Rumi Forum Podcast

On Tuesday, February 4, 2020, Rumi Forum and its' key partners, George Washington University Interfaith Council, United Nations Association-National Capital Area, and Twelve Gates Foundation, celebrated the UN World Interfaith Harmony Week with a panel discussion about "Living Harmoniously in an Interfaith World: A Muslim Contribution". A world of interfaith harmony will not be achieved by religious organizations agreeing on theology. Each faith tradition has its own unique teachings and traditions, and each individual is unique in their own personal understanding of the truth. A durable peace among the diverse peoples of the world will be achieved when individuals become mature in their faith and learn to embrace those from other traditions as fellows of the human family. The purpose of this program, then, was to raise awareness of the theological and spiritual resources that empower a life of faith in harmony with a world of diverse beliefs and practices and to encourage the development and dissemination of these resources within each faith tradition as a way to elevate the minds, hearts, and actions of people everywhere. In this program, we invited a Muslim scholar, Dr. Y. Alp Aslandogan, to present the basis for his faith`s contribution to the creation of a peaceful world of interfaith harmony. Speaker: Dr. Y. Alp Aslandogan is the Executive Director of the Alliance for Shared Values. Prior to his current position, Dr. Aslandogan served as the board president of the Institute of Interfaith Dialog in Houston, Texas. In that role, he oversaw the organization of academic as well as grassroots activities of the Institute around topics such as shared values of humanity, social cognition and conflicts, the art of living together, foundations and methodology of interfaith and intercultural dialogue, and the role of faithful citizens in a democracy. He recently co-authored a book entitled "The Messenger: Prophet Muhammad and His Life of Compassion" and co-edited a book entitled "Muslim Citizens of the Globalized World". Dr. Aslandogan is an author and an editor of the Fountain magazine, and a board member of the Journal of Interreligious Dialogue. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago and served as a faculty member at the University of Texas at Arlington, and Prairie View A&M University.

On Monday, November 18, Rumi Forum presented a comparative reading on the prominent 13th-century Sufi mystic Jelalludin Rumi and renowned 18th-century Swedish scientist, philosopher, and theologian Emanuel Swedenborg. With Ori Z. Soltes from Georgetown University and Richard Tafel from the Church of the Holy City as speakers, we will discuss personal philosophy, legacy, and impact of these two prominent luminaries. It was a captivating exchange between Rev. Tafel and Dr. Soltes as they presented how similar two prominent mystics were in such a variety of dimensions.

Ori Z. Soltes teaches at Georgetown University across a range of disciplines, from art history and theology to philosophy and political history. He is the former Director of the B'nai B'rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum, and has curated more than 85 exhibitions there and in other venues across the country and overseas. He has authored or edited 21 books and scores of articles and essays. Some of his recent books include Our Sacred Signs: How Jewish, Christian and Muslim Art Draw from the Same Source; Searching for Oneness: Mysticism in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; Untangling the Web: Why the Middle East is a Mess and Always Has Been; and Embracing the World: Fetullah Gulen's Thought and Its Relationship to Jelaluddin Rumi and Others. Rev.

Richard Tafel is the pastor of Church of the Holy City where he working to create a spiritual entrepreneur incubator. Rich also serves as the Director of Marcum Social Capital Advisors helping social ventures with strategy and investment opportunities. He leads a democracy project at Pepperdine School of Public Policy called the American Project. He is the co-host of two podcasts: Democracy in America and Catalyst for Change. He serves on the governing board of the National Council of Churches where is the co-facilitator of the annual Christian Muslim Dialogue. He's a graduate of Harvard Divinity School.

A Fresh Perspective on Religious Freedom from One of the Nation's Top Attorneys.

On Wednesday, November 14, Rumi Forum had the honor to host Luke Goodrich of Becket Law for a talk about his latest book, Free to Believe. Goodrich discussed why religious freedom is important and how it can be defended in contemporary America.

Many Americans feel like their religious freedoms are under attack and their beliefs will soon be punished as a form of bigotry. Others say these fears are overblown and Christians should stop complaining about imaginary persecution.

In Free to Believe, leading religious freedom attorney Luke Goodrich challenges both sides of this debate, offering surprising insights on the most controversial religious freedom conflicts today—including gay rights, abortion rights, Islam, and the public square. Goodrich shows that threats to religious freedom are real—but they might not be what you think. As a lawyer at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, Goodrich has won several historic Supreme Court victories for clients like the Little Sisters of the Poor and Hobby Lobby. Combining frontline experience with faithful attention to Scripture, Goodrich offers a groundbreaking book—full of clear insight, practical wisdom, and refreshing hope for all people of faith.

On October 7, 2019, Rumi Forum hosted author Dr. Jon Pahl for a book talk and discussion on his recent biography of Rumi Forum's Honorary President Fethullah Gulen. The event was moderated by Ori Z. Soltes from Georgetown University.

In this first critical biography of Fethullah Gülen in English, historian Dr. Jon Pahl took us on a journey where we discovered wisdom and controversy, from 1940's Turkey to the U.S. in the twenty-first century. Dr. Pahl told the story of a pious Muslim boy from a tiny and remote Turkish village who on the one hand has inspired a global movement of millions of individuals dedicated to literacy, social enterprise, and interreligious dialogue, but who on the other hand has been monitored by Turkish police, seen as a threat by autocrats, and recently declared number one enemy by the current Turkish government. With lively prose and extensive research, Dr. Pahl traces Fethullah Gülen's life and thought in its contexts, states clearly his own positions, and then lets readers draw their own conclusions from the evidence about this undeniably significant historical figure. In his book, Dr. Pahl weaves this fascinating life into a narrative marked by five key elements, patterns, or relationships in Gülen's life: integrity of participation in the nonviolent practices of Islam; principled pluralism—manifest in a commitment to dialogue; engaged empathy—deep feeling for the suffering of the world, and willingness to engage on behalf of alleviating that suffering; a commitment to spiritual and scientific literacy; and an organizational model of social enterprise. Dr. Pahl, a strong believer of religions as catalysts for peace, crafts through the story of Gülen and the Hizmet Movement an introduction to Islam for non-Muslim readers, for the questions he brings to Gülen's life story are also the questions others bring to Islam more broadly.

On May 1, 2019, Rumi Forum held an event about the diversity of the Muslim American community and their various situations.

Muslims make up about 1% of the American public, but there are also many Americans who have a connection to Islam but do not personally identify as Muslim. This presentation discussed which Americans are most likely to personally know someone who is Muslim, intermarried couples, people who were raised Muslim but no longer identify, and people who identify as Muslim but say religion is not very important to them. How common are there situations? Are these patterns more common among some demographic groups than others?

Speaker: Besheer Mohamed is a Senior Researcher at Pew Research Center. He is an expert on the views, demographic profile and size of U.S. Muslim communities. He also has extensive experience with computational science, as well as developing best practices for quantitative data collection on small populations. Mohamed has appeared in numerous media outlets and regularly briefs policymakers, academics and other important stakeholders. He has also published in traditional academic publications through Oxford University Press and NYU Press, along with the American Sociological Association's magazine, Contexts. He received his doctorate in sociology and master's degree in Middle East Studies from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from Cornell University.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DufX3VKOtS0&t=4s

On April 1st, Rumi Forum organized a book event for Anwar Alam's new book titled For the Sake of Allah at Ezher Mosque.

Speaker/Author:

Anwar Alam, PhD, is Senior Fellow with Policy Perspectives Foundation, New Delhi. Earlier he served as Professor of International Relations at Zirve University, Gaziantep, Turkey, and Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi; Director of Centre for West Asian Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, and Associate Professor at School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He is a recipient of the prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship, Germany, and specializes in West Asian and South Asian Studies.

On March 31st, Rumi Forum organized the Food and Faith Event at Sakina Halal Grill. Food and Faith both bring people together. Faith traditions have a specific relationship with food. Whether it be the role food plays in daily life or providing food to the needy, faith traditions recognize this necessity as something more.

Panelists:

Rev. Canon Leonard L. Hamlin, Sr. began his tenure at the Washington National Cathedral in April 2018. In his role as Canon Missioner, Dr. Hamlin oversees the Cathedral's outreach and social justice initiatives. Prior to his arrival at the Cathedral, Dr. Hamlin served as the Pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church in Arlington, VA for 22 years. Dr. Hamlin received his Bachelor of Business Administration Degree (1983) from the Howard University School of Business, Master of Divinity Degree (1994), and a Doctor of Ministry Degree from the Howard University School of Divinity (1996). He has served and been appointed to numerous community, faith-based and governmental boards, commissions, agencies.

Dr. Zulfiqar A. Kazmi is the founder and Executive Director of The Commongrounds USA. This organizational network is dedicated to the promotion of peace through educational programs, workshops, conferences, and research. Dr. Kazmi participated and lectured in more than 200 World Peace Conferences including UN cosponsored seminars, symposiums and convocations. He launched Scandinavian Peace initiatives and convened a series of seminars at The Washington Times. Dr. Kazmi made history offering special prayers and Salaat ul Maghrib during the last Christmas Dinner hosted by President Obama and First Lady at The White House. He is the recipient of the Fairfax County Proclamation 1998. In 2007 he achieved a nomination for America's highest Civil Award "Benjamin Franklin Award".

Jodi Balis RD has worked for 15 years in community and public health in the non-profit sector as a culinary educator, dietitian and Nutrition Director, where she implemented cooking and wellness programs for underserved communities in the DC region, and worked to ensure access to healthy food. Jodi recently pivoted in her career, and is now a personal chef, culinary educator, body worker and ritual facilitator. Jodi co-creates Food Rituals with groups and individuals, which is a visual meditation and embodiment practice that marks milestone moments in life through the collaborative and artful arrangement of vibrant colorful food, herbs, spices and stones. Jodi is also creator and host of the podcast Purple Honey, a gathering of female voices, where Jewish wisdom and feminine spirituality are explored through the lense of health and wellness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvjh4-aFo68&feature=youtu.be

On January 27, 2019, Rumi Forum and The Jewish-Islamic Dialogue Society of Washington (JIDS) held a joint event on mysticism at ISWA. Mysticism plays an important role in the spirituality of both Judaism and Islam. It is central to developing our relationship with God and in inspiring us to serve humankind. In this session, we'll consider both the Jewish and Muslim mystical traditions first by hearing from devoted practitioners and then by engaging in small-group discussions.

Panelists:

Gabriel Abasi is a lifelong Sufi who has graced the DC-area interfaith community over the years with a devotion to selfless service and a commitment to mysticism.This devotion to service recently inspired him to work on an exciting concept called "The Culture of Compassion," which includes creative use of blogs, social media and other forms of technology to heal the planet.

Herb Levy is an experienced teacher of Kabbalah classes at multiple D.C.-area venues and a lay leader of Kol Ami, a N. VA. Reconstructionist Jewish Community. For the last 18 years, Herb has been active in Kol Ami, the Northern Virginia Reconstructionist Jewish Community. During that period, he has led over 100 services and has taught Kabbalah classes both at Kol Ami and at a metaphysical bookstore in Old Town, Alexandria called the Sacred Circle. He currently serves as Treasurer of the JIDS Board of Directors.

Andra Baylus is one of DC's leading interfaith organizers and a disciple of Meher Baba, a Sufi-inspired spiritual leader. Andra has served as President of the Greater-Washington Muslim Jewish Forum and has been active in various other interfaith and bridge-building organizations. Her service is inspired by a deep love for mysticism, generally, and for the teachings of Sufi spiritual master Meher Baba in particular. A former elementary school teacher, Andra has combined her passion for service, spirituality, and teaching to become a truly powerful force for peace in our community.

On November 14th, Rumi Forum held a book event at our offices for God and the Goalposts: A brief History of Religion, Sports, Politics, War, and Art.

The interpenetration of sports and religion is as old as history and as wide as geography. The angles of interpenetration have been diverse—from the Bible to the Iliad and the Aeneid, from gladiatorial contests to the Crusades to chess, from the Mayan game of pok-a-pok to Lacrosse to contemporary NBA championship games. Moreover, the sports/religion matrix has always been interwoven with politics (from which religion has rarely strayed) and war (for which sports has always offered a surrogate)—and art (which captures so much of this in words and images—from Greek vase paintings to contemporary films. Give this subject an hour and you will never watch a game the same way again.

Speaker/Author:

Ori Z. Soltes teaches art history, theology, philosophy and political history at Georgetown University. He is the author of over 280 books, articles, exhibition catalogs, and essays on a variety of topics. Recent books include Our Sacred Signs: How Jewish, Christian and Muslim Art Draw from the Same Source; Searching for Oneness: Mysticism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam; Untangling the Web of the Middle East; and most recently, God and the Goalposts: A Brief History of Sports, Religion, Politics, War and Art. Soltes is an enthusiastic sports fan, and an avid basketball player a few days a week—although God has rarely intervened to guide his jump shot.

On October 5th, Dr. Saritoprak's talk examined the place of Jesus in the Qu'ran and Hadiths.

He explored Islamic theological perspectives on Jesus, including classical and contemporary theologians' views of Jesus. Dr. Saritoprak also discussed the different theological views of the descent. Finally, he addressed the important role that Jesus can play in interfaith dialogue.

Speaker/Author:

Zeki Saritoprak, Ph.D, is Professor and the Bediüzzaman Nursi Chair in Islamic Studies at John Carroll University. He holds a Ph.D. in Islamic Theology from the University of Marmara in Turkey. Professor Saritoprak is the author of Islam's Jesus (University Press of Florida, 2014) and over thirty academic articles and encyclopedia entries on topics in Islam. He has served as guest editor for issues of the journals Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations and the Muslim World. He is editor and co-translator of Fundamentals of Rumi's Thought: A Mevlevi Sufi Perspective (in English; New Jersey: The Light, 2004) and the editor of a critical edition of al-Sarakhsi's Sifat Ashrat al-Sa'a (in Arabic; Cairo, 1993). His He is currently preparing a book on Islamic spirituality tentatively titled Islamic Spirituality: Theology and Practice for the Modern World.