Parliament of Worlds Religion 2009 Melbourne Australia

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

Page 151

PROIG
Friday, December 4, 2009
9:30-11:00am INTRARELIGIOUS SESSION
Unitarian Universalists - Working for Peace, Civil Rights, and Earth Richard Boeke Peter Abrehart Michael McPhee Rev Orlanda Brugnola Pauline Rooney Room 218
Islam 101 Series: Reverence for the Virgin Mary and Jesus in Islam Burhanettin Tatar Najafali Mirzai Imam Mohamad Bashar Arafat Room 216 Panel Discussion Many Christians are astonished to learn that Jesus is reverentially mentioned by name in the Qur'an five times more often than the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, 25 times to five, respectively, and that Mary, the mother of Jesus is named 34 times in the scripture of Muslims. Islamic doctrine mandates that Muslims accept Jesus virgin birth, performance of miracles, and return to Earth as evidence of the kinship of the teachings and messages of Jesus and Muhammad. This panel will explore the Islamic doctrine related to Jesus and Mary and how this knowledge can contribute to Muslim/Christian dialogue and facilitate peace between the two traditions in contemporary times. This program is one of six sessions in the Islam 101 Series designed to highlight critically important issues regarding Islamic beliefs, practice and history that are all too commonly misunderstood. Professor Burhanettin Tatar is the official representative of the Presidency of Religious Affairs of Turkey at the 2009 Parliament. He is a professor at Ondokuz Mayis University, in the faculty of Theology and the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies. He is also a member of the Higher Committee of Religious Affairs Burhanettin Tatar received his PhD degree from the Catholic University of America in 1997.
In 1553. Michael Servetus, the first Unitarian in modern history. was burned at the stake for denying the Trinity. He was affirming the 'omnipresence of the Holy in the hope of peace between Christian, Muslim and Jew. Since his death, Unitarians and Universalists have practised freedom, reason and tolerance for ALL. Several of our strong churches with over 1,000 members are named ALL SOULS. Many are dedicated to Peace and Civil Rights such as the Peace Memorial Unitarian Church in Melbourne. Unitarians join in reverence for the Earth, affirming the "Interdependent Web of All Existence of which we are a part'. Our panellists will tell their stories of this witness. Richard Boeke served for three years as a US Air Force Chaplain. After seeing bombers loaded with atomic weapons, he became a peacenik op posing wars in Vietnam and Iraq. He was in Mississippi in the civil rights summer of 1965. Minister Emeritus of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, California, he now lives in England. He is Vice President of the World Congress of Faiths, and former Secretary of the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (ICUU). Peter Abrehard will present the witness of the Melbourne Peace Memorial Unitarian Church, founded in 1852. He is an active in the church, which has a long history of witness for peace and civil rights, Michael McPhee is a member of the UU Church of Sydney, and a student of UU History Orlanda Brugnola is an interdisciplinary scholar teaching philosophy and religious studies at John Jay College. She has an MFA in painting and curates art exhibitions for college galleries. She is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister who has worked over the years for the International Association for Religious Freedom Pauline Rooney is currently the Vice President of the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists. In her secular Life Pauline ran her own business in rural South Australia being recognised as South Australian Business Woman of the Year in 1996. She has spent a great proportion of her life working on State and National boards and committees focused on housing, the arts and community development,
Najafali Mirzai is Director, Planning Commission for Religious Higher Education and Cultural Counselor of Iran in Lebanon and faculty member and Advisor to the President of the Al-Mustafa International University He has an MA in Philosophy from Islamic Azad University. His publications are 'Dictionary of Contemporary Idioms and Phrases'. An Introduction to Higher Education in Religious Studies, 'The Biography of Sheikh Uthman bin Fawdi, and a number of published papers and treatises. Imam Mohamad Bashar Arafat - Graduate of Sharia Law from Damascus University and Imam in the U.S. since 1989. He served as Campus Imam at Johns Hopkins University and Muslim Chaplain for the Baltimore City Police Department. He's the founder of Civilizations Exchange & Cooperation Foundation, which provides inter laith Exchange programs for students, professionals & clergy, a professor of Islamic Studies, and an international speaker through the US Department of State on Islam and Pluralism in America'.
The Wurundjeri People of Melbourne Aunty Joy Murphy-Wandin Room 217 Lecture Aunty Joy Murphy-Wandin is a strong and respected Wurundjeri Elder who was born on her traditional country and still lives there today. In this presentation, she will speak about her life's journey, ancestry and traditional homeland Coranderrk. Aunty Joy Murphy-Wandin is a senior Aboriginal Woman of the Wurundjeri People, Australia. Aunty Joy has received an honor ary Professorship at Swinburne University. She is Chairperson of the Australian Indigenous Consultative Assembly and has held executive positions in different departments of Government Aunty Joy has been involved in Aboriginal issues for the past 30 years. She is a Trustee of the National Gallery of Victoria and a member of the Equal Opportunity Commission
Muslim Women Securing Their Own Individuality: Different Societies, Same Struggle Janaan Hashim Hana Bubshait Dr Shohreh Shahsavandi Room 219 Panel Discussion
Despite the vast cultural differences between their respective countries, three Muslim women-a Saudi, an Iranian and an American-will share their common struggle: to secure their individuality. These women come from three countries that have three very different views on Islam and who the Muslim woman is. Society may try to dictate how
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