Open Discussions
in association with
Gulf Cultural Club
invite you to inter-faith Discussion
to mark Mohammad and Jesus birth anniversaries
Faith in Action
Personal experiences in religious social works
and aspirations for more spiritual, less material world
Speakers
Alan Murray *
Dr Aslam El Soudani **
Revd David Tuck ***
Ashur Shamis****
This is a time when people of faith need to feel proud of their religious identities. As Christians await Christmas to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, Muslims will have celebrated the birth of Mohammad. Both religions have abundance of rich traditions, spirituality and moral values. It is the time for their followers to come together and share these valuable treasures. The seminar is a get-together event to exchange ideas on commonalities, shared spiritual experiences and aspirations for a better future for the human race.
Time: 6.30pm Tuesday, 19th December 2017
Venue: Abrar House, 45 Crawford Place, W1H 4LP
* Alan Murray chairs the Trustees of All Faiths And None, an educational programme and resource primarily for further education. AFAN works for dialogue and mutual understanding and against discrimination and intolerance at national and local levels, in educational and community contexts, exploring the ‘Big Questions’ in life within the diverse multi-faith belief traditions of our society. Murray is also Chair of the European Network on Religion and Belief, based in Brussels, and he was the Churches’ National Adviser on Further Education at the Archbishops Council from 2003-2008.
**Dr. Aslam El-Soudani is an activist and humanitarian. She travelled around refugee camps in Europe and the Middle East providing aid and humanitarian assistance. Dr. El-soudani also conducted in-depth interviews with families fleeing ISIS in order to comprehend the conflicts in the Middle East. She completed her doctorate in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at Durham University. Her research looks at methodological issues and various Qur’anic hermeneutical approaches on political theology. Her interests include Qur’ānic hermeneutics, post-colonialism, Muslim women intellectual heritage, topics on ethnicity, race and culture, political theology, inter and intra-faith relations and community action. Dr. El-Soudani finished a postdoctoral position at the Centre for Muslim-Christian studies, Oxford. She was also the researcher and assistant producer of “why can’t I be a sushi” at SpokenIris Films (www.spokeniris.com), a documentary exploring Sunni- Shia conflict.
*** Revd David Tuck has been in parish ministry for most of his working life – in Norfolk and in Greater London – Although he had formally retired in 2001 he has continued his life of extremely active service as Curate at the Parish Church of St. Alban, North Harrow. He is active in interfaith circles and often visits and lectures at mosques and other faith centres.
**** Ashur Shamis is an expert on political Islam, state-religion relations, democratic transition, social movements, and state-society relations in the Middle East and North Africa. He was an activist against the Gaddafi regime in Libya for over thirty years. He translated several work from and into Arabic including; In the Shade of the Quran, A Thematic Commentary on the Quran, Nelson Mandela autobiography, and Talking to Terrorists.
Admission is Free. Please register for catering purposes – email: d05sa@yahoo.co.uk or text 07795 660 438
