Interfaith Music Festival in Berlin
“1. Berliner Festival der Religionen” hosted artists of different religious beliefs
July 12th, 2016
Started in London – continued in Berlin – forthcoming in New York. The first year of the interfaith festival called 1. Berliner Festival der Religionen took place on July 10th in Werkstatt der Kulturen. The festival was supported by Forumdialog (a model for interaction of scientists, theologians, academics, politicians) and Dialog Perspektives: Religion and Worldviews in conversation, a platform funded by Federal Ministry for Education and Research.
Interfaith Music Festivals have been taking place annually in London since 2012 and in Berlin since 2016. Anja Fahlenkamp, a student of political science at SOAS, University of London, founded the festival. The event will be held next year in New York. Fahlenkamp has received several awards for her work and has been invited to various international conferences including the President's Interfaith and Communitiy Service Challenge Conference at the White House in Washington.
“Faiths in Tune“ (Berliner Festival der Religionen) is an all day event, which aims to bring together people and artists from different backgrounds. The festival combines stage programmes where artists from a variety of faith and interfaith backgrounds perform their music and dance on one stage.
This year the event includes musicians such as the band Super Cooper (Baha´i), Amma-Gruppe Berlin (Satsang Amma), Sema (Islam/Sufism), Erdal Kaya (Alevism), Aletchko (Judaism), Dzogchen Gemeinschaft (Buddhismus), Shumei Berlin (Shintoism), Naba´a Inshad (Islam), Raj Academy (Sikhism), Vido Jelashe (Rastafari), Bulgarischer Chor (Christianity), Berliner Choralscholen (Christianity), Muralesimble (Candomblé), Iskcon Berlin (Hinduism), Izzy Amuw (Christianity), and Bamteli (Islam). At the end of the festival, there was a join sing along of a jewish song, where the audience sings alongside with the band.
The event is a great opportunity for building cross-faith relations and preventing the assertion of stereotypes. Attendants can exchange and engage in a cultural dialogue with each other.
References:
News from Berlin
Martina Hanáková, Berlin Global
