Speaking in a panel discussion on beliefs at the Skoll World Forum, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and Zak Ebrahim, author of “The Terrorist’s Son” and the son of a convicted terrorist, shared how faith and beliefs have led them to work for peace.
The Huffington Post writes about Tutu and Ebrahim, who have had very different religious experiences. Tutu, still a practicing Christian, explained that his values came from interactions with other people, and seeing how people could show one another respect and kindness despite their differences. He tells a transformational story of seeing a white priest doffing his hat in respect as he walked past his mother, a domestic worker at a hostel for blind black women.
Ebrahim talked about his personal experiences of being bullied, his father’s violent ideology, and his mother’s religious views of peacefully changing the world by changing yourself, and how all of that led him to his commitment to peace, despite deciding he did not belief in God.
Other speakers included Jacqueline Novogratz, founder and CEO of Acumen, The Reverend Mpho Tutu, founder and executive director of the Tutu Institute, and Ophelia Dahl, founder and Executive Director for Partners in Health.
You can watch video of the talk below.
Posted by David Streever