Sana Saeed is an Anglo-American student from the International Christian University of Tokyo who, as part of KAICIID’s “Talking Dialogue” project, has been conducting archival work in Southampton, United Kingdom.

Her Talking Dialogue research project has been centered on the 1936 World Congress of Faiths, which was organised by Sir Francis Younghusband, a British spiritual writer and explorer. The 1936 Congress led to the founding of an interfaith organization of the same name, which accepts individuals of all faiths committed to the idea that engaging with diverse traditions of faith and belief is a challenging but ultimately enriching experience.

 

“Talking Dialogue”: Travelling back in time – the 1936 World Congress of Faiths - Sana Saeed

My journey in the UK as a research intern to the archives of the World Congress of Faiths (WCF) began with a day trip to Oxford to visit Rev. Marcus Braybrooke (a patron of the Oxford International Interfaith Centre who has also been working closely with Maria Bargo, whose blog you can read here), President of the WCF and co-founder of the Three Faiths Forum. I had the privilege of meeting both him and his wife at their home, where I was able to take an initial look at the WCF archives that Rev. Braybrooke had compiled over the course of his years working in interfaith dialogue. Looking at 80 year old journal entries written by the Founder of the World Congress of Faiths, Sir Francis Younghusband, was a very humbling experience. Working with archives is like traveling back in time; in this case, to work with the WCF archives was to travel to a very difficult time in history- the interwar period. In these archives, I discovered the goals and frustrations of the initial organizers, who were hoping that by engaging people in meaningful interfaith encounters, they could prevent another World War from happening. Reading the minutes of WCF meetings, journal entries and other archives from 1934-1939, it was heartbreaking to know that another World War II was on the verge of breaking out; but what was inspiring about the development of the World Congress of Faiths was the resilience and passion of the actors involved, organizing interfaith activities even as the war raged around them, suffering air raids, financial difficulties and death. Hence, during a tumultuous period, the World Congress of Faiths was born as a tool for processing, engaging with and ultimately healing the wounds left by religious conflict, allowing members to examine what was happening around them through a multi-faith perspective.

Just as the founding of WCF can be connected to the trauma of war, so can the interfaith journey of Sir Francis Younghusband, who was not only a mystic engaging in spirituality, but also a political and military officer, participating in a British expedition to Tibet in 1904. His time there was filled with controversy and was, in the eyes of some historians, no more than a failed military operation. However, more interesting to interfaith experts is Younghusband’s sojourn in Kashmir after his time in Tibet, where his moving spiritual experiences led him to attend the Second World Parliament of Religions in 1933, which in turn inspired him to organize the World Congress of Faiths in 1936. For me, the most exciting part of the archival research in Southampton was opening and reading a letter from King George VI to Sir Francis Younghusband - I never thought I’d one day be holding a hundred year old letter from the King of England! Even though the King was discouraged by the Archbishop of England from engaging in the World Congress of Faiths, he did give his blessing to the organization’s pursuing of its mission.

While in England, I was able to acquire some WCF archives from rare book stores, so I’m happy to be able to take away souvenirs of sorts dating back to 1930. I spent my last day in London, where I had the opportunity to meet up once more with Rev. Braybrooke and attend an interfaith event at Westminster Abbey highlighting the persecution of Bahais in Iran. The wonderful event was held in the beautiful Jerusalem Room of the Abbey, and was attended by both community leaders and political figures. Each speaker represented a different faith background, including Sikh, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, Zoroastrian… At the end of the event, the guests were invited to take part in an Anglican church service at the abbey, a lovely opportunity for me, who had grown up in England as a Pakistani Muslim but had never had the chance to attend such a service. I am also grateful for the opportunity to conduct archival research on an organization that has impacted the rise of interfaith organizations in the UK, a journey that also allowed me to reconnect with my British roots while in England.