2010 Interfaith Understanding Conference - Rochester, NY - April 11 to 13, 2010

Katherine Indovina from Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue at Nazareth College in Rochester, New York left a comment requesting that I blog about their upcoming conference.

I was very impressed with the wonderful work the CISD does and the conference looks to be informative and engaging.

About the conference:
2010 Interfaith Understanding Conference's commitment to "Building peace, together." will invigorate your practice and understanding of interfaith collaboration. From the interactive plenary which opens the conference to sessions within each of the main themes, participants will develop their skills with people across religions, generations, races and genders. The dynamic strategy of 2010 IUC will empower participants to become agents of change.

About the Centre for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue:
The Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue (CISD) promotes research and encourages strategies for living peacefully in a religiously diverse world. This vision is realized through dialogue, education, and community-building efforts.

Every religion demands that we alleviate suffering. Every religion dreams of a better world. Yet each religion offers different means to attain these goals. CISD believes that individuals can learn from each other, understand each other and work together in a respectful way for the common good.

The CISD includes individuals who are diverse in religion, faith, ethnicity, race, gender and education. The common denominator is a desire to develop skills to clarify and improve individual and community-wide communications on matters of religion, faith and spirituality; to understand individual and communal faiths; to establish methodology proper to our goals; and to develop the capacity for living in a pluralistic world.

We seek to understand and develop research tools, knowledge and skills to benefit our common humanity.

Further details can be found at http://interfaith2010.naz.edu/

Jihad of the West: Alienation, Integration & Identity - A lecture by Tariq Ramadan

The lecture explores the struggle Muslims in North America face in terms of defining an original identity while drawing from the principles of traditional Islam. Issues such as alienation and integration will be explored and how they affect the Muslim Diaspora.

"Jihad of the West: Alienation, Integration & Identity" - A lecture by Tariq Ramadan

Wednesday March 17th 2010 at 6:30 pm
MacEwan Hall 2nd Floor Ballroom, University of Calgary

Tariq Ramadan is Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at the Oxford University (Oriental Institute, St Antony’s College) and author of several influential publications including “Western Muslims and the Future of Islam” and “Radical Reform: Islamic Ethics and Liberation.” He is active both at the academic and grassroots levels lecturing extensively throughout the world on theology, ethics, social justice, ecology and interfaith as well intercultural dialogue.

Tickets: $18

To purchase tickets (available on February 19 2010):

1. Visit the Campus Ticket Centre, MacEwan Student Centre, University of Calgary
2. Call the Campus Ticket Centre (403-220-7202) and order by phone ($1.00 will call charge)
3. Email info@thewesternmuslim.com

Organized by The Western Muslim Initiative (WMI) and The Western Muslim U of C Club

Does faith lead to social justice?: A Muslim-Christian Dialogue

Does faith lead to social justice?

A Muslim-Christian Dialogue

Saturday, February 27, 2010

University of Calgary, MacEwan Hall

2:00 – 5:00 pm

Speakers: Dr. Wafik Wahba and Dr. David Liepert

For further information contact: calgary.dialogue@gmail.com

This is a unique opportunity for experts to discuss social justice is the light of religion. More importantly, how does your religion shape the face of social justice?

Dr. David Liepert will be representing the Muslim community and Dr. Wafik Wahba will be representing the Christian community. Unlike a debate, each speaker will be speaking only from their perspective.

Dr. David Liepert has been active in multifaith relations for many years. He is a member of the Canadian steering committee for the Tony Blair Faith Acts Foundation and is interfaith and media director and spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Calgary and for the Sayeda Khadija Mosque and Community Center in Toronto. The recipient of numerous community awards and a much sought-after speaker, he is also vice president of the Faith of Life Network—an internationally recognized Muslim organization dedicated to helping diverse communities live together. Dr. Liepert holds degrees and fellowships from the University of Saskatchewan, the University of British Columbia, and Stanford University in California. He converted to the Muslim faith sixteen years ago.

Dr. Wafik Wahba first came to Tyndale as adjunct professor of theology in 1998, having previously taught contextualized theology at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo, Egypt, as well as having pastored churches in Chicago and Toronto. Dr. Wahba has taught theology and intercultural studies in the United States, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and South America. Dr. Wahba is one of 31 contemporary reformed theologians who have contributed to The Future of Reformed Theology, edited by Willis, David & Welker, Michael, (Eerdmans, 1999). Dr. Wahba has also published in Zur Zunkunft Der Reformierten Theologie, (Neukirchener Verlag, 1998). He co-led the unit on Theological Education for Mission at the 2004 Forum of Lausanne Committee in Pattaya, Thailand and is one of the authors of “Effective Theological Education for World Evangelization” Lausanne Occasional Paper No. 57, (May 2005). Dr. Wahba serves on the Board of Directors for several international Christian organizations.

U of C Consortium for Peace Studies' PeaceTalk: Community Peacebuilding Through Multifaith Forums

Join the Consortium for Peace Studies at University of Calgary in welcoming speaker Adam Dinham to his upcoming PeaceTalk at the University of Calgary:

Community Peace building through Multifaith Forums
Friday, February 12th 2010 from 12:00 to 2:00 pm
Professional Faculties 128, UofC

Religion is often stereotyped as a source of conflict, yet many faith groups also emphasize peace. This seminar will explore the role faiths have to play as local agents of community peace, and consider how this balances with stereotypes of religion as global agents of anger.

Adam Dinham is the Director of the Faiths and Civil Society Unit at Goldsmiths, University of London, UK and currently holds the Research Fellowship in Peace Studies at the University of Calgary. He is a social worker and a policy advisor to a number of faith-based agencies and policy bodies.

Consortium for Peace Studies - University of Calgary
Website: www.ucalgary.ca/~peaceuc/