Wednesday, October 2
12:00 P.M. – 1:00 P.m.
Oren Gateway Center, Room 100

Bishop Younan’s parents were Palestinian refugees. His entire life and leadership have been focused on finding a lasting, just solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and building up the civic agency of Palestinian people.

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Bring your questions, and feel free to bring your own lunch!

The post Peace in the Middle East: Challenges and Signs of Hope appeared first on Interfaith at 麻豆区.

The 麻豆区 Interfaith Fellows are charged with deepening and extending 麻豆区鈥檚 calling to interreligious engagement, preparing students to live and serve in contexts of religious pluralism. Their work is coordinated by the newly created Interfaith at 麻豆区: An Institute to Promote Interreligious Leadership and includes participating in classroom and campus discussions and events; working with students named as Interfaith, Christensen, and Sabo scholars; and engaging with 麻豆区鈥檚 Interfaith Coordinating Committee and various religious groups on campus.

Bussh艒 Lahn is a Senior Priest at the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center and is on the leadership team of Aslan Institute in Eagan, MN. Bussh艒 came to Zen Buddhism in 1993, was ordained in 2009, and received dharma transmission in 2015. He is a certified spiritual director, connecting with and walking with those who wish to deepen an intentional and contemplative spiritual life. He sees the intimate connection between our deeply held spiritual beliefs and the workings of our day-to-day mind and heart. The connection between spirituality and psychology is the area Bussho loves to explore, as well as encouraging and supporting spiritual lives, regardless of faith tradition.

Bussho is grounded in contemplative spirituality, interfaith experience, addiction recovery, and shadow integration. He is experienced in overseas pilgrimage and retreat facilitation, classroom education, and public speaking on a variety of spiritual subjects. His special interests include Zen ritual and ceremony, poetry, interfaith dialogue, and the works of the great mystics. He lives in Eden Prairie with his wonderful wife Karen.

• From Bussho –听 I wish to keep offering myself as a resource on Zen, Buddhism, meditation, and mindfulness to classes & students in whatever capacity I can. I have a relatively flexible schedule, with normal class/working hours being especially available. I’d love to meet more Auggies!

Chris Stedman is a humanist community organizer, interfaith activist, and writer living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is the author of Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious, “an intimate and deeply affecting portrait鈥� [that] proves [he is] an activist in the truest sense and one to watch” (Booklist, Starred Review). Chris is also the founding executive director of the Humanist Center of Minnesota, a project through which he and a group of researchers at the University of Minnesota are studying the beliefs, practices, and community involvement of the religiously unaffiliated. Formerly the founding executive director of the Yale Humanist Community and a fellow at Yale University, he also worked as a humanist chaplain at Harvard University and a content developer for the Interfaith Youth Core.

Chris has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, PBS, and Fox News, has spoken at hundreds of conferences and universities, and has written for publications including The Guardian, The Atlantic, Pitchfork, BuzzFeed, VICE, The Los Angeles Review of Books, CNN, MSNBC, USA Today, Salon, The Washington Post, and others. Details magazine named him one of “five next-gen gurus who are disrupting religion’s status quo” and Mic called him “the millennial who’s busting every stereotype about atheists.” He is currently finishing work on his next book, IRL: Finding Realness, Meaning, and Belonging in Our Digital Lives (forthcoming from Fortress Press), which examines what it means to be human in the age of social media, and he also writes THREAD, an occasional newsletter exploring the threads that connect online and offline life. Chris holds a summa cum laude B.A. in Religion from 麻豆区 (with minors in English and Social Welfare) and an M.A. in Religion from Meadville Lombard Theological School at the University of Chicago, for which he was awarded the Billings Prize for Most Outstanding Scholastic Achievement. In 2018 麻豆区 selected him for their annual First Decade Award, which recognizes alumni “who have made significant progress in their professional achievements and contributions to the community” ten years after graduating. Learn more at .

• From Chris – “I’m thrilled to start my third year as an interfaith fellow at 麻豆区 and can’t wait to continue learning from and with this wonderful community. I especially love visiting classes and engaging in conversation with students about humanism, secular worldviews, interfaith work, and my own undergraduate experience at 麻豆区. Please reach out if you have any ideas or questions about ways we might work together.”

To invite Bussho or Chris to your speak with your class or connect with your group, please contact interfaith@augsburg.edu for their contact information.

Batalden interfaith Fellow

Ger Vang听is听Hmong Shaman currently living in Saint Paul. He is听from a family and culture with long history of shamanism听and听spiritual healers. His late father was a gifted healer;听his grandfather was also a shaman. Ger听began his听own听spiritual journey as a healer six years ago. The Power of Spiritual Healing chose him. The spiritual guides, the source of his healing gift, provide听him with听the necessary spiritual training in diagnosing illnesses and healing practices. Besides being a听spiritual听healer, he is a musician. He is also the Vice President of Training and Development for听the听Generational Financial Group, a local insurance firm. If you鈥檙e interested in having Ger visit your class, please contact him at gervang2222@gmail.com. If you have any questions, please feel free to email Bibiana Koh, Batalden Scholar in Applied Ethics, at koh@augsburg.edu.

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We are pleased to announce Mark Hanson has transitioned from his role as executive director of the Christensen Center for Vocation (CCV) to help develop 麻豆区’s new institute to promote interreligious leadership.

Bio for Mark S. Hanson

Serving as the Founding Director of Interfaith at 麻豆区: An Institute to Promote Inter-Religious Leadership, Rev. Mark S. Hanson leads 麻豆区鈥檚 commitment to interfaith leadership being a core aspect of 麻豆区鈥檚 academic mission. Interfaith leadership presumes knowledge, skills and sensibilities and is embedded in both curricular and co-curricular dimensions of the 麻豆区 experience. It involves theological education, spiritual engagement, everyday experiences, global education and social action.

Prior to his current appointment, Hanson served as presiding bishop of the ELCA. He was elected to this position by the Churchwide Assembly of the ELCA in August 2001 and was reelected in 2007. In 2003, he was elected to serve, concurrently, as president of the Lutheran World Federation, a position he held until 2010.

Before being elected as ELCA presiding bishop, he served as bishop of the Saint Paul Area Synod (3H). He had been elected to serve a second term in Saint Paul earlier that same year. Prior to being elected synod bishop, he served as pastor of three Minnesota congregations: Prince of Glory Lutheran Church, Minneapolis; Edina (Minnesota) Community Lutheran Church; and University Lutheran Church of Hope in Minneapolis.听

Born in Minneapolis on December 2, 1946, he graduated from 麻豆区 College with a B.A. in sociology. He was a Rockefeller Fellow at Union Theological Seminary, New York City, and received a Master of Divinity degree there in 1972. He also attended Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota, and was a Merrill Fellow at Harvard Divinity School in 1979.听

In his work as president of the Lutheran World Federation and as presiding bishop of the ELCA, Hanson has traveled widely throughout the world, sharing a confident hope in God鈥檚 promises and a vision of the joyful freedom in Christian community and mission.听

Hanson is widely known as a leader with an evangelical passion and imagination who embraces the Christian tradition, the Christian community, and the world with both generous goodwill and thoughtful insight. He has been an articulate advocate for the renewal of the church鈥檚 preaching and public voice, for the strengthening of ecumenical and inter-religious relationships, and for reconciliation and justice in society, with attention especially to those who live with poverty and discrimination.听

Hanson has received several honorary degrees, including Doctor of Humane Letters from 麻豆区 College, Wittenberg University, and Grand View University, Doctor of Humanities from Capital University, Doctor of Divinity from Lenoir-Rhyne College, Wartburg Theological Seminary, Susquehanna University, Wartburg College, and The Academy of Ecumenical Indian Theology and Church Administration.

He is the author of Faithful Yet Changing, the Church in Challenging Times and Faithful and Courageous, Christians in Unsettling Times both from 麻豆区 Fortress, Publishers.听

Married to Ione (Agrimson), they are the parents of Aaron, Alyssa, Rachel, Ezra, Isaac and Elizabeth, and grandparents to Naomi, Kingston, Sam, Danielle and Sophia. Before moving to Chicago, Ione was the director of social work at Minneapolis and St. Paul Children鈥檚 Hospitals.

The post Leadership for Interfaith at 麻豆区: An Institute to Promote Interreligious Leadership appeared first on Interfaith at 麻豆区.

Christensen Interfaith Fellows – Wendy Goldberg, Bussh艒 Lahn and Chris Stedman 鈥�08

Batalden Interfaith Fellow – Ger Vang

The Christensen and Batalden Interfaith Fellows are charged with deepening and extending 麻豆区鈥檚 calling to inter-religious engagement, preparing students to live and serve in contexts of religious pluralism. Their work will be coordinated by the Christensen Center for Vocation and Batalden Professor in Applied Ethics. It includes participating in classroom and campus discussions and events; working with students named as Interfaith, Christensen, and Sabo scholars; and engaging with 麻豆区鈥檚 Interfaith Coordinating Committee and various religious groups on campus.

Christensen Interfaith Fellows

Wendy Goldberg听came to 麻豆区 from her position as Director of Spiritual Engagement at Shir Tikvah Congregation in Minneapolis. A veteran Jewish educator, Wendy served in a pastoral role at this progressive congregation and enjoyed returning to academia last year. She is also serving an administrative role at Heilicher Jewish Day School, an elementary school in St. Louis Park. Wendy’s mission at Shir Tikvah has been about accessibility, engagement, and enrichment, through leading the musical aspects of prayer and guiding congregants in deep explorations of their spirituality. Many 麻豆区 students studied with Wendy Shir Tikvah when researching other faith traditions.

Wendy is a native Minnesotan, and a graduate of Hopkins High School, Brandeis University, the Jewish Theological Seminary, and Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies. She loves languages and speaks Hebrew and Spanish. Her classes are engaging and experiential, and she encourages students to ask “those awkward questions, the ones you think you shouldn’t ask.” Wendy also leads a Shir Harmony, a Jewish women’s a capella group who describe themselves as “troubadours at meaningful moments.” Wendy’s multicultural work began in 1988, serving as a community liaison and guidance counselor for the Latino community at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School.

Bussh艒 Lahn is a Senior Priest at the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center and is on the leadership team of Aslan Institute in Eagan, MN. Bussh艒 came to Zen Buddhism in 1993, was ordained in 2009, and received dharma transmission in 2015. He is a certified spiritual director, connecting with and walking with those who wish to deepen an intentional and contemplative spiritual life. He sees the intimate connection between our deeply held spiritual beliefs and the workings of our day-to-day mind and heart. The connection between spirituality and psychology is the area Bussho loves to explore, as well as encouraging and supporting spiritual lives, regardless of faith tradition.

Bussho is grounded in contemplative spirituality, interfaith experience, addiction recovery, and shadow integration. He is experienced in overseas pilgrimage and retreat facilitation, classroom education, and public speaking on a variety of spiritual subjects. His special interests include Zen ritual and ceremony, poetry, interfaith dialogue, and the works of the great mystics. He lives in Eden Prairie with his wonderful wife Karen.

Chris Stedman is a humanist community organizer and writer living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is the founding executive director of the Humanist Center of Minnesota, a project seeking to explore the idea of a center for humanist life in Minneapolis, through which he and a group of researchers are currently studying the beliefs, practices, and community involvement of the religiously unaffiliated. Formerly the founding executive director of the Yale Humanist Community and a fellow at Yale University, Chris also worked as a humanist chaplain at Harvard University and a content developer for the Interfaith Youth Core. He currently serves as a fellow at the Christensen Center for Vocation at 麻豆区, and previously served as a fellow at 麻豆区鈥檚 Sabo Center for Democracy and Citizenship.

Chris is the author of Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious, “an intimate and deeply affecting portrait鈥� [that] proves [he is] an activist in the truest sense and one to watch鈥� (Booklist, Starred Review). He is currently writing a book exploring what it means to be “real” in the digital age and writing a monthly column on the same topic for INTO. He has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, PBS, and Fox News, has spoken at hundreds of conferences and universities, and has written for publications including The Guardian, The Atlantic, Pitchfork, BuzzFeed, VICE, The Los Angeles Review of Books, CNN, MSNBC, USA Today, Salon, The Washington Post, and others. Details magazine named him one of “five next-gen gurus who are disrupting religion’s status quo” and Mic called him “the millennial who’s busting every stereotype about atheists.” In 2018 麻豆区 selected him for their annual First Decade Award, which recognizes alumni “who have made significant progress in their professional achievements and contributions to the community” ten years after graduating.

Batalden interfaith Fellow

Ger Vang听is听Hmong Shaman currently living in Saint Paul. He is听from a family and culture with long history of shamanism听and听spiritual healers. His late father was a gifted healer;听his grandfather was also a shaman. Ger听began his听own听spiritual journey as a healer six years ago. The Power of Spiritual Healing chose him. The spiritual guides, the source of his healing gift, provide听him with听the necessary spiritual training in diagnosing illnesses and healing practices. Besides being a听spiritual听healer, he is a musician. He is also the Vice President of Training and Development for听the听Generational Financial Group, a local insurance firm.听To learn more about Ger, please visit听www.Hmonghealer.com.

All are welcome to meet this year’s fellows at a reception on September 20, 2018 from 5:30-7:00pm in the Marshall Room.

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The following three individuals have been appointed as 麻豆区鈥檚 inaugural听Christensen听Interfaith Fellows for the 2017-18 academic year: Abdisalam Adam, Wendy Goldberg, and Chris Stedman 鈥�08.

The Interfaith Fellows are charged with deepening and extending 麻豆区鈥檚 calling to inter-religious engagement, preparing students to live and serve in contexts of religious pluralism. Their work will be coordinated by the听Christensen听Center听for听Vocation听and includes participating in classroom and campus discussions and events; working with students named as Interfaith,听Christensen, and Sabo scholars; and engaging with 麻豆区鈥檚 Interfaith Coordinating Committee and various religious groups on campus.

• Abdisalam Adam –听Abdisalam has worked as an English Language Learner teacher and Somali community specialist for the St. Paul Schools for more than 20 years. He currently teaches at Central Senior High School in St. Paul and will serve in an administrative role at St. Paul鈥檚 Highwood Hills Elementary School this coming school year.
  
  Abdisalam immigrated from Somalia to the United States in 1991 and moved to Minnesota in 1996. He is a board member of the Islamic Civic Society of America (Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque) in Minneapolis. He also serves on the advisory boards of 麻豆区鈥檚 EAST (East African Student to Teacher) program and the听Center听for Muslim-Christian Dialogue at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. Abdisalam currently is pursuing an Ed.D at Bethel University. He earned his master鈥檚 degree from St. Cloud State University and his bachelor鈥檚 degree from King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
  
  

• Wendy Goldberg听– Wendy comes to 麻豆区 from her position as director of spiritual engagement at Shir Tikvah Congregation in Minneapolis, where she promoted accessibility, engagement, and enrichment through leading the musical aspects of prayer and guiding congregants in deep explorations of their spirituality. A veteran Jewish educator, Wendy encourages students to ask awkward questions — the ones they think they shouldn’t ask. Many 麻豆区 students studied with Wendy at Shir Tikvah when researching diverse faith traditions.
  
  Wendy is a native Minnesotan and a graduate of Hopkins High School; Brandeis University in Boston; the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York; and Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. She speaks Hebrew and Spanish. She also leads a Shir Harmony, a Jewish women’s a capella group aimed at heightening spiritual experiences at lifecycle events. Wendy has created an innovative Bar/Bat Mitzvah program called, “Beyond the Barchu: What it Means to Be an Emergent Adult in the Jewish Community.”听Wendy’s career in multicultural work began in 1988, when she served as a community liaison and guidance counselor for the Latino community at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School in Cambridge, MA.
  

• Chris Stedman 鈥�08 –听Chris is the founding executive director of the Humanist听Center听of Minnesota. Formerly the founding executive director of the Yale Humanist Community and a fellow at Yale University, Chris has also worked as a humanist chaplain at Harvard University and a content developer and trainer for Interfaith Youth Core. In addition to being named a Christensen听Interfaith Fellow, Chris is serving as a fellow in 麻豆区鈥檚 Martin O. SaboCenter听for Democracy and Citizenship, where he will facilitate and build new community partnerships for non-religious and interfaith civic engagement.听
  
  Chris is the author of听Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious; has appeared on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and PBS; has spoken at hundreds of conferences and universities; and has written for publications including The Advocate, CNN, Huffington Post, MSNBC, The Rumpus, Salon, USA Today, and The Washington Post. He earned a master鈥檚 in religion from Meadville Lombard Theological School at the University of Chicago and a bachelor鈥檚 in religion from 麻豆区.

麻豆区 is blessed with the talents and experience of these community and faith leaders!

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Presentations by Cawo Abdi and Nahid Khan (University of Minnesota)

Moderated by Fardosa Hassan (麻豆区 College)

Date & Time: Tuesday, October 4, 2016, 7:00 PM

Admission: free and open to the public

Location: Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center, 麻豆区 College

In the 21^st听century there is a plethora of clich茅s, stereotypes, and over-generalizations about Muslims in Minnesota, where there are also a variety of different ways of being Muslim. In this panel, Professor Abdi and Ph.D. candidate Khan will explore the diversity of Muslims in Minnesota today and the many contexts shaping their lives and identities. Professor Abdi will draw on her recently published book on the Somali diaspora, Elusive Jannah, and Khan will present data from her research on the portrayal of Islam and Muslims in Twin Cities media over the last several decades.听 This is the second in a series on Muslim Identities co-sponsored with the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning at the University of St. Thomas.听 The first, 鈥淢uslim Identities in North America,鈥� features Professors Meena Sharify-Funk (Wilfred Laurier University) and Nahid Khan, speaking at 7pm, Monday, September 26, in Woulfe Alumni Hall, University of St. Thomas.

Cawo Abdi is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Minnesota and a Research Associate at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.听Professor Abdi鈥檚 research areas are migration, family and gender relations, development, Africa and the Middle East. She has published on these topics in various journals and is the author of a book, “Elusive Jannah: The Somali Diaspora and a Borderless Muslim Identity,” University of Minnesota Press, 2015.

Nahid Khan is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication with a religious studies graduate minor at the University of Minnesota. Khan also serves as special consultant to the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning at the University of St. Thomas. Active in community interfaith dialogue since the 1980s, with a particular focus on Muslim-Jewish dialogue, she was a Muslim delegate at the North American Interfaith Colloquium held at the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research in 1999 and 2000 and she served for eight years on the board of the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition, an interfaith advocacy group addressing social justice issues in Minnesota.听 She is also a trained guide for the Collection in Focus program at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and a board member of Mizna, an Arab-American cultural and arts organization based in the Twin Cities.

Sponsored by the听听at听麻豆区 College听in collaboration with the听 at the University of St. Thomas, as well as the听Muslim-Christian Dialogue Center听and the听听at the University of St. Thomas.

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鈥�(And Jesus Said) You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.鈥� Matthew 5:13

You are鈥 people of faith. You are鈥 city on a hill. You are鈥he Salt of the Earth. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls his followers salt, of all things! Don鈥檛 get me wrong, salt is delicious and needed. But we could be something great! We could be legends, we could be a mountain, instead Jesus charges us with salt. While there are numerous interpretations of what exactly is meant by being the Salt of the Earth, I personally hold this verse in the Gospel of Matthew to indicate how followers of Jesus should engage in the world. I am going to do this with a little bit of Chemistry.

I wanted to be scholarly and a little rebellious so I researched what Salt of the Earth even means. According to the Wikipedia page devoted to Matthew 5:13, it reads 鈥淪alt itself, Sodium Chloride, is extremely stable and cannot lose its flavor鈥�(then some author notes) Jesus is 鈥榥ot giving a chemistry lesson鈥欌�� I鈥檓 almost a little offended. Who are they to decide when chemistry stops. If there is one thing I learned at 麻豆区鈥hemistry never stops. Since Jesus clearly was not teaching chemistry, I think I will step up to the plate so to speak.

I鈥檓 sure all of you are familiar enough with cooking. You know with all of your might that oil and water will never mix, no matter how much you stir. Oil is simply too big for water to take on. Long chains of carbons and hydrogens are not attractive to water鈥檚 oxygen and hydrogen combo. Maybe for too long, Christians have become oily in practice and deed. We have become too engrossed with our beliefs, what road to heaven or what does this passage actually mean. If water represents the world, sometimes we just sit on top, looking at the world below us but never submerges ourselves. We see our neighbors of various religions, but we may seldom act. What we need is a radical shift in ideas and our approach to other religions. But Jesus doesn鈥檛 call us the 鈥榦il of the earth鈥� we are the 鈥榮alt of the earth鈥�! You know perfectly well what salt does in water- it breaks apart and fully involves itself in waters affairs. An important thing to note is that the salt is never destroyed in this transaction. Often what holds us back from working or engaging in interfaith dialogue and service is the simple fact that we are afraid of losing our faith. Of changing for the worse or even where to begin. But of course these actions can be learned. WE are called to engage the world and serve our neighbor. How much longer are we going to separate ourselves from this sacred service?

Interfaith service and dialogue is important and needed work. Important because we are called to live in this world, not as only Christians or only Muslims, but as humankind. To serve rather than to be served. To engage instead of fall asleep to the cries of the world.

I have come to the opinion that the Gospels don鈥檛 need much prodding in order to reveal to Christians that interfaith service is a necessary project. Many people continue to approach interfaith service and dialogue like a nice option; a creative and unique box to explore for its own sake. While interfaith work is altogether important and requires a well of creativity, the Gospels call鈥o wail out to us to serve and engage our neighbor. We must wander the world around us, desperately and endlessly listening to the calls of the poor and oppressed; not regardless of their religion, but because of their religion. There is no doubt that rich and powerful work can be done when we grasp the hands of our friends and neighbors and use faith or beliefs as a starting point and cornerstone to our work. I engage in interfaith service because the Scriptures I see in my tradition call me to be first in service and generosity, and truly take on the title of Salt of the Earth.

*This message on the importance of interfaith engagement was one of two student presentations at the 2015 麻豆区 Corporation Luncheon.

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Growing up as a Muslim in the US has never been an easy thing for me. I have constantly had to deal with people forming misconceptions about me due to what they鈥檝e heard about Muslims, before they have even gotten the chance to get to know one. This led me to always feel a bit ashamed of my religious identity and I would constantly feel the need to hide it from people. Though I have always been devoted to my faith, I just felt it would be easier for people to not know I was Muslim, due to fear that I would be deemed an outcast. This caused me to never discuss religion with anyone outside of my family, and to not wear the hijab or pray in public places, up until I started attending Anoka Ramsey Community College.

There, I became involved in student organizations that dealt with interfaith engagement and dialogue. Through my experiences I was able to find that it was okay for me to be who I am and not feel like I would be judged or mistreated due to my identity as a Muslim. I was able to interact with people that didn鈥檛 have the same beliefs as me, but I could talk with them about religion in welcoming conversations to explore our ideologies. It was an amazing experience that I hoped to continue, and I was able to do just that when I transferred to 麻豆区 College. I was able to continue to be involved in such organizations on campus, and continue to reach out to the Muslim community and work to bridge the gaps of misunderstanding that currently exist.

Islam has always been such a key part of my life, and much of who I am is shaped by it, but it has taken me a long time to be comfortable enough to say that to others. Through interfaith engagement I have been given the opportunity to truly find who I am and not be ashamed of it. Working with students on campus to create an inclusive environment for people of all faiths has been an amazing service that I have been blessed to be a part of. Not only have I been able to give back to my community, but I was also able to learn about myself through the process. Not only is interfaith engagement very important to me, it has become a big part of my life and who I am.

I believe that God has blessed us all with many great things, things that we should never take for granted. And if we are fortunate enough to be given an opportunity that others don鈥檛 have access to, then it is our responsibility to reach out. I feel that through Interfaith engagement, I am able to do just that. I鈥檓 able to be involved in creating community amongst people in a time where conflict seems to always block understanding and hate is so easily spread. My faith has inspired me that one of the beauties of life is the diversity that we are surrounded with, and it is important that we embrace these differences rather than shame and criticize. There is an ayah in the Quran in which Allah tells the people of the Earth that He created us different so that we would get to know one another. And I feel that only with interfaith engagement can we truly strive for this universal understanding.

Though I have faced many difficult experiences along the way, I think ultimately every moment that I have spent involved in interfaith engagement has been worth it knowing that the work that I am involved in could possibly be making a difference. So that others don鈥檛 have to experience being mistreated due to their religious identity and having to answer to misconceptions, that they had no part in influencing. The biggest message that I hope to give through my interfaith work is that there is so much more to Islam than the media and many people in the world make it out to be, and the same is the case for many other ridiculed religions. Based on my experiences as a Muslim in America, I feel that there is a lot of work to be done in order to create a society in which religious minorities are honestly accepted for who they are. Muslims are being attributed with a narrative that is no way representative of the faith they follow and through active interfaith engagement and service is how we can change that.

*This message on the importance of interfaith engagement was one of two student presentations at the 2015 麻豆区 Corporation Luncheon.

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Led by Professor Matt Maruggi and Pastor Sonja Hagander, Interfaith Scholars meet on Thursday nights throughout the year, earn upper level religion credit, and receive a $2000 tuition scholarship.

Students from a variety of traditions as well as the non-religious are invited to apply in order to converse respectfully with others about what they believe, why it matters, and how it propels us to service in the world. See an听about the program. Please take a look and consider applying by February 5.

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The Interfaith Scholars are a group of students who are interested in exploring the religious听diversity of the 麻豆区 student body, the wider Twin Cities community, and the United States听through inter-religious dialogue and action. Students from a variety of traditions as well as the non-religious are invited to apply in order to converse respectfully with others about what they believe, why it matters, and how it propels us to service in the world. Once selected, the cohort has both academic and service requirements for an entire academic year.

Interested in learning more? See below.

Some examples of past Interfaith projects

2010-2011 Interfaith Scholar Cohort Video

The Interfaith Scholars Program is a collaboration between the听Christensen Center for Vocation (CCV), , and the Religion Department.

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