Rumi Forum Podcast

The Rumi Forum hosted a community panel event on Thursday, April 6th, 2017  that involved an engaging discussion on civil rights and liberties.

Rumi Forum Presents 

Communities Together for Civil Rights and Liberties

Thursday, April 6th, 2017

6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m

Busboys and Poets (Brookland)

625 Monroe St NE

Washington, DC 20017

“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” Ben Franklin for the Pennsylvania Assembly in its Reply to the Governor (1755)

The context to what we attribute this quote to now is different since moving into the 21st century but, the core of the quote speaks volumes to today’s reality. It is the right of the legislature to govern in the interest of collective security however, it is as well the people’s right to speak out and be heard against those collective decisions to which encroach upon any individual’s rights or liberties. Unfortunately, we have moved into a time where the rights of minorities, women, religious groups, etc. are continually threatened. In order to maintain a peaceful and harmonious society we the people need to be vigilant against the encroachment of rights and liberties that affect us and our neighbor and need to stand together in finding and maintaining the delicate balance between our collective security and the protection our liberty

The Rumi Forum hosted a panel event at Temple B’nai Shalom for a presentation on women of faith and their contribution to society. On Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017

Date & Time:

May 3rd, 2017

6:30 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.

Venue: 
Temple B’nai Shalom
7612 Old Ox Road
Fairfax Station, VA 22039

The Rumi Forum organized an event highlighting the experiences of women in the three Abrahamic faith traditions. The event featured a panel discussion followed by a question and answer session where audience members had the opportunity to direct questions towards any of the three-panel members, each one representing a different religion.

On Monday, February 27th Rumi Forum hosted an interfaith musical event featuring performances by Hinda Labovitz, Dave Anderson, Rana Shieh.

Performers Hinda Labovitz, Dave Anderson, Rana Shieh

Date: Monday, February 27th, 2017 630 p.m. 8:30 p.m.

Location: Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax

2709 Hunter Mill Rd, Oakton, VA 22124

This was an open and inviting event meant to bring together people of diverse beliefs and backgrounds to express faith through music. Nothing is so wholly unifying and dividing than religion, which makes dialogue between faiths unyielding and difficult sometimes. However, music can be used as a tool to foster communications between groups by simply never using any words at all but rather notes and harmonies. Music is non-political and easily accessible to all which makes it ideal in the effort to build bridges between communities. Through this space, we hope people can experience music from other faiths, and engage in peaceful dialogue.

Alex Nowrasteh of the CATO Institute joined us Tuesday,  April 11th, 2017 for a discussion on refugee and immigration policy.

Alex Nowrasteh is an immigration policy analyst at the Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity. His popular publications have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Washington Post, the Houston Chronicle, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Post, and elsewhere. His academic publications have appeared in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, the Fletcher Security Review, and Public Choice. Alex has appeared on Fox News, Bloomberg, and numerous television and radio stations across the United States. He is the coauthor, with Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies, of the booklet Open Immigration: Yea and Nay (Encounter Broadsides, 2014).

He is a native of Southern California and received a BA in economics from George Mason University and a Master of Science in economic history from the London School of Economics.

Dr. Lefebure will be presenting on his recent work regarding spirituality and how he believes it is the key to future inter-religious relations.

The significance of inter-religious relationships is that they challenge our held perspectives, allowing us to see not only our fellow human in a different light but the world. Dr. Lefebure takes on the challenge and benefits of fostering inter-religious relations through a Catholic lens. Catholic stages of spirituality he presents can be used as a helpful framework when trying to overcome the hurdles of fostering and maintaining a healthy inter-religious dialogue. At every stage of spirituality when comparing religions there will always be differences and similarities, and full unity of belief and practice will never be an achievable goal but in creating this dialogue and acknowledging different perspectives we can further achieve a healthy community of world religions of mutual understanding and respect.

Leo D. Lefebure is the Matteo Ricci, S.J., Professor of Theology at Georgetown University and a priest of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. He is the author of four books, including Revelation, the Religions, and Violence and The Buddha and the Christ. His next book will be Following the Path of Wisdom: a Christian Commentary on the Dhammapada, which is co-authored with Peter Feldmeier. He is an honorary research fellow of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

On February 25, 2016, the Rumi Forum hosted an Abrahamic Discussion Series panel on the issue of “Welcoming The Stranger: Refugees and Immigrants in Our Midst.”

Naseem Rizvi, Dr. Patricia Maloof, Rabbi Gerry Serotta and Sandra Chisholm discussed the issue from the viewpoint of Abrahamic traditions.

Naseem Rizvi has numerous years of experience in the field of International Affairs as well as in the non-profit sector. Rizvi obtained her master’s degree in International Affairs at the Quid- e- Azam University in Islamabad, Pakistan. She has worked as an adjunct instructor at the University of Loyola in Chicago where she taught several classes on U.S.-Afghanistan Foreign Policy as well as human rights and international affairs in Asia. She has also served as a panelist speaking about Islam and women issues. Rizvi then became a case manager and a program coordinator at the Council of Peoples Organization in Brooklyn, New York to assist diverse communities in health, employment, education, and legal issues. From 2008 to 2014, Naseem Rizvi worked at the Open Society Foundations and conducted extensive research and produced papers on international funding trends.

Dr. Patricia Maloof is the Program Director of Migration and Refugee Services for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington (VA). She was formerly the Director of Development with the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), the largest charitable immigration legal services network in the United States.   Dr. Maloof began her work with refugees in the 1980s. She advocates, publishes, and conducts research on barriers to health care access and the provision of services to refugees and immigrants. Dr. Maloof is trained as a medical interpreter and is a part-time faculty member in the Department of Anthropology at the Catholic University of America. Three of her publications can be found on-line: Muslim Refugees in the United States; Mind/Body/Spirit: Toward a Biopsychosocial-Spiritual Model of Health; and A Review of the Literature — Mentoring: An Evidence-based Strategy to Increase Diversity Among Students and Faculty from Racial and Ethnic Groups Underrepresented in Maternal and Child Health Training Programs. She has a Ph.D. in Medical Anthropology from the Catholic University of America and a B.A. and M.A. in Anthropology from George Washington University.

Rabbi Gerald Serotta is the Executive Director of the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington (IFC) Prior to his position at the IFC he was the Founding Executive Director of Clergy Beyond Borders. Rabbi Serotta formerly served as a University Chaplain and Hillel Rabbi for 28 years, the last twenty years at The George Washington University, where he was Chair of the Board of Chaplains. He also served as President of the Association of Hillel and Jewish Campus Professionals. While on Sabbatical from Hillel, he held the position of Senior Rabbinic Scholar-in-Residence at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, working on issues of globalization and economic justice from a Jewish perspective. He also served Temple Shalom and Shirat HaNefesh Congregations in Chevy Chase, MD., as spiritual leader.

Sandra Chisholm has been the Fairfax County Community Interfaith Liaison for over 15 years and directs the Fairfax County Community Interfaith Coordination Program within the Fairfax County Department of Neighborhood and Community Services. During her time, she has increased the coordination between communities, non-profit organizations, and government organizations to help strengthen their service systems and structures. She was the recipient of the prestigious Onthank Award in 2010 to honor her outstanding work in advancing and improving public service. Chisholm has also been involved in creating several interfaith task forces to increase awareness for emergency preparation by providing training and engaging places of worship.

On April 6, 2016, the Rumi Forum held a discussion concerning religious freedom and minority rights with a distinguished Abrahamic panel that included Rev. Dr. Larry Buxton, Rabia Chaudry, and Rabbi Bruce Kahn.

Yeha Hwang, Dr. Sahar Khamis, Rabbi Deborah Reichmann and Karina V. Korostelina joined the Rumi Forum for a panel discussion on the contribution of women of faith to society in peacebuilding and social harmony. September 29, 2016, at 6:30 PM at the IITS Mosque in Fairfax, VA.

Rumi Forum held an interfaith panel on “Religion and Democracy” on October 26, 2016.

On Marth 29, 2016, the Rumi Forum hosted a talk by a panel of county officials from Norther Virginia area on their recent trip to Turkey to deliver aid to Syrian refugees on March 29, 2016. They shared their impressions and their work with the refugees.