Events Sponsored by the Intereligious Forum

This fall The College of St. Scholastica's Oreck-Alpern Interreligious Forum launches the second year of  a two-year series of community forums on religious community and experience.  The forum will delve into the hearts of six religious traditions: Catholicism, Judaism and Anishinaabe culture and spirituality in 2008-2009, and Buddhism, Islam and Protestant Christianity in 2009-2010. These events are free and open to the public.

The Rose Ensemble
"Cantigas from the Land of Three Faiths: Voices of Ancient Mediterranean Christians, Jews & Muslims"
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Mitchell Auditorium
2:00 p.m. Concert, 3:30 p.m. Post-concert Discussion
Free and open to the public

Five hundred years of vibrant music and passionate poetry come alive in this program echoing the rhythms of ancient Mediterranean courts and the solemnity of sacred spaces.  This lyrical collection of Arab-Andalusian and Bedouin dances, Sephardic laments, Spanish villancicos, Hebrew chants and Galician cantigas  is "a brilliant blend of scholarly intrigue and superior performance chops" (Cleveland Plain Dealer).  The Rose Ensemble's voices are joined by an array of period and Middle Eastern string and percussion instruments, including vielle, harp, 'ud, rebec, dumbek and riqq. 

Following the concert, join the acclaimed performers of the Rose Ensemble and Tom Crann, host of MPR's All Things Considered, for lively and thoughtful discussion of the cultural and religious worlds brought to life by this music. 

Sponsored by the Oreck-Alpern Interreligious Forum, School of Arts and Letters, and Department of Music.

TWO-PART SERIES ON BELIEF & PRACTICE, HISTORY & CURRENT ISSUES IN ISLAM

Dr. Fawaz Gerges
Chair of Middle Eastern Politics and International Relations
Sarah Lawrence College
"The U.S. and the Muslim World:  A New Beginning?" 
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Mitchell Auditorium
7:00 p.m. Lecture,  8:30 Discussion
Free and open to the public  

How well has the U.S. functioned in the complex religious and cultural climates of the Muslim world?  What nuances should the Obama administration be considering as it shapes its relationships with Iran and Pakistan?  Fawaz Gerges, an expert on Islam and political process, including American foreign policy towards the Muslim world, will explore exactly these questions.  Gerges, author of Journey of the Jihadist: Inside Muslim Militancy (2007) and The Far Enemy: Why Jihad Went Global (2005), has given scores of interviews on these subjects for various media outlets throughout the world, including CNN, NPR, and Al Jazeera.  No armchair historian, Gerges has spent several years conducting field research in the Middle East. He is now working on a book tentatively titled Understanding Muslim Politics: From Nasser to Bin Laden.  http://pages.slc.edu/~fgerges/  

Sponsored by the Oreck-Alpern Interreligious Forum and the Alworth Center for Peace and Justice.  

 

Kashif Saroya
Islamic Resource Group of Twin Cities
"American Muslims: The Next Generation" 
Thursday, November 12, 2009
7 :00 p.m
Somers Main Lounge
Free and open to the public  

Kashif Saroya is President of the Advisory Council of Muslim Youth of Minnesota, an organization dedicated to "the nurturing of youth, the future generation of Muslims," and director of a summer camp for Muslim youth which focuses on struggles for identity, self-definition, and empowerment.  Saroya is also outreach director for the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, whose mission is to enhance knowledge of Islam and encourage intercultural dialogue to promote justice and mutual understanding.  He will examine issues of belief and practice on the minds and hearts of young men and women in Muslim communities in Minnesota and throughout the U.S. as they seek spouses and start their own families.  http://www.mymnet.org/  http://mn.cair.com/    

The Oreck-Alpern Interreligious Forum promotes understanding, respect and peace among the diversity of faith communities in the Northland through sustained cross-cultural discussion, shared study, and collaborative projects and events.  Funding for the Interreligious Forum is provided in large part by the Oreck-Alpern family and other gifts to the College of St. Scholastica.

For further information contact Elyse Carter Vosen at (218) 723-6446 or evosen@css.edu.