Vienna conference highlights interfaith dialogue as a path to peace
The Iranian Wisdom House in Vienna hosted an international conference highlighted the role of interfaith dialogue in promoting peace, cultural understanding and a shared global identity while preserving religious differences, IRNA reported on Sunday.
The conference, titled ‘Religious Identity and Global Identity: Perspectives for Interreligious Dialogue’, was held on October 16, 2026 in Vienna, capital of Austria.
At the conference, academics and religious researchers from Iran and Austria discussed how people can maintain their religious and cultural identities while sharing responsibility for humanity’s future.
Peter Haider, president of the Universal Peace Federation in Austria and moderator of the conference, said lasting peace required religious, non-religious and cultural voices to be heard.
He stressed the need for international cooperation and a global order based on mutual interdependence and shared prosperity.
Mohammad Mahdi Imanipour, head of Iran’s Islamic Culture and Relations Organization and its High Council for Interfaith Dialogue, said constructive engagement among religions should go beyond resolving misunderstandings and lead to identifying common challenges and working together to address them.
Referring to the Islamic concept of fitrah, or innate human nature, he described it as a basis for connecting religious identity with a shared human identity, arguing that the two were not necessarily in conflict.
During the event, Afsar Rathor, an international peace and cooperation advocate, drew on his experience in crisis-hit regions to highlight the role of religious communities in rebuilding trust and supporting reconciliation.
He said peace required not only an end to war but also justice, human dignity and mutual respect.
Astrid Matz, a professor of the sociology of religion at the University of Vienna, presented research involving 41 religious young people in the city.
The findings showed how social media connected young people with religious communities worldwide and how their identities developed through social interactions and digital communication.
Speaking at the conference, Reza Gholami, Iran’s cultural representative in Austria, called for dialogue among cultures and religious traditions, warning against treating any single culture as a universal standard.
He also advocated broader, accountable participation by religious institutions in developing AI ethics.
The conference concluded with the presentation of the inaugural Lotus of Dialogue Honor to Haider, recognizing contributions to interfaith and intercultural understanding.