Parliament of Worlds Religion 2009 Melbourne Australia

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

Page 269

PROGRAM
Monday, December 7, 2009
Transforming Compassion in Science and Religion (Session 2)
LeRon Shults
Solomon Katz
Michael T H Wong
Manuka Henare
Imam Afroz Ali
Room 109
Panel and Interactive Workshop
Compassion is a value that is central to many of the world's religions and a phenomenon that can be studied from a variety of scientific perspectives. This second session of a mini-symposium sponsored by the International Society for Science and Religion contributes to the growing interest in integrating interreligious with interdisciplinary dialogue. It will provide a context within which different voices can come together around the shared concern to understand and facilitate empathy and altruism across religious and other significant boundaries. This symposium focuses on transforming the way we think about compassion through listening to one another and on facilitating compassion that has a meaningful impact on the human condition. It will also discuss facilitating a level of compassion that transforms the human condition. This second session features a panel of representatives from different religious backgrounds [Muslim, Hindu and Christian) offering reflections on how various spiritual traditions help us to understand and foster compassion. The panel will be followed by group exercises in which audience members discuss initial reactions and implications. The session will conclude with interaction among participants from the fields of both science and religion as we explore practical ways to further the conversation and promote compassion.
F LeRon Shults is professor of theology and philosophy at the University of Agder in Kristiansand, Norway. A leading authority on science and theology, he has published some ten books and dozens of articles in the field. Shults is the editor of the Brill book series Philosophical Studies in Science and Religion' and scientific director of the Transforming Compassion project at Stiftelsen Arkivet, a peace-building institute in Norway. His other current research interests include ethics, desire, differentiation and religious symbolism.
Dr Solomon Katz is director of the Krogman Center for Childhood Growth and Development at the University of Pennsylvania and is a professor of anthropology and a senior fellow at the Wharton School Leonard Davis Institute for Health Economics. He was founder and Chairman [1984 to 1986) of the Task Force on the African Famine for the American Anthropological Association (AAA) and is currently Chair of the AAA Task Force on World Food Problems.
Michael T H Wong is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Monash University, Australia.
Manuka Henare is the Associate Dean at the University of Auckland Business School, New Zealand.
Imam Afroz Ali is the Founder and President of the Sydney-based Al-Ghazzali Centre for Islamic Sciences & Human Development. He has received licences to teach in various Islamic Sciences, having learned from the most esteemed Islamic scholars of our time. He has initiated philanthropic as well as sustainable environmental projects in Australia and abroad and continues to advocate peace, acceptance, justice and interpersonal rights. Ali received the International Ambassador for Peace award.
9:30-11:00am INTRARELIGIOUS SESSION
Islam 101 Series:
Applying Islamic Principles for a Just and Sustainable World
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf
Ayisha Ali
Ahmed Rehab
Amjad-Mohammed Saleem
Hamid Hai
Fakhreddin Saberi
Room 110
Panel Discussion
This presentation will focus on Islamic principles and how their application is geared to facilitate a just and sustainable world. It will cover topics such as Zakat, or Islamic almsgiving, and how it reduces poverty. Principles that promote peacemaking, social cohesion, and reconciliation will also be discussed. Panellists will also discuss how these principles and their application have spiritual as well as social significance. They will also highlight examples of specific projects, agendas, issues and ideas about how to apply Islamic principles for a just and sustainable world. This panel 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.
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is chairman of the Cordoba Initiative, a multinational, multireligious project that works to improve relations between the Muslim world and the West. Author of 'What's Right With Islam Is What's Right With America: A New Vision for Muslims and the West'. he is also founder of the American Society for Muslim Advancement. Imam Feisal is a graduate of Columbia University, New York and holds a Master's degree from Stevens Institute of Technology.
Ayisha Ali is an Islamic Studies Lecturer at Dar Al-Hekma College, a premier women's college in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. She holds a BA in The Book (Holy Qur'an) and Sunna (The Prophets Traditions] and a Master's degree in Islamic Law & Its Origin from Umm Al Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. She is also an active member at the Islamic Education Foundation.
Ahmed Rehab is an American Muslim activist and writer with a focus on civil rights, media relations, and Islam-West relations. He is the Executive Director of CAIR-Chicago, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy office. Rehab serves on the boards of directors of the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the Immigration and Refugee Interfaith Ministries, the Chicago Human Relations Advisory Committee and the Egyptian American Society. He is a member of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs' Muslim task force.
Amjad-Mohammed Saleem is the head of media and public relations for The Cordoba Foundation. He was the architect of a global partnership between Muslim Aid and the United Methodist Committee on Relief, which was hailed by the British Prime Minister as a landmark example of Muslims collaborating with Christians during times of conflict in South Asia.
Hamid Hai is a cardiologist by profession and a long time participant and leader in interfaith dialogue. He was the host of the Muslim group at the 1993 Parliament of the World's Religions. Currently he serves as the President of the World Council of Muslims for Interfaith Relations.
Mr Fakhreddin Saberi is the Head of the Qur'anic Museum of the Organization of Cultural Heritage of Iran. He holds a Master's degree in Islamic Theology, a Bachelor's degree in philosophy and is a research scholar on the Glorious Qur'an and Islamic History. He has several books to his credit including 'Biography of Imam Khomeini' and '30 Lessons from the Holy Quran and Holy Imams' and has participated in domestic and international conferences on different Islamic issues.
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