– What is one thing about Ramadan we should know about?聽
– What does Ramadan mean to you?聽
– How can a learning community like 91短视频 support Muslims who are observing Ramadan?

Published in 2007, Border and Bridges: Mennonite Witness in a Religiously Diverse World offered case studies of ways in which Mennonites have contributed to peacebuilding and reconciliation in multi-religious contexts, offering a theological rationale for interfaith collaboration. Ten years later, what does Mennonite interfaith engagement look like? What lessons have been learned? What relationships have been nurtured? This roundtable will consider these questions, offering reflections on Mennonite interfaith engagement from book editors and contributors, as well as from 91短视频 faculty, staff, and friends, on how building bridges of practical interfaith collaboration in relief, development, and peacebuilding embody a vital form of Christian witness.

Sponsored by the Center for Interfaith Engagement.

is currently on research leave from the in order to finish work for her master’s degree in Conflict Transformation from the at 91短视频.聽 She is writing a thesis and conducting a research study which is entitled: Self-Care May Not Be Enough: Secondary Traumatic Stress and Organizations: A Mixed-Methods Study. She will defend her thesis in December of this year.

A 鈥渓earning luncheon鈥� with Rev. Steven D. Martin on interfaith engagement in the U.S.

Rev. Steven D. Martin is the Director of Communications and Development for the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the聽USA. He has served United Methodist Churches as pastor for twenty years and is a graduate of Candler School of Theology.

He has produced several films for public television, including 鈥淢uslims in Appalachia,鈥� 鈥淚slam in America After September 11th,鈥� 鈥淭heologians Under Hitler,鈥� 鈥淕od With US: Baptism and the Jews in the Third Reich,鈥� 鈥淓lisabeth of Berlin,鈥� and most recently, 鈥淚slam in America: The Christian Truth.鈥� He has lectured at the prestigious Chautauqua Institute and in churches and seminaries across the US.

In 2007 Rev. Martin was honored at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum for his work with 鈥淭heologians Under Hitler.鈥� He has written for the Washington Post, appeared in Newsweek magazine and in聽USA聽Today, and has most recently worked with the White House a policy and social media campaign, 鈥淜now Your Neighbor,鈥� aimed at reducing religious-based bigotry in the US.

He is the proud father of four college-attending children.

Rev. Steven D. Martin is a filmmaker, photographer, interfaith engagement practitioner, ordained Methodist pastor, and Director of Communications and Development for the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC.) He has served United Methodist Churches as pastor for twenty years.

His 2005 film for PBS, 聽 was critically acclaimed and has had a resurgence of interest in the last year. The film earned Rev. Martin an honor from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2007.

His office is directly across from the U.S. Supreme Court and the Capital Building in Washington, D.C., and therefore has allowed Steven to speak into pressing interfaith issues and concerns about Islamophobia and intra-faith engagement to those who legislate policies, etc.

“Transgenerational trauma”聺 is trauma that is transferred from the first generation of trauma survivors to the second and further generations of offspring of the survivors via complex post-traumatic stress disorder mechanisms.

The descendant of Russian and Austrian Jews who perished in the Pogrom and the Holocaust, Dr. Marjorie Agosin’s family escaped from Vienna, Austria and immigrated to Chile, where she grew up until the family fled to the United States to escape the military coup that overthrew Salvador Allende.

Dr. Agosin has written poetry books about the Holocaust, (one book in particular through the eyes of Anne Frank,) and violent political repression in South America and how these traumas continue to inform her work. Her creative work is inspired by the theme of social justice as well as the pursuit of remembrance and the memorialization of traumatic historical events both in the Americas and in Europe.
Her writing reflects a strong sense of her Jewish and Chilean identities as well as strong faith in life and the resilience of her Jewish ancestors. Together these form her connection to the whole of humanity.

Dr. Agosin speaks about the “weight”聺 of transgenerational trauma through her own experiences as well as the stories of women who have been resilient in the face of political and ethnic oppression throughout the world.

Dr. Abuelaish is a Palestinian medical doctor and infertility specialist who has dedicated his life to peace in the conflict between Israel and Palestine. He was a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize for three consecutive years. Born and raised in the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, he has overcome hardships of poverty and violence to become one of the most prominent educators and public speakers on peace and development in the Middle East. Dr. Abuelaish received his elementary and secondary educations in the refugee camp in Jabalia, Gaza. He eventually garnered a scholarship to attend medical school at the University of Cairo. He obtained a diploma in Obstetrics and Gynecology with the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia in collaboration with the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of London. He went on to earn his Master鈥檚 degree in Public Health, Health Policy and Management at Harvard University. Dr. Abuelaish was the first Palestinian doctor to receive a staff position at an Israeli hospital. For many years, he worked as a senior researcher at the Gertner Institute in Sheba hospital in Israel. Currently, Dr. Abuelaish is an Associate Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, Canada. He is the Founder and President of the Daughters for Life Foundation, a Canadian charity that provides awards and scholarships to young women in the Middle East, in memory of his three daughters.

Dr. Abuelaish has had the opportunity to experience the impacts of conflict in countries around the world, working as both an insider and outsider to conflict. This has led him to consider doctors as peace-makers by the moral doctrine of their profession. Dr. Abuelaish has been an important figure in Israeli-Palestinian relations for years, working in Israeli hospitals, treating Israeli and Palestinian patients with the full belief that health is an engine for the journey to peace. In his presentation, Dr. Abuelaish will discuss further how his work as a healthcare practitioner mobilizes health as a tool for peace.

鈥淎 Conversation for Peace and Resilience鈥�
Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, MD, MPH
Seminary Chapel Gathering led by Matthew Bucher, Maria Hosler Byler, Eric Trinka

Dr. Abuelaish is a prominent Palestinian Muslim physician form Gaza who wrote, 鈥淚 shall not Hate鈥� about his life, the tragedy that befell his family, and his vision for a peaceful future between Israelis and Palestinians.

Explore the meaning and symbols of Passover and the Seder Meal with , visiting Jewish scholar, prior to the invitation by campus pastors into the symbolism of bread and cup in what has come to be called Holy Communion for many Christians.

鈥斺赌�-
is a rabbi and the award-winning author of nine books. He was the spiritual leader of The New Shul in Manhattan for over a decade, and he is currently the visiting Jewish scholar at 91短视频鈥檚 . Rabbi Goldstein is published widely in newspapers and magazines throughout the country, including Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, the Christian Science Monitor, the Chicago Sun-Times, and the Huffington Post. He speaks frequently at universities and churches across the United States.

Pluralism, Particularity & the Way to Peace, II: Why Do We 鈥� a Muslim & a Mennonite鈥� Care 91短视频 This?

A year ago the Center for Interfaith Engagement鈥檚 Visiting Muslim Scholar and theologian about Akrami鈥檚 pluralist approach to inter-faith relations and Nation鈥檚 particularist approach.

In this forum they will continue the conversation, beginning with a very brief summary of what was shared in their previous meeting. This time they will reflect directly on why they these issues matter to them. What does each of them believe is at stake in his pluralist/particularist approach to inter-faith relationships and peacemaking? What does each one see as (at least potentially) problematic or deficient in the approach of the other? And how would each express what it is that his approach has to offer to a pluralistic world as we negotiate how to live together in peace?

A typical Western view is that Palestinian Christians feel threatened by Muslims, but the polling data shows that Palestinian Christians are emigrating because of hardships caused by the Israeli occupation. How does Christian Zionism impact the daily lives of Palestinians, and how has it created a disconnect between American churches and Palestinian Christians? What can we do to build relationships both here and there?

Salim Munayer is an Arab-Palestinian Christian whose family was forced to flee their home, Lydda-Lod, in 1948. Like the Anabaptist/Baptist/Free Church Tradition, Salim鈥檚 Theology of Reconciliation offers a third way between the bipolar split of the western church鈥檚 conservative evangelicalism and protestant liberalism. Salim is on faculty at Bethlehem Bible College and is director of Musalaha 鈥� a dynamic peace-building program based out of Jerusalem.

From Salim鈥檚 perspective, 鈥淐onservative Western evangelicals tend to see the Middle East through the lens of religion. To many Westerners, Islam is frequently viewed as a threat since it is distinctively different and foreign in its expression. Islam is often perceived as anti-Christian, and the majority of problems in the Middle East are linked to Islam鈥檚 dominance in the region. These perceptions can lead to fear of Muslims, sometimes resulting in negative and racist attitudes toward Arab or Muslim people. At the other end of the spectrum, many liberal churches see current events in the Middle East as a byproduct of social changes such as modernization and urbanization, and they see radical Islam as a result of colonialism and imperialism鈥︹��

Salim鈥檚 theology is rooted in the reconciling work of Jesus on the cross. Salim鈥檚 mission is focused on building and reconciling relationships and, according to Salim, 鈥渕ost of Musalaha鈥檚 reconciliation work is between Israeli Messianic Jews and Palestinian Christians.鈥�

Check out this .

For more info contact: Center for Interfaith Engagement,540-432-4674 or email interfaith@emu.edu

Dr. John Fairfield, Research Fellow for 91短视频’s addresses Chapel Gathering in the seminary with the topic, “Discern love for enemies”

Visiting scholar from Iran, Dr. Amir Akrami, is an expert on Rumi and Islamic mysticism. He leads bi-weekly readings and discussions on Rumi and his work.

For hundreds of years Rumi has been one of the greatest poets of the Persian world and one of the most popular poets in the world. In recent years books on his thought have become bestsellers in the U.S. With these Rumi-centered evenings, we explore the man and his inspiring spiritual heritage by concentrating on his own words from his major works of poetry.
Our journey with Rumi鈥檚 art will take us through the beautiful images and stories he employs to convey his mystical experiences and ideas.

Rabbi Niles Goldstein, founder of the New Shul in New York City and author most recently of Gonzo Judaism: A Bold Guide to Renewing an Ancient Faith, presents a talk on spiritual writings.

Goldstein鈥檚 talk describes a course he teaches called 鈥淪piritual Writing and Spiritual Writers鈥� that draws on devotional literature from various religious traditions from the Hebrew Bible down to the present. He addresses such questions as: What, over the centuries, have been some of the literary forms of spiritual writing? Do the texts function as transmitters of doctrine or as expressions of the writer鈥檚 inner life and/or vocation? Can writing itself be a spiritual and devotional activity?

Rabbi Goldstein鈥檚 talk is sponsored by the Center for Interfaith Engagement and the at 91短视频.

Dr. Jon Hoover, a leading Mennonite Islamics scholar and professor at The University of Nottingham, presents a CIE forum on 鈥淐hristian-Muslim Relations in the Arab Middle East: The Long View of History.鈥� He analyzes the history of Christian-Muslim relations in the Middle East leading up to the present.

Jon spent a number of years in the Middle East, studying in Cairo, Egypt, and teaching at the Near East School of Theology in Beirut, Lebanon. His Ph.D. in Islamic Studies is from the University of Birmingham in England.

For more info contact: Center for Interfaith Engagement, 540-432-4674 or email interfaith@emu.edu

Russell James Pyle 鈥�03, psychotherapist and PhD student in counselor education at the University of New Mexico, presents on Buddhist psychology.

From Russell:

“With the rise of the mindfulness movement in psychotherapy, there has been a renewed interest in the wisdom psychology of Buddhism. Buddhist principles can be beneficial to the process of healing for patients with a variety of mental health symptoms. This presentation [identifies] those principles and subsequent interventions as well as how they have been employed in my work with recently released ex-offenders.”

Amir Akrami and Mark Thiessen Nation 鈥� Pluralism, Particularity & the Way to Peace: A Muslim and a Mennonite in Dialogue. Thiessen Nation is Professor of Theology at Eastern Mennonite Seminary and Akrami is Visiting Muslim Scholar at 91短视频鈥檚 Center for Interfaith Engagement. They each speak from their respective approaches followed by opportunity to engage the audience in discussion.

For more info contact: Center for Interfaith Engagement, 540-432-4674 or email interfaith@emu.edu

, professor of inter-religious education at and Director of the , speaks on, 鈥�Prophetic Peacebuilding: Abrahamic Visions for Peace.鈥� A practitioner and educator in conflict resolution among communities of ethnic and religious diversity, her involvements include conducting gang interventions, implementing diversity training in universities and public agencies, conflict resolution in public schools, and environmental conflict resolution.

She has published on developing mediation programs and community/police relations, intersections of religious family law and US courts, an Islamic perspective on just peacemaking and interfaith relations. Currently she is working on a book project which explores the role of Prophet Muhammad as a peacemaker and institutionalizing interfaith education.

Her expertise in conflict resolution has led her to train mediators working closely with conflict in India, Latin America, Guam, Afghanistan, Israel and Palestine. Her research and community activist efforts have focused on the role of women as agents of peacemaking.

A sought after speaker and resource person, Syeed Miller holds a BS degree from Guilford College and a J.D. from Indiana University School of Law.

For more info contact: Center for Interfaith Engagement, 540-432-4674 or email interfaith@emu.edu

Mark Gopin, James H. Laue Professor and Director of the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University, speaks on his national and international interfaith peacebuilding efforts focusing on 鈥淪elf Examination鈥檚 Contribution to Peacebuilding.鈥�

Gopin is an expert on the role that religion and culture play in conflicts and conflict resolution. He is an internationally respected speaker and trainer on peacemaking strategies and has engaged in diplomatic efforts with religious, political, and military figures on both sides of entrenched conflicts, especially in the Arab/Israeli conflict.

Gopin was ordained as a rabbi in 1983 at Yeshiva University in NYC, and received a Ph.D. in religious ethics from Brandeis University in 1993. He has authored three books on religious peacemaking 鈥� Between Eden and Armageddon: The Future of World Religions, Violence and Peacemaking and Holy War, Holy Peace. In a more recent book, Healing the Heart of Conflict, Gopin addresses personal conflicts and details an eight-step plan to address the emotional stages necessary to bring resolution to painful human conflicts.

Yehezkel Landau, Faculty Associate in Interfaith Relations at Hartford Seminary and first holder of the newly endowed chair in Abrahamic Partnerships at Hartford Seminary, offers professional and personal insights on 鈥淎brahamic Partnerships in Pursuit of Peace.鈥� This talk combines Jewish-Christian-Muslim relations with the wider agenda of religious peacemaking.

Sumanto is a 2007 91短视频 grad with a PhD in Cultural Anthropology from Boston University. His address, 鈥淩eligion, Violence, and Conciliation: The Case of Ambon, Eastern Indonesia,鈥� focuses on inter-religious conflicts, prospects for future peace, and challenges of interfaith engagement among Christians and Muslims. Sumanto, General Secretary, Nahdlatul Ulama Community in North America; is currently Research Fellow at Notre Dame鈥檚 Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies.

For more info contact: Center for Interfaith Engagement, 540-432-4674 or email interfaith@emu.edu

Amir Akrami, 91短视频鈥檚 first visiting Muslim scholar in the Center for Interfaith Engagement, addresses 鈥淏uilding Bridges through Interfaith Dialogue.鈥� Dr. Akrami holds a PhD in philosophy of religion from McGill University, Montreal, and comes to 91短视频 from the Iranian Institute of Philosophy in Tehran, Iran.

Dr. Akrami has been a regular participant in the internationally respected in London, 2002; Bosnia, 2005; Washington DC, 2006; Singapore, 2007 and Rome 2008, and has organized and participated in numerous interfaith conferences and workshops. He has written and published broadly.

For more info contact: Center for Interfaith Engagement, 540-432-4674 or email interfaith@emu.edu

For more info contact: Center for Interfaith Engagement, 540-432-4674 or email interfaith@emu.edu