Parliament of Worlds Religion 1999 Capetown SA

Author(s): Parliament of the World’s Religions
Publisher: USA Parliament of the Worlds Religions

Page 185

Critical Issues
1999 PARLIAMENT
CRITICAL ISSUES
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10:00 AM-11:30 AM IN THEATER 7 Islam, Democracy, and the Modern Challenges of Governance
Dr. Sulayman Nyang; Prof. Iqbal A. Ansari
Does Islam stand for democracy as opposed to a dictatorship or monarchy? If the answer is yes, then why, in many Muslim countries, have Muslim people not been able to govern themselves in the contemporary world? The panelists will discuss these and other relevant questions that arise today concerning governance in Islamic countries.
Dr. Sulayman S. Nyang teaches African and Islamic Studies at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He is well known in academic and interfaith circles and is a past President of the InterFaith Conference. His best known works are Islam, Christianity, and African Identity, and Islam
in the USA.
Professor Ansari is a former Professor of English at Aligarh Muslim University, and is closely associated with human rights movement in India. He has edited books on Human Rights in India, on Minorities, and on the concept of Man in comparative perspectives. He edits a quarterly Human Rights Today. He is the founder and Secretary General of the Minorities Council of India.
10:00 AM-11:30 AM IN ENGINEERING 3.44 Promoting the Transition from Lesbian and Gay Exclusion to Inclusion in the Religious Communities of South Africa
Rev. Clayton Edmund Wakeford
This panel presentation will explore the issues of lesbian and gay inclusion in South Africa's religious and spiritual communities. This panel will consist of members drawn from different Faith traditions in South Africa, and they will discuss South Africa's Constitution, religious freedom, societies under pressure in transition, and common theological concerns in relation to this issue.
Rev. Wakeford is the National Manager of the National AIDS Convention of South Africa (NACOSA). He was previously Parliamentary Lobbyist for the National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality.
10:00 AM-10:45 AM IN ENGINEERING 3.15 Religion and Politics in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh
BASSONAR
Dr. and Mrs. Razia Akter Banu; Dr. Mohammad Yusuf Azmi
Since the very inception of Pakistan and Bangladesh, religion has been playing an important role in the politics of the Indian subcontinent. On the basis of religion, the subcontinent was divided in 1947. But after independence, it has been used cosmetically by political leaders to exploit the religious sentiment of the people. If religion is used sociologically, it can act as a moralizing as well as a modernizing factor.
Dr. UAB. Razia Akter Banu obtained her M.A. and Ph. D from London Univ. Her field of interest is politics, religion and culture. She published a book Islam in Bangladesh by J. Brill, Leiden, the Netherland.
10:00 AM-11:00 AM GOOD HOPE ARENA Religions for Social Justice
Dr. Azmi taught World Civilizations and Islamic Culture and thought in India and the United States. He has participated in numerous international seminars and conferences, and has written and edited extensively in both Urdu and English.
Swami Agnivesh
This lecture will introduce Religions for Social Justice, a multireligious spiritual movement. Religions for Social Justice was born out of the conviction that commitment to justice is the spiritual core of all religions. It aims at the regeneration of religion and society alike. It also seeks to harness the prodigious 184
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energies of social spirituality to the enterprise of nation building and social regeneration.
Swami Agnivesh is the founder of Religions for Social Justice. He is an activist against child labor, supporter of women's rights issues, and conducts extensive tours throughout India to promote self confidence among the most vulnerable sections of society. He is also the recipient of the Anti-Slavery International Award (London 1990) and the Freedom and Human Rights Award (Berne, Switzerland, 1994).
10:00 AM-11:00 AM IN ENGINEERING 1.31 Religions, Sexuality, and Health
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Mr. Robert Sturm
This lecture will examine the ways in which religious teachings in sexuality affect individuals' ability to obtain and maintain physical, spiritual, and emotional health. Both positive and negative interactions will be used to demonstrate how religious teachings affect not only the access to good medical information, treatment and care, but also individuals' ability to seek out and use the resources that are available to them. HIV/AIDS and women's health issues will provide the primary examples for this program, but the concepts discussed are applicable to many other areas as well.
Robert Sturm has worked in alternative and complementary health care settings for fifteen years. The focus of his work has been the integration of physical, emotional and spiritual models to allow for truly holistic care. Robert is currently the coordinator of CHAI - The Chicago HIV/AIDS Initiative, a programming to the Chicago-area Jewish community. He is also Healing Arts Coordinator at Strong Spirit Wellness Center, a program of Illinois Masonic Medical Center which integrates Western medicine and Psychotherapy with Massage, Bodywork, Energetic and Spiritual Healing.
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10:00 AM-11:00 AM IN ENG 3.60
The Social and Political Roles of Women in Islam
Ms. Merve Safa Kavakci
This presentation will argue, from original Islamic sources, the following: the role of women in Muslim history, the need and role of women in politics, and highlight some of the experiences of the "Merve Kavakci Event."
Merve Safa Kavakci was born in Ankara, Turkey in 1968. She attended Medical school for 2 years and then, because of the difficulty of observing hijab (proper Islamic dress), she moved to Dallas, Texas and graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Dallas. She memorized the Qur'an after her graduation. She was the Head of International Relations in the Welfare Party and is now continuing the same position with the Virtue Party. She is a member of the Turkish Parliament.
10:00 AM-11:00 AM IN THEATER 5 Youth Priorities for the New Millennium
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Mr. David R. Woollcombe
The Millennium Young People's Congress will bring together 1,000 people from every country on earth to discuss youth priorities for the new millennium. In particular, delegates will focus on what issues are vital to the sustainability of life on this planet. Prior to this Congress, thousands of young people had taken part in National Prepcoms in over 100 countries. The results that will presented by 3 young delegates from the Congress and the Congress Director, David Woollcombe, represent a fair approximation of what is foremost on the minds of the next generation as we enter the 21st Century. David Woollcombe is the founder and president of Peace Child, and the Coordinator and editor at Rescue 2000 Congress Youth Delegates servinf his third term.