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Introduction

It鈥檚 great to be here today.

And I want to thank you all for coming to this a wonderful event, marking both Inter Faith Week and A Year of Service.

Thanks also to the Faith-based Regeneration Network, Mitzvah Day, the Co-exist Foundation and others for their help in making the event a reality.

Of course, for the people here, it鈥檚 Inter Faith Week every week and it鈥檚 A Year of Service every year.

Because day in, day out, you are giving your time, your energy, your hearts and your souls to making your communities better.

United by faith and driven by faith - whichever faith that may be.

Like the Sikh-run Nishkam Centre in Birmingham, which provides a whole range of training and educational opportunities for local people.

Like Sewa Day, which inspires Hindus across the country to acts of service.

And like the St Vincent de Paul Society, which provides gifts and hospitality to the needy in the run-up to Christmas.

These projects and many more prove that faith motivates good works.

And today you have a government that doesn鈥檛 deny that fact.

You have a government that supports, celebrates and - in my case - shares that motivation. A government that does God.

Because we know that people who 鈥榙o God鈥� do good things up and down the country every single day.

Surveys show people of religious observance are more likely to become volunteers.

And we see that fact in the 30,000 faith-based charities making a difference throughout Britain.

Interfaith action

Apparently, the interfaith movement officially started in 1893 with the 鈥榃orld鈥檚 Parliament of Religions鈥�.

Some of the world鈥檚 major religions came together in Chicago for serious discussions.

Nowadays I don鈥檛 think they would have a parliament; they鈥檇 have a day of social action.

Because today interfaith dialogue has become much more about interfaith action.

I always argued that interfaith shouldn鈥檛 just be tea in a draughty church hall or a samosa in the local mosque between the imam and the vicar.

It shouldn鈥檛 just be clergy to clergy: it should be congregation to congregation.

That is why I helped get a programme called Active Faith off the ground - which, of course, became Near Neighbours.

And the wonderful projects we see here today are just a small selection of the 300 local projects that have been supported so far.

Producing projects like the Departure Caf茅, a drop-in centre and community hub for Tower Hamlets, which I hope to visit soon.

The idea of local congregations coming together to 鈥榙o their bit鈥� underpin our support for the A Year of Service.

I鈥檓 sure you鈥檒l agree - there can be no better way of marking Her Majesty the Queen鈥檚 many years of service to our country.

The Year of Service has produced some fantastic projects, like the wonderful Mitzvah Mummies, who I went to see yesterday.

Mothers and their toddlers, meeting, talking to and sharing moments with residents of a retirement home.

Integenerational interaction - such a simple idea and so effective.

As Minister for Faith and Communities, every day I see the power and the potential of interfaith action.

Take last Thursday as an example:

I had a catch-up with the Chief Rabbi鈥� A meeting with Christian groups鈥� An introduction with the Buddhist Network鈥� A speech at my department鈥檚 Eid event鈥� And a House of Lords debate on the importance of religion in society.

And the common thread running through these events wasn鈥檛 the fact these people observed a faith. It was that they were inspired to do good things as a result of their belief.

That is why I鈥檓 so proud that we have so many local and national 300 inter faith organisations in the UK - more than any other country.

It鈥檚 why I鈥檓 so proud that 3 Faiths Forum, the Joseph Interfaith Foundation, the Christian-Muslim Forum are leading the way in the country.

And it鈥檚 why I am so heartened to see the launch this week of advice to couples and families on interfaith marriages.

Stronger identities

I鈥檝e always had my own theory on inter faith.

It鈥檚 that if you are stronger in your identity then you are more tolerant of others.

Those who don鈥檛 associate with people of other beliefs because they think it somehow weakens theirs - they have got it the wrong way round.

Because if you鈥檙e a person who unites with people of other faiths for a common goal - it doesn鈥檛 make you less of a Muslim, less of a Hindu, less of a Jew - it makes you more of one.

In fact, there is no more powerful demonstration of one鈥檚 security in one鈥檚 identity.

That鈥檚 why I went to the Vatican earlier this year and argued that Europe should be stronger in its Christian identity.

The Christian heritage of Britain is what has made me feel comfortable here in practising my faith.

Sending my daughter to an Anglican convent school made her feel stronger in her identity. When she would swap 鈥楢men鈥� for 鈥楢meen鈥� during the Lord鈥檚 Prayer.

The future

Britain leads the world in its interfaith ethos. But I think we can build on the progress we鈥檝e made since that conference in American back in 1893.

I think that if we - people of all faiths and none - pull together, we can defeat the intolerance and bigotry faced by people of faith.

As I鈥檝e said before, an attack on a mosque is an attack on a church; an attack on a gudwara is an attack on a synagogue.

In other words, an attack on one faith is an attack on all faiths. So let鈥檚 be inspired by the story of Siavosh Derakhi, who has recently been recognised for founding Young Muslims Against Anti-Semitism.

Let鈥檚 be inspired by the words of President Obama, following the release of the abhorrent, gratuitously offensive 鈥業nnocence of Muslims鈥� film.

When he said: 鈥渢o be credible, those who condemn that slander must also condemn the hate we see when the image of Jesus Christ is desecrated, churches are destroyed, or the Holocaust is denied. Let us condemn incitement against Sufi Muslims, and Shia pilgrims.鈥�

Let鈥檚 be inspired by all the good things that are done and can be done in the name of faith.

And on the subject of inspiration I want to present this beautiful piece of artwork. Doctor Fox, I know you鈥檙e accepting this on behalf of the Evelina Hospital, so thank you, and also to the extremely talented artist Sam Cowan.

I鈥檓 off to see some more fantastic artwork now as I go and award the winner of the Faith Through a Lens competition.

So let me once again thank you for coming today and thank you for all you do.