2016 Festival of Faiths
“Sacred Wisdom: Pathways to Nonviolence”
2016 FESTIVAL OF FAITHS
The 21st Annual Festival of Faiths explores how different spiritual traditions, teachers, and practices address violence, heal our wounds, and teach active commitment to nurturing peace in ourselves and in the world.
VIDEOS
SPEAKERS
Teddy Abrams
Teddy Abrams is a widely acclaimed conductor, as well as an established pianist, clarinetist, and composer. He is the Music Director of the Louisville Orchestra and Music Director and Conductor of the Britt Classical Festival in Jacksonville, Oregon. Abrams is dedicated to exploring new and engaging ways to communicate with a diverse range of audiences. He was the youngest conducting student ever accepted at both the Cutis Institute of Music and the Aspen Music Festival and is an award-winning composer and a passionate educator.
Teddy Abrams on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Salman Ahmad
Salman Ahmad is a Pakistani musician and former actor who formed Junoon, South Asia’s biggest and longest-lasting rock band. Ahmad is a UN Goodwill Ambassador who works actively to spread awareness about HIV in South Asia and help bring peace between Pakistan and India.
Salman Ahmad on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Karen Armstrong, OBE
Karen Armstrong OBE is a historian of religion, whose books on the traditions of India, China, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have been translated into forty-five languages. They include, A History of God, which was an international bestseller; The Battle for God, A History of Fundamentalism; Islam: A Short History, Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time; Buddha; The Great Transformation: The Origin of Our Religious Traditions and most recently Fields of Blood; Religion and the History of Violence. In 2007 she was appointed by Kofi Anan to the High-Level Group of the UN Alliance of Civilizations with the task of diagnosing the causes of extremism. In 2008, she was awarded the TED Prize and began working with TED on the Charter for Compassion, created online by the general public, crafted by leading thinkers in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. It was launched in the fall of 2009 and has become a global movement. Also in 2008 she was awarded the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Medal. In 2013 she received the British Academy’s inaugural Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize for Transcultural Understanding and in 2015 the ISESCO prize for educators. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a Trustee of the British Museum.
Karen Armstrong on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Aruni Bhatnagar, Ph.D.
Aruni Bhatnagar, Ph.D., professor and distinguished university scholar in the Institute of Molecular Cardiology, professor of medicine, and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, joined UofL in 1998. He was elected a fellow of the American Heart Association in 2005. Dr. Bhatnagar is a Distinguished University Scholar and a Fellow of the American Heart Association.
His research interests include cardiovascular effects of environmental pollutants, atherosclerosis, injury from loss of blood to the heart muscle, cardiovascular complications of diabetes, and sepsis. Bhatnagar’s work has led to the creation of the new field of environmental cardiology. His research is supported by several grants from the National Institutes of Health, including two program projects.
Dr. Bhatnagar is a graduate of Kanpur University, India and received his post-doctoral training at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Dr. Bhatnagar is known for his pioneering work on the role of the polyol pathway of glucose metabolism and how it is regulated by nitric oxide.
Dr. Bhatnagar’s research has led to the elucidation of certain mechanisms by which free radicals and lipid peroxidation products affect the function of individual ion channels. He is currently serving on the Editorial Boards of both Circulation Research and Circulation, has participated in over 50 National Institutes of Health review panels and is the author of over 120 publications.
Dr. Bhatnagar leads a group of 30 investigators focused on developing a better understanding of the cardiovascular complications of diabetes.
Aruni Bhatnagar on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Molly Bingham
Molly Bingham is the driving force behind Orb, a digital journalism nonprofit with a mission of telling stories that challenge our assumptions and unite us around our human story. An award-winning documentary filmmaker, photographer, and journalist, Bingham has covered news and conflicts around the globe. Her work has been featured in leading media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, The Independent, Vanity Fair, and she has appeared on top network and cable television and radio news programs. Named in 2012 by the Columbia Journalism Review as one of “20 Women to Watch,” Bingham is at the cutting edge of defining journalism in the digital age, with a unique vision for discovering and covering global stories while making original content accessible and engaging. She serves on the boards of The Overseas Press Club and The Listen Campaign. A graduate of Harvard University, Bingham was awarded a Neiman Fellowship in 2004, where she first began developing Orb’s core concepts.
Molly Bingham on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Rev. Allan Boesak, Ph.D.
Born in 1946, in Kakamas, Northern Cape, South Africa, Rev. Dr. Allan Aubrey Boesak is a theologian, humanitarian, prolific author and tireless advocate for social justice. Since gaining international acclaim for his doctoral dissertation, “Farewell to Innocence,”nearly four decades ago, Boesak has emerged as one of the world’s preeminent authorities on liberation theology. In June 2013, Christian Theological Seminary and Butler University named Boesak the Desmond Tutu Chair of Peace, Global Justice, and Reconciliation Studies, following his role as a theologian and visiting professor at both institutions during the 2012-13 academic year. A prolific writer, Boesak has authored 17 books, and edited or co-edited four, in addition to publishing numerous articles on theology and politics. Numerous honors and awards have been presented to Boesak in recognition of his leadership on humanitarian, reconciliation, social justice and theological leadership.
Rev. Allan Boesak on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Elna Boesak
Elna Botha-Boesak’s career as South African journalist, debate moderator and public speaker spans more than thirty years. Her work as media worker includes radio and television program hosting, documentary production and feature writing. In her research, in-depth investigations and lectures Elna prioritizes perspectives, narratives, experiences and developments that are hidden in the cracks of public attention. She has in the past shed light on challenging social and economic realities such as white supremacy and racism, chronic poverty, backstreet abortion, and gangsterism. In a six-part radio docu-drama series, she offered an extensive analysis of the nature and legacy of the slave society of South Africa. As public forum facilitator Elna creates safe spaces for honest, credible and constructive dialogue and often tackles contentious and sensitive matters. In public lectures, she focuses on matters related to reconciled diversity, the many faces and places of oppression and violence and gender equality and the empowerment of women. She has a particular interest in communication ethics and the impact of the media on harmful societal thinking and doing patterns. She is at present residing in the USA while she is completing a Ph.D. (Religion and Gender) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa on the role of globalized strategic mass media communication as a vehicle for harmful grand narratives. She is a research associate of the Chicago-based organization the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference and was one of the organization’s delegates that attended the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York in 2015.
Learn more about Elna Boesak at her website: http://www.elnaboesak.com/
Elna Boesak on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Amber Burns
Amber Burns is the Assistant Director of New Roots in Louisville, KY. She was born and raised in Louisville, Ky. She is a proud graduate of the University of Louisville where she earned a BA in Pan-African Studies and English. Amber was introduced to New Roots while serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA with the Presbyterian Hunger Program.
After volunteering at the Shawnee Neighborhood Fresh Stop, Amber was amazed by the level of passion and commitment demonstrated by New Roots volunteers and staff. As a resident of West Louisville, an underinvested community in Louisville Metro, Amber feels personally tied to the work of New Roots. When she is not organizing in the community, Amber enjoys reading Sci-fi novels, writing and eating kale.
Amber Burns on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, Ph.D.
Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell retired in December 2013 after 13 years as Director of the Department of Religion at the historic Chautauqua Institution. Before coming to Chautauqua, Rev. Campbell, a distinguished life-long ecumenist, served as the first ordained woman appointed as General Secretary of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Prior to her time at the NCCC USA, Rev. Campbell served as Director of the U.S. Office of the World Council of Churches. During her time as General Secretary, Rev. Campbell, in concert with Paul Gorman, Carl Sagan, Dean James Morton, and Albert Gore, founded what is today the National Religious Partnership on the Environment (NRPE), and continues to serve as Chair of the Board.
Rev. Campbell is a devoted activist for peace and social justice, believing that citizens in a democracy must act on their conscience. This commitment was crafted during her life-changing work with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and was deepened in the struggle to end apartheid in South Africa. Archbishop Desmond Tutu referred to her as “a woman of courage and compassion.” He pointed out that Rev. Campbell was the only woman in the clergy procession of over 200 for his installation as Archbishop of South Africa, commenting, “Her voice helped to bring an end to the evil of apartheid.”
Rev. Campbell’s commitment to growing the global compassion movement is reflected in her work with Charter for Compassion International. She also serves as Chair of the Global Peace Initiative of Women, providing leadership to GPIW’s important work with women throughout the world. She served as Chair of the Global Health Council and was a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Councils on both Faith and Values. She is the recipient of 14 honorary degrees and, in 2010, was awarded the Walter Cronkite Faith and Freedom Award. Rev. Campbell is author of Living Into Hope: A Call to Spiritual Action for Such a Time as This, and Prayers From Chautauqua, a collection of her prayers published in 2013. She is the mother of three grown children and grandmother to eight.
Joan Brown Campbell on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Guy Ferrer
Guy Ferrer (1955) is French of Mediterranean origin. He has mainly worked in Paris, in Los Angeles, and in several foreign countries in the context of creating temporary studios as New York, Caracas, Lima, Beijing and Johannesburg.
In 2012, the installation of his art studios in French Catalonia marked his return to the Mediterranean. His work, mainly dedicated to sculpture and painting, also explores writing and architecture. Its line of force and main themes are spirituality and the place of Man facing Time.
Since the 1980s, Guy Ferrer has developed an international career highlighted by exhibitions in numerous museums and galleries.
Several French Departments and Agencies have recognized the artist: a monumental bronze sculpture for the French embassy in Singapore, a large fresco painted for the French embassy in Bakou (Azerbaijan), sculpture for the French Foreign Affairs central building in Paris.
The O.E.C.D commissioned and permanently displays the large triptych titled “Liberté-Egalité-Fraternité”.
Artistic partnerships have been developed with several companies, like such as Lefranc&Bourgeois, Le Bon Marché, Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte, Champagne Jacquart and Bordeaux vineyards.
Guy Ferrer on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Arun Gandhi
Arun Gandhi was born in 1934 in Durban, South Africa, and is the fifth grandson of India’s legendary leader, Mohandas K. “Mahatma” Gandhi.
Growing up under the discriminatory apartheid laws of South Africa, Arun sought eye-for-an-eye justice. However, he learned from his parents and grandparents that justice does not mean revenge, it means transforming the opponent through love and compassion.
At a young age, Arun’s Grandfather taught him to understand nonviolence by sharing an understanding of violence through daily one-to-one sessions. Mahatma Gandhi said: “If we know how much passive violence we perpetrate against one another, we will understand why there is so much physical violence plaguing societies and the world”. Through the daily lessons, Arun says he learned to understand the nature and origins of violence and anger.
Arun Gandhi is a former journalist and was the Deputy Editor of The Times of India. Now Arun is a peace activist and environmental activist, writer and published author, speaker, agent of change, a proponent of nonviolence and carries and has been sharing the wisdom and teachings of his late grandfather around the world for over 30 years.
Arun has received 7 honorary doctorates, he is a board member of the Nelson Mandela’s Children’s Hospital in South Africa and is Founder and President of the Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute.
Arun Gandhi on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Amin Hashwani
Arun Gandhi was born in 1934 in Durban, South Africa, and is the fifth grandson of India’s legendary leader, Mohandas K. “Mahatma” Gandhi.
Growing up under the discriminatory apartheid laws of South Africa, Arun sought eye-for-an-eye justice. However, he learned from his parents and grandparents that justice does not mean revenge, it means transforming the opponent through love and compassion.
At a young age, Arun’s Grandfather taught him to understand nonviolence by sharing an understanding of violence through daily one-to-one sessions. Mahatma Gandhi said: “If we know how much passive violence we perpetrate against one another, we will understand why there is so much physical violence plaguing societies and the world”. Through the daily lessons, Arun says he learned to understand the nature and origins of violence and anger.
Arun Gandhi is a former journalist and was the Deputy Editor of The Times of India. Now Arun is a peace activist and environmental activist, writer and published author, speaker, agent of change, a proponent of nonviolence and carries and has been sharing the wisdom and teachings of his late grandfather around the world for over 30 years.
Arun has received 7 honorary doctorates, he is a board member of the Nelson Mandela’s Children’s Hospital in South Africa and is Founder and President of the Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute.
Arun Gandhi on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Shaikh Kabir Helminski
Kabir Helminski is a Shaikh of the Mevlevi Order of Sufis, which traces its inspiration to Jelaluddin Rumi. He began his Mevlevi training as a student of the late Shaikh Suleyman Loras. In 1990 he was subsequently appointed a Shaikh. Under Kabir’s direction, the Mevlevi Order is working to apply traditional Sufi principles to the conditions of contemporary life. Kabir and his wife, Camille, founded and now direct The Threshold Society, a nonprofit educational foundation that has developed programs for practice and study within Sufism and spiritual psychology. He leads workshops and retreats for Sufis and the broader multifaith community.
Kabir Helminski on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Rev. Alvin Herring
The Rev. Alvin Herring is the Deputy Director of Faith and Formation for PICO National Network, the largest grassroots, faith-based organizing network in the United States.
In this capacity, Rev. Herring is leading PICO’s efforts to put race at the center of its organizing and advocacy work to train thousands of clergy, community leaders, and activists to confront the role of racial privilege in U.S. society and politics. His work is integral to PICO’s commitment to provoke deep, sustained public conversations that lead to eliminating racial disparities and create opportunities for racial healing and equity.
Rev. Herring has more than 20 years of experience as a trainer and consultant in the areas of diversity and inclusion, leadership development, community building and community organizing, social justice activism, and strategic planning. Previously, Rev. Herring was the executive director of the Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace and Justice at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, where he also served as the dean of students and assistant vice president of Campus Life. For many years Rev. Herring traveled across the country as CEO and lead facilitator of Side By Side, bringing innovative diversity and community building consulting and training to high school, college and university campuses.
He is the former chief operating officer of the National Coalition Building Institute, Washington D.C., where he led diversity, leadership development and affinity group training programs for thousands of participants across the country and internationally.
Rev. Herring brings the experiences gathered over a rewarding career as an activist pastor and grass-roots leader to the work here at PICO National Network. He views his work as a ministry and a calling that allows him to turn his faith into action that is ushering in a new era of hope and the building of the “beloved community.”
Alvin Herring on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Pico Iyer
Pico Iyer is the author of 12 books, on subjects as diverse as the global order, Graham Greene, the Cuban Revolution and Islamic mysticism. He has written the introductions to more than 50 other books—by Somerset Maugham, Peter Matthiessen, Michael Ondaatje, Huston Smith and many others—and has often written liner notes and tour programs for Leonard Cohen. He gave talks for TED in both 2013 and 2014—one on movement, one on stillness—and each has been seen by roughly 2 million viewers.
Born in Oxford, England and educated at Eton, Oxford, and Harvard, Iyer has been based in Western Japan for 28 years and spends much of the rest of his time in a Benedictine hermitage in California. His 2008 book on the XIVth Dalai Lama, The Open Road, drawn from more than 30 years of talks and travels with the Tibetan leader, was a national best-seller and was translated into a dozen or more languages. The same is true of his most recent book, The Art of Stillness, the second TED Original ever to be published.
Pico Iyer on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz
Archbishop Joseph Edward Kurtz was ordained to the priesthood in 1972 and served 27 years in various roles within the Diocese of Allentown, including as a social worker, Catholic Charities director, pastor, and teacher on the high school, college, and seminary levels. In 1999 Archbishop Kurtz was appointed Bishop of Knoxville, Tennessee and in 2007, Archbishop of Louisville, Kentucky. Elected President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2013, Archbishop Kurtz serves on the executive and administrative committee of that body as well as on the boards of numerous local and national organizations. In February of 2014, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop to the Holy See’s Congregation for the Oriental Churches.
Archbishop Kurtz on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Rabbi Lawrence Kushner
Lawrence Kushner is the Emanu-El Scholar at San Francisco’s Congregation Emanu-El and visiting a professor of Jewish spirituality at the Graduate Theological Union. Prior to this, he was Rabbi-in-Residence at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City where he taught spirituality and mysticism and mentored rabbinic students. He presently continues as an adjunct member of the faculty. Before that, he served for 28 years as the rabbi of Congregation Beth El in Sudbury, Massachusetts.
Kushner is a regular commentator on NPR’s “All Thing Considered.” One of the most widely read authors on Jewish spiritual life, he brings his gifts as a storyteller and scholar to his role as a leader of personal and institutional renewal within Judaism. He has a knack for conveying the beauty and the profundity of Jewish mysticism. He can take ancient sacred words, texts, and rituals and make them eminently accessible to the modern mind. This rabbi is also a master storyteller with a keen sense of humor who uses illustrative material from his own life as a touchstone to everyday spirituality.
As a boy and through junior high school, Kushner’s life revolved around art and he was the recipient of many awards. His painting went into hibernation when he decided to become a rabbi. Now, after a fifty year hiatus, he has returned to his art full-force. He studies with the Baja-San Rafael impressionist, Ezra Katz and the Palo Alto, figurative landscape artist, Sandy Ostrau. In 2013, he had a one-man show in San Francisco. Rabbi Kushner’s art can be viewed on his website: http://www.lkushner.com/
Lawrence Kushner on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Mike Martin
Mike Martin is the founder and Executive Director of RAWtools, Inc., a nonprofit that transforms weapons into hand tools. A former youth and young adult pastor, holding a BA in Biblical Studies and licensed for specialized ministry in the Mennonite Church USA, Mike has spent the past 3 years working to change the narratives of violence into narratives of creation. The combination of his Anabaptist roots, theological education, and landscaping work experience cultivates his passion for living the biblical call to turn weapons of war into tools for peace (Isa 2:4; Mic 4:3). Mike serves on the leadership board for Mountain States Mennonite Conference. RAWtools’ work has been seen in the Huffington Post, New York Daily News, Red Letter Christians, Sojourners, Edible Vineyard, and others. Mike lives in Colorado Springs, CO with his wife Hannah and son Samuel.
Ingrid Mattson, Ph.D.
Dr. Mattson was educated in Canada and the United States, earning a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1999. From 1998 to 2012 she was Professor of Islamic Studies at Hartford Seminary in CT where she developed and directed the first accredited graduate program for Muslim chaplains in America, and served as Director of the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations. From 2001-2010 Dr. Mattson served as vice-president, then as president of the Islamic Society of North America (USA), the first woman to serve in either position. Her writings, both academic and public, focus primarily Qur’an interpretation, Islamic theological ethics, and interfaith relations. Her book, The Story of the Qur’an, is an academic best-seller and was chosen by the US National Endowment for the Humanities for inclusion in its “Bridging Cultures” program.
More Information about Ingrid Mattson can be found on her website: http://ingridmattson.org/
Ingrid Mattson on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Rev. Michael McBride
Pastor Michael McBride (known as “Pastor Mike”) is a native of San Francisco and has been active in ministry for over 20 years. Throughout the years, Pastor McBride’s commitment to holistic ministry can be seen through his leadership roles in both the church and community organizations. A graduate of Duke University’s Divinity School, with an emphasis in Ethics and Public Policy, Pastor McBride planted The Way Christian Center in West Berkeley, where he presently serves as the Lead Pastor. In March 2012, he became the National Director for the Lifelines to Healing/LIVE FREE Campaign with the PICO National Network, a campaign led by hundreds of faith congregations throughout the United States committed to addressing gun violence and mass incarceration of young people of color. In 2013, Pastor McBride was selected as the #9 Top Clergy Leader to Watch in the US by the Center for American Progress. He has served on a number of local and national task forces with the White House and Department of Justice regarding gun violence prevention, boys and men of color and police-community relationships. He is a regular guest on MSNBC, CNN and Al-Jazeera programs providing commentary for issues related to faith and racial justice. He is married to Cherise McBride and they have two beautiful daughters, Sarai and Nylah.
Pastor Mike on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Rajiv Mehrotra
Rajiv Mehrotra is the Founding Secretary & Trustee of The Foundation for Universal Responsibility of HH The Dalai Lama established with the Noble Peace Prize (www.furhhdl.org). He has been a personal student of His Holiness for more than thirty years
His nine books, translated into a dozen languages, include The Mind of The Guru, Thakur – a biography of Sri Ramakrishna, Understanding The Dalai Lama, The Essential Dalai Lama, and Conversations with The Dalai Lama, on Life, Living and Happiness.
He works as an independent film maker, Managing Trustee, Producer & Commissioning editor of The Public Service Broadcasting Trust (www.psbt.org) He has Directed /Produced more than 650 independent documentary films for public television. These have been selected for 1280 film festival screenings by juries around the world winning 238 awards. He has won 27 national awards from the President of India. For several decades he was the host one of the India’s longest running, and most widely viewed talk shows on public Television, In Conversations.
Rajiv Mehrotra was a Judge for the prestigious $1.5 Million, Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion for several years. He speaks on issues related to the Buddhism & HH The Dalai Lama, the Ramakrishna/Vivekananda traditions. Inter-Faith Relations, Values & the Media. He was educated at the Universities of Oxford and Columbia.
Rajiv Mehrotra on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Joseph Mitchell, CP
Joseph Mitchell, CP is a Catholic priest and member of the Passionist community. Inspired and formed by Thomas Berry and the Great Work, he founded the Passionist Earth & Spirit Center in Louisville, KY, and currently serves as its president. He earned a graduate degree in Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness from the California Institute of Integral Studies and received his training in theology at Catholic Theological Union. Currently his work is focused on teaching meditation courses, offering programs in the new cosmology, and a commitment to the religious environmental movement.
Joseph Mitchell on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Karyn Moskowitz
Karyn Moskowitz is the Founder and Executive Director of New Roots in Louisville, KY. She is a native New Yorker who landed in the Ohio River Valley Region in 1998, experienced first hand the devastating effects of the lack of access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and her life, fortunately, was never the same. She now has 16 amazing years experience as a food justice organizer, and is one of the founders of the New Roots Fresh Stop Project, which she has operated since 2009, in partnership with hundreds of volunteer leaders.
Karyn has received numerous awards for her food and environmental justice work, including being inducted into the Kentucky SISTER (Sisters Inspiring Sisters to Eradicate Racism) Hall of Fame, Heartwood’s Hellbender Award, named 1 of 12 Jewish Women in Environmental Activism by National Women’s Archive, 1 of 10 “Green Jewish Women” honored by Jewish Woman Magazine, two-time food justice delegation leader to Slow Food’s Terra Madre Conference in Italy, recipient of a Rockefeller Fellowship from the Appalachian Center at the University of Kentucky, and was a U.S. Senate Candidate for the Green Party of Oregon.
Karyn holds a B.A. from Boston University in biology and an MBA in environmental management from the University of Washington Foster School of Business and ESCP Europe. She is an engaging and passionate, sought-after speaker and has spoken near and far about fresh food as a right, not a charity or a privilege. She is a proud mom of a 16-year old daughter who loves to eat her Kentucky-grown spinach.
Karyn Moskowitz on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Linda Sarsour
Linda Sarsour is a working woman, racial justice and civil rights activist, every Islamophobe’s worst nightmare, and mother of three. Ambitious, outspoken and independent, Linda shatters stereotypes of Muslim women while also treasuring her religious and ethnic heritage. She is a Palestinian Muslim American and a self-proclaimed “pure New Yorker, born and raised in Brooklyn!” She is the Executive Director of the Arab American Association of New York and co-founder of the first Muslim online organizing platform, MPOWER Change. Linda has been at the forefront of major civil rights campaigns including calling for an end to unwarranted surveillance of New York’s Muslim communities and ending police policies like stop and frisk. In wake of the police murder of Mike Brown, she co-founded Muslims for Ferguson to build solidarity amongst American Muslim communities and encourage work against police brutality. She is a member of the Justice League NYC, a leading NYC force of activists, formerly incarcerated individuals, and artists working to reform the New York Police Department and the criminal justice system.
Linda co-chaired the March2Justice, a 250-mile journey on foot to deliver a justice package to end racial profiling, demilitarize police and demand the government invest in young people and communities. Linda Sarsour was instrumental in the Coalition for Muslim School Holidays to push New York City to incorporate 2 Muslim high holy holidays into the NYC Public school calendar. This year, New York City will be the largest school system in the country to officially recognize these holidays. This year, Linda joined leading social justice faith leaders as a Senior Fellow at Auburn Seminary.
She has received numerous awards and honors including “Champion of Change” by the White House, YWCA USA’s Women of Distinction Award for Advocacy and Civic Engagement and the Hala Maksoud Leadership Award from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. Sarsour was named among 500 of the most influential Muslims in the world. Most recently, Linda was profiled on the front page of the New York Times Metro Section and dubbed “Brooklyn Homegirl in a Hijab” and introduced Linda to their readership as “ Mixing street smarts, activism, and her Muslim identity, Linda Sarsour has become a political force”. She has written for and has been featured in local, national, and international media discussing the impact of domestic policies that target Arab and Muslim American communities, criminal justice issues and Middle Easterm affairs. Linda is well respected amongst diverse communities in both in New York City and nationally. She is most known for her intersectional coalition work and building bridges across issues, racial, ethnic and faith communities.
Linda Sarsour on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Imam Zaid Shakir
Imam Zaid Shakir is a co-founder, serves on its Board of Trustees, and senior Faculty Member of Zaytuna College located in Berkeley, CA. He is amongst the most respected and influential Islamic scholars in the West. As an American Muslim who came of age during the civil rights struggles, he has brought both sensitivity about race and poverty issues and scholarly discipline to his faith-based work.
Born in Berkeley, California, he accepted Islam in 1977 while serving in the United States Air Force. He obtained a BA with honors in International Relations at American University in Washington D.C. and later earned his MA in Political Science at Rutgers University. While at Rutgers, he led a successful campaign for divestment from South Africa and co-founded New Brunswick Islamic Center formerly Masjid al-Huda.
As Imam of Masjid Al-Islam from 1988 to 1994 he spear-headed a community renewal and grassroots anti-drug effort, and also taught political science and Arabic at Southern Connecticut State University. He served as an interfaith council Chaplain at Yale University and developed the Chaplaincy Sensitivity Training for physicians at Yale New Haven Hospital.
For seven years in Syria, and briefly in Morocco, he immersed himself in an intense study of Arabic, Islamic law, Quranic studies, and spirituality with some of the top Muslim scholars of our age. In 2001, he graduated from Syria’s prestigious Abu Noor University with a BA in Islamic Sciences and returned to Connecticut, serving again as the Imam of Masjid al-Islam, and writing and speaking frequently on a host of issues. That same year, his translation from Arabic into English of The Heirs of the Prophets was published by Starlatch Press.
In 2004, he initiated a pilot seminary program at Zaytuna Institute, which was useful in Zaytuna College’s refinement of its Islamic Studies curriculum and its educational philosophy. In 2005, Zaytuna Institute published Scattered Pictures: Reflections of An American Muslim, an anthology of diverse essays penned by Zaid Shakir. He co-founded the Lighthouse Mosque, Oakland, CA. in 2007. He authored an award-winning text, Treatise for the Seekers of Guidance, a translation and commentary on Imam Harith al-Muhasibi’s work, Risala al-Mustarshideen in 2008. He is co-founder and chairman of United For Change since 2009. The mission of United For Change is, through modern discourse, to create awareness of the broadest and most consuming topics within the Muslim community. His most recent work is Where I’m Coming From: The Year In Review, a new collection of his essays from 2010.
He is a frequent speaker at local and national Muslim events and has emerged as one of the nation’s top Islamic scholars and a voice of conscience for American Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Recently, Imam Zaid was ranked as “one of America’s most influential Scholars” in the West; by The 500 Most Influential Muslims, edited by John Esposito and Ibrahim Kalin, (2009).
Imam Zaid Shakir on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Ricky Skaggs
A life full of music. That’s the story of Ricky Skaggs. By age 21, he was already considered a “recognized master” of one of America’s most demanding art forms, but his career took him in other directions, catapulting him to popularity and success in the mainstream of country music. His life’s path has taken him to various musical genres, from where it all began in bluegrass music, to striking out on new musical journeys, while still leaving his musical roots intact.
Ricky struck his first chords on a mandolin over 50 years ago, and this 14-time Grammy Award winner continues to do his part to lead the recent roots revival in music. The diverse and masterful tones made by the gifted Skaggs come from a life dedicated to playing music that is both fed by the soul and felt by the heart.
Performing Wednesday, May 17 at 7:00pm with Teddy Abrams and Salman Ahmad.
Tickets Here: http://classy.org/sacredwisdom
Ricky Skaggs on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Bryant Terry
Bryant Terry is a 2015 James Beard Foundation Leadership Award-winning chef, educator, and author renowned for his activism to create a healthy, just, and sustainable food system. He is currently the inaugural Chef-in-Residence at the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco where he creates programming that celebrates the intersection of food, farming, health, activism, art, culture, and the African Diaspora. Bryant’s mentor Alice Waters says, “Bryant Terry knows that good food should be an everyday right and not a privilege.” Fast Company magazine named him one of “9 People Who Are Changing the Future of Food” in their April 2016 issue.
Bryant’s fourth book, Afro Vegan was published by Ten Speed Press/Random House April 2014. Just two months after publication, Amazon.com named it one of the best cookbooks of the year. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African-American Cuisine, and he coauthored Grub, which The New York Times called “ingenious.”
In 2002 Bryant founded b-healthy, a multi-year initiative in New York City designed to empower youth to be more active in fighting for a more sustainable food system.
Bryant graduated from the Chef’s Training Program at the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City. He holds a M.A. in History from NYU and a B.A. with honors in English from Xavier University of Louisiana. He lives in Oakland, California with his wife and their beautiful two daughters.
Bryant Terry on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Anam Thubten
Anam Thubten grew up in Tibet and at an early age began to practice in the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Among his many teachers, his most formative guides were Lama Tsurlo, Khenpo Chopel, and Lama Garwang. He is the founder and spiritual advisor of Dharmata Foundation, teaching widely in the U.S. and abroad. He is also the author of various articles and books in both the Tibetan and English language. His books in English include The Magic of Awareness and No Self, No Problem.
Anam Thubten on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Jim Wallis
Jim Wallis is a New York Times bestselling author, public theologian, speaker, and international commentator on ethics and public life. He recently served on the White House Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships and was former vice chair of and currently serves on the Global Agenda Council on Values of the World Economic Forum. Jim is the author of 12 books. His most recent book, America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America, will be released in January. He is president and founder of Sojourners, where he is also editor-in-chief of Sojourners magazine.
Jim Wallis on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
Terence Ward
Terence Ward is a writer, documentary producer, and a cultural consultant. Born in Colorado, Terence Ward grew up in Arabia and Iran. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley after attending the American University of Cairo, where he specialized in the history of political Islam. As a cultural consultant, he has worked in the Middle East and the US. He also participated in humanitarian missions for the Open Society to Burma and the United Nations in East Timor.
His first book, Searching for Hassan: A Journey to the Heart of Iran is a literary chronicle of his odyssey back to Iran after 30 years. It has become a cult classic in America, a best seller in Iran and is being developed as the first American-Iranian co-production for a feature film to be shot in Iran since the Revolution. The Iranian Muslim Association of North America honored him in Los Angeles, and, In San Francisco, the Persian Center of Northern California presented him with their Global Recognition Award for “promoting peace through cultural awareness.”
His latest book, The Guardian of Mercy: How an Extraordinary Painting of Caravaggio Changed an Ordinary Life Today,is a moving narrative that interweaves Caravaggio’s life story with those of people in contemporary Naples whose lives are transformed by the power of art—and mercy. Elaine Pagels has called it “a story of grace”. Ward and his wife, Idanna Pucci, are International Trustees of the World Conference of Religions for Peace–the world’s largest inter-faith organization.
Terence Ward on stage at the 2016 Festival of Faiths »
PROGRAM
The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.
-Black Elk, Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux, 1863-1950