AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Daniel Grigari Matrosov, representative of Patriarch Kirill from Russia and a guest at the funeral ceremony of the martyred leader, appearing on the program "Our Martyred Imam" on Channel One of Iranian television, emphasized the necessity of expanding interreligious dialogue and effective communication with the younger generation.
Referring to the growth of religious tendencies in various societies, he stated, "Contrary to the image presented by some mainstream media, religion is expanding in the world, but unfortunately, the media do not reflect realities as they are, and this has contributed to the phenomenon of religious phobia."
The representative of the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, emphasizing the importance of dialogue among religions, added, "To remove misunderstandings and strengthen convergence, dialogues should be conducted in a language that the younger generation can connect with; because today's youth receive most of their knowledge and information from cyberspace."
He also considered building trust between the younger generation and religious leaders essential and stated, "This trust is formed when religious activists, in addition to speaking, also adhere to their teachings in practice."
Matrosov, referring to the decades-long experience of interreligious dialogue, noted, "If in the past years the main goal of dialogues was mutual understanding, today the focus should be on common challenges and issues such as lifestyle, family strengthening, and combating cultural harms."
Referring to the feedback of people who have traveled to Iran, he said, "Many visitors, after being in Iran, acknowledge that the real image of this country is different from what they had previously received through the media."
Matrosov also pointed to the position of the Islamic Republic of Iran in supporting the Palestinian people and confronting arrogance, and emphasized that Iran's role and influence in this arena are now more recognized globally than in the past.
In another part of this discussion, the participants addressed the issue of how to properly introduce religion to the younger generation. In this section, the necessity of presenting religious teachings in simple and understandable language for youth was emphasized, and the plan "Life with the Religious Book" was introduced as one of the cultural initiatives for introducing the new generation to the concepts of divine scriptures.
According to this report, the participants in the program "Our Martyred Imam" believed that continuous dialogue among religions, mutual understanding among nations, and the use of modern communication methods are among the most important solutions for combating Islamophobia and strengthening spiritual values in today's world.
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