As of May 1st, the Interfaith Network for the UK (IFN) is officially closed.
The Druid Network would like to pay tribute to the Interfaith Network UK as they confirm their final closure, a direct consequence of the current policy of the UK Government.
TDN has been an IFN member for 12 years and in that time we experienced first hand an excellent model for how relations between faiths can be fostered and accomodated. Faith groups that do not engage in other parts of the World were sat around the same tables here in the UK, engaging in respectable discussions and, importantly, agreeing on common approaches.
Furthermore, IFN were the first UK wide religious organisation to promote a Druid to a senior position. One that saw five other faith groups unanimously approve that Druid to be their spokesperson who would approve statements when they were needed to be made by IFN. Our experience was one of a fully engaged and respectful approach, which is what lead to such success.
IFN produced many pieces of advice / literature based around how to approach difficult discussions between faith groups in over 35 years, invaluable in todays climate. This appoach was one they organisationally used and the success of such an approach was evidenced with the numbers of the varied members at the time of closure. There can be no better testament to its effectiveness.
The UK is a worst place for the demise of IFN in a time when dialogue between faiths is needed more than ever.
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