Shabana Yunas and Samra Kanwel meet the Grand Imaan and the Archbishop of Canterbury

Shabana Yunas and Samra Kanwel

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Two leaders from the interfaith programme in Rochdale were invited to Lambeth Palace earlier this month to celebrate the range of positive and creative interfaith work being done around UK.

Shabana Yunas and Samra Kanwel attended the evening and had the chance to meet the Grand Imaan and the Archbishop of Canterbury. It was an opportunity to put Rochdale on the map and they spoke about the importance of inter faith and how they would like to break down barriers.

Speaking after the event, Shabana said: “Working in partnership with people from different faiths is greatly needed to help promote understanding. It is important that young people get involved in interfaith initiatives and not only learn about other faiths but also work together for the common good."

Dr Desmond Biddulph, President of the Buddhist Society, and pictured with Shabana said: “It was a privilege to meet both the Archbishop and Sheikh Imaam Ahmed. Their presence radiated peace and their contribution to society was clear - we all need to get along."

Reverend Canon Precious Omuku, the Archbishop of Canterbury's advisor on Anglican communion affairs, said: "The coming together of the leaders of various faith traditions, constructively discussing how we can all live in harmony, is very important. I like the commitment to go forward from these meetings with tangible projects for promoting better understanding and religious harmony."

Shabana and Samra spoke to Catherine Welby, his Grace's wife, about the work they would like to do in Rochdale to help promote inter-faith

Speaking at the reception, Archbishop Justin hailed ‘the significant change’ taking place within interfaith work, which he said was becoming ‘more global in its outlook, more focused on action and more grounded in relationships of transparency and integrity’.

The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, Professor Dr Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, was visiting Archbishop Justin for two-days as part of the formal relationship between the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar.

The relationship was officially established in 2002 after the events of 9/11 in 2001 to encourage learning and dialogue between the Christian and Muslims faiths.