Dr. Mohammed Ali Hazratji recently accepted an invitation to meet with Jews, Christians, Buddhists, and even an American Indian to illuminate their discussion on ‘Meaning in the Face of Evil.
GENOCIDE: RECONCILIATION, FORGIVENESS, AND THE SEARCH FOR MEANING IN THE FACE OF EVIL
Mohammed Ali Hazratji - "Searching for Meaning in the Face of Evil"
October 23, 2009 – One of several programs in a two-week series addressing the issue of genocide
A panel discussion with Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, and Native American leaders
Tuesday, November 3, 2009 at 7:30 PM
Cape Cod Lounge, Student Union Building, UMass Amherst
Artists, educators, theologians and human rights activists have joined together to raise awareness on the UMass Amherst campus of genocides in the 20th and 21st centuries.
As part of a two-week series of art exhibits and panel discussions, an interfaith panel of Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist and Native American spiritual leaders [details below] will discuss how their religious tradition addresses questions such as: Is it possible to forgive, and if so, how? How can thesurvivors of genocide and their descendants—and the descendants of the perpetrators of genocide — reconcile themselves to life, to God, to each other’s descendants, and to the country in which they may still live? Does forgiveness require criminal justice in the form of punishment or retribution?
The interfaith panel discussion will be Tuesday, November 3 at 7:30pm in the Cape Cod Lounge, Student Union Building, UMass Amherst. It is free and open to the public. (Speaker info below)
The two-week series—titled “Never Again: Genocide from Cambodia to Darfur and Beyond”—begins November 2, with the opening of a multi-artist exhibition in the Student Union Art Gallery (which runs through November 13). An opening reception will be held November 3 from 5-6pm, followed by artist talks from 6-7pm. The series then continues with the interfaith panel discussion on November 3 and another panel discussion (“Genocide: From Justice to Prevention”), which will address the political and legal issues related to genocide, and particularly Darfur, on November 10.
This series was initiated by the Office of Jewish Affairs, whose director, Larry Goldbaum, explained that “As former victims of genocide, the Jewish people feel a moral imperative to ensure that this never happens again—to anyone. Through our sponsorship of these programs,” Goldbaum said, “we hope to educate the University community and in so doing, to bring the world one step closer to that goal.”
The series is sponsored by the Office of Jewish Affairs, STAND: Student Anti-Genocide Coalition, Western Mass Darfur Coalition, Cambodian Students Association, Student Union Art Gallery, UMass Arts Council, Graduate Student Senate, Student Government Association, and supported in part by a grant from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation.
All events are free, open to the public, and wheelchair accessible.
More information about all of the programs in this series can be found online at: www.umass.edu/jewish/programs/genocide09/ or contact Larry Goldbaum at the Office of Jewish Affairs, 413-545-9642 or goldbaum@admin.umass.edu www.umass.edu/jewish (413) 545-9642
Office of Jewish Affairs
University of Massachusetts
229 Middlesex House
Amherst, MA 01003
Speakers on the Interfaith Panel:
REV. CHRIS CARLISLE has been the Episcopal chaplain at UMass Amherst since 1983 and is Director of Higher Education Ministry for the Diocese of Western Massachusetts. He has served on numerous national committees advising the Episcopal Church on matters pertaining to spirituality and ministry in higher education. In 1996, he founded the “God and Science” project, organizing forums to explore the interface between science and religion—an interest which led to the publication of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Intelligent Design (2006). Devoted to community service in addition to spiritual ministry, Rev. Carlisle founded the Five-College chapter of Habitat for Humanity in 1995, and has organized and led numerous Alternative Spring Break trips for students who wish to spend their school vacations in service to humanity. He founded the South Africa Children’s Advancement Fund working to improve the lives of children in South Africa, and was instrumental in bringing South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu to UMass Amherst in 1992. Rev. Carlisle received an M.T.S. from Harvard in 1978, and an M.Div from Yale in 1982.
DR. MOHAMMAD ALI HAZRATJI is Chief of Neurology at Holyoke Medical Center, and has been a practicing neurologist in the Pioneer Valley for the last 28 years. He is currently president of the Hampshire Mosque in Amherst, and was president of the Islamic Society of Western Massachusetts from 1990-2007. Dr. Hazratji has been active in interfaith activities, refugee medical relief work overseas, refugee resettlement programs, and programs for promoting peace and understanding among people. He has lectured at colleges throughout Western Massachusetts on Islamic issues and participated as a speaker on various panels in the aftermath of 9/11.
RABBI DAVID SEIDENBERG teaches Jewish theology, spirituality, ecology and traditional Jewish spirituals (niggunim) through his website NeoHasid.com and in workshops and classes around the country. He received his ordination and a doctorate in Jewish theology from the Jewish Theological Seminary. His dissertation was on Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) and ecotheology—Jewish thought in relation to ecology and the environment. He also received ordination from Rabbi Zalman Schachter-
Shalomi, a Hasidic spiritual leader and founder of the Jewish Renewal movement. Rabbi Seidenberg was a founding board member of the Jewish peace group, Brit Tzedek v’Shalom: The Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace.
SISTER CLARE CARTER was ordained in the Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist Order in 1981 in Japan.
She has practiced and served at the New England Peace Pagoda in Leverett since it was completed in 1986. The founder of her Order, Nichidatsu Fujii (1885-1985), believed the purpose of all religion is to bring true peace to all life on this earth, as well as peace in the depths of our hearts. Following this teaching, Sister Clare has participated in many local and regional peace walks, and in some international walks such as the Interfaith Pilgrimage for Peace and Life from Auschwitz to Hiroshima (1995), and retracing the journey of the trans-Atlantic slave trade in the Interfaith Pilgrimage of the Middle Passage (1998-1999).
LEONARD FOURHAWKS is a full blood Mohawk and Northern Cheyenne Indian, born in Canada.
From his mother, he learned the old traditional stories about how the earth was made, how Rabbit got his long ears, and why the birds all sing different songs. From his father’s Cheyenne family, he learned about traditional crafts such as drum making, leather sewing and weaving bone breastplates. From both sides of the family, Native American values of balance, spirituality and tradition were deeply instilled.
As an ordained minister, FourHawks does spiritual counseling, conducts weddings and officiates at funerals. He travels widely as a storyteller, and also lectures on various Native American subjects, from history to the continuation of the culture in modern times.
Interfaith panel to discuss “Genocide, Reconciliation, Forgiveness, and the Search for Meaning in the Face of Evil” at UMass Amherst
One of several programs in a two-week series addressing the issue of genocide
