Buddhist temple in Benalmadena on Saturday 23 November.

At the Hindu temple Mahara Dushi gave a talk about Hinduism and at the Fuengiola mosque Ahmed Oualit explained the characteristics of the building and the visitors were able to see the midday prayer. Margarita Lehnert spoke to the group about the Estupa de la Iluminacion in Benalmadena.

Gloria Uribe explained to SUR in English that "for years Lux Mundi has organised visits to different Christian churches, so that the faithful can get to know and see how our common faith is practised and celebrated, but at the same time in Malaga there is another interreligious reality that is important to know, given that the trajectory of other religions in Malaga goes back many years and today they are perfectly established and recognised communities, thanks to the law of religious freedom in force in our country".

She went on to say that "in Malaga we have several synagogues, mosques, Hindu and Buddhist temples. This multicultural richness is important to know, to break down barriers, to recognise the things we have in common with other religions, especially today in the search for peace and the defence and protection of humanity. We believe that these visits are informative, educational and help to understand the multiculturalism of our beloved Malaga".

Lux Mundi thanked the representatives for hosting the group and said they "look forward to meeting again on any similar religious events".