50 episodes

Rumi Forum, located in Washington DC, is a well-known nonprofit organization with the mission of fostering intercultural dialogue, promote tolerance and understanding, and strengthening democracy and global peace.

Rumi Forum Podcast Rumi Forum

    • Society & Culture
    • 3.8 • 10 Ratings

Rumi Forum, located in Washington DC, is a well-known nonprofit organization with the mission of fostering intercultural dialogue, promote tolerance and understanding, and strengthening democracy and global peace.

    4th Interfaith Leadership Forum: Interfaith Engagement with the Environmental Crisis

    4th Interfaith Leadership Forum: Interfaith Engagement with the Environmental Crisis

    Rumi Forum, Interfaith Council of Metropolitan Washington, and Washington Theological Consortium presented the 4th Interfaith Leadership Forum: “Interfaith Engagement with the Environmental Crisis” on May 31, 2023. The program featured keynote speaker Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb, an interfaith panel, and an opportunity for small group dialogues.
    Keynote by: Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb, D.Min. started at Adat Shalom when the synagogue was only eight years old, and meeting at the JCC – he was still in rabbinic school, Founding Rabbi Sid was part-time, Shabbat morning services were every other week, and cell phones hardly existed. Upon ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1997, he became its first full-time rabbi and has joyfully served here ever since. Rabbi Fred currently serves as Chair of the National Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life and is on the boards of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment and Interfaith Power and Light (The Regeneration Project). Fred has also been deeply engaged in social and racial justice (including Jews United for Justice), multi-faith (a past board member of the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington), and Israeli-progressive (J Street and more) efforts.
    Panelists:
    Sevim Kalyoncu: Growing up in Alabama surrounded by woods and creeks, Sevim Kalyoncu discovered early that her most direct connection with God came through nature. To this day, she still finds peace in natural surroundings and holds a deep concern regarding humankind’s responsibility as vicegerent of the earth. She is involved with multiple local climate action groups and is dedicated to helping educate youth about the importance of environmental awareness for spiritual, mental, and physical well-being. She holds a B.S. from Georgetown and a master’s degree from the University of Chicago and has many years of nonprofit experience in Washington, DC, and the San Francisco Bay Area. She is also a naturalist interpreter and a yoga instructor.
    Rev. Dr. Gilson Waldkoenig: Rev. Dr. Gilson Waldkoenig teaches methods for understanding ministry in context and applied theology rooted in the resilient grace of Christ. As Director of the Town and Country Church Institute (TCCI), Dr. Waldkoenig teaches courses in rural and Appalachian ministry and is sought out by synods, judicatories, and other seminaries for consultation and teaching. His research has included multiple-church ministries, environmental ministries, and a variety of other topics, all reflecting his practical theology of “means of grace and scenes of grace.” He belongs to St. James Lutheran Church in Gettysburg. His books include Cooperating Congregations and Symbiotic Community, The Lost Land, and his reviews appeared in Agricultural History, Journal of Appalachian Studies, Journal for Study of Religion, Nature & Culture, Christian Century, and others.
    Dr. Rajwant Singh: Dr. Rajwant Singh is the founder and President of EcoSikh, a global organization working on the climate crisis facing the planet. It has engaged the worldwide Sikh community to take action on environmental issues. He also co-founded the National Sikh Campaign, an initiative to inform Americans about the Sikh identity. Dr. Rajwant Singh is also the Chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education (SCORE), an organization that has worked with the White House and the members of the United States Congress. He organized a large gathering of the Sikhs to interact with political and elected leaders at Capitol Hill. He was instrumental in organizing the first-ever celebration of Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary at the White House in 2009.
    Kristin Barker: Kristin Barker is co-founder and director of One Earth Sangha, whose mission is cultivating a Buddhist response to ecological crises. She graduated from Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leader program and now teaches with the Insight Meditation Community of Washington. As a co-founder of

    • 1 hr 19 min
    In-Person Book Talk: “Profiles in Peace”

    In-Person Book Talk: “Profiles in Peace”

    This new book traces the lives of Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs in Israel and Palestine who have dedicated their lives to building peaceful relations among the two peoples and between individual people who seek to live in peace and harmony with one another. These people have acted courageously and consistently in their work for peace.
    In this book, the author profiles the lives, thoughts, feelings, and actions of six important peacebuilders — men and women, secular and religious, 3 Jewish Israelis: Rabbi Michael Melchior, Professor Galia Golan, and Mrs. Hadassah Froman, and 3 Palestinian Arabs: Professor Mohammed Dajani, Ms. Huda Abuarquob, and Bishop Munib Younan.
    The reader learns about their visions for peace and their activities to bring their ideas to fruition in the real world of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Too many people have given up on peace. In contrast, the people in this book persevere for peace, thus keeping a flicker of hope alive for Israelis and Palestinians who live in the same land for people everywhere who continue to yearn for a peace agreement to be reached in the region. 
    Co-sponsored by: Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP) is a coalition of over 170 organizations—and tens of thousands of Palestinians and Israelis—building people-to-people cooperation, coexistence, equality, shared society, mutual understanding, and peace among their communities. We add stability in times of crisis, foster cooperation that increases impact, and build an environment conducive to peace over the long term. 
    Author: Rabbi Dr. Ron Kronish is an independent scholar, writer, blogger, lecturer, teacher, and mentor. For several years, he has been a Library Fellow at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute. From 1991-2015, he served as the Founder and Director of the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel (ICCI), Israel’s premier interreligious institution. He was educated at Brandeis University (BA), Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is the editor of Coexistence and Reconciliation in Israel: Voices for Interreligious Dialogue (Paulist Press, 2015) and the author of The Other Peace Process: Interreligious Dialogue, A View from Jerusalem (Hamilton Books, 2017) and Profiles in Peace: Voices of Peacebuilders in the Midst of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (2022). He writes a regular blog for The Times of Israel and contributes to The Jerusalem Report. He teaches courses about Interreligious Dialogue and Peacebuilding at the Schechter Institutes for Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, in the Department for Adult Education, and at the Drew University Theological School (via Zoom) in Madison, NJ.
    Moderator: Rabbi Gerry Serotta served as Executive Director of the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington from 2014 through 2020, where he continued his work as a leading voice for interfaith cooperation, religious freedom, and human rights. He is the founding rabbi of Shirat HaNefesh from 2008 to 2014. Rabbi Serotta has served as Executive Director of the interreligious organization Clergy Beyond Borders, Associate Rabbi of Temple Shalom in Chevy Chase, and Director of the Hillel Foundation at George Washington University. He was the founder and chair of Rabbis for Human Rights – North America and chaired the Board of Chaplains of George Washington University. Rabbi Serotta has received many awards for his communal work. He was named a Public Policy Conflict Resolution fellow by the University of Maryland School of Law and served as a senior rabbinic scholar in residence at the Religious Action Center of the Union for Reform Judaism. Rabbi Serotta received a master’s degree in Hebrew Literature from Hebrew Union College, a Master of Sacred Theology from New York Theological Seminary, and an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Hebrew Union College.
    Discussant: Ibrahim Anli is a civic entrepreneur with a career record that bridges

    • 1 hr 17 min
    In-Person Book Talk: “Between Thought & Action”

    In-Person Book Talk: “Between Thought & Action”

    This in-person book talk by Dr. Ori Z. Soltes was a discussion on “Between Thought & Action”, Fethullah Gulen`s intellectual biography of thoughts, words, and actions including interviews with Hizmet movement followers.
    This volume has two goals. One is to explore the life and the thought of Fethullah Gulen and the important educational and peace-inducing activities in which he and those inspired by him have been engaged for several decades. The outcome of those efforts—of creating schools and providing diverse social and cultural services that bring people together people from diverse backgrounds—has been to provide the face of civic and civil Islam as an antidote to the uglier side of political Islam.
    The second goal has been to make clear how the accusations against Mr. Gulen by the minions of Turkey`s President could hardly be more false: that what Gulen and the Hizmet (service) movement that he has inspired are ultimately about is improving the world and saving it from its uglier inclinations. A brief discussion of his life and thought has been supplemented by the voices of more than 70 interviews conducted over several years, with individuals intimate and more distant but all inspired to be part of the process of serving humanity.
    About the Author:
    Ori Z. Soltes teaches at Georgetown University across a range of disciplines, from art history and theology to philosophy and political history. He is the former Director of the B’nai B’rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum and has curated more than 85 exhibitions there and in other venues across the country and overseas. He has authored or edited 25 books and several hundred articles and essays. Recent volumes include “Our Sacred Signs: How Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Art Draw from the Same Source”; “Searching for Oneness: Mysticism in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam”; “Untangling the Web: Why the Middle East is a Mess and Always Has Been”; “Tradition and Transformation: Three Millennia of Jewish Art & Architecture”; and “God and the Goalposts: A Brief History of Religion, Sports, Politics, War, and Art”.

    • 38 min
    In-Person Book Talk: "Hearts & Minds: Hizmet Schools and Interethnic Relations"

    In-Person Book Talk: "Hearts & Minds: Hizmet Schools and Interethnic Relations"

    Dr. Parrillo and Dr. Ansari present a cross-cultural study of Hizmet schools in seven countries of varying histories and ethnic compositions. Some are fairly homogeneous, while others are longstanding multicultural, multiracial societies. Some have Muslim-majority populations, others a small Muslim minority. Through hundreds of interviews with students, parents, staff, and financial supporters, the authors explored individual perceptions and experiences, as well as the triad of student, parent, and school interaction.
    Analyzing the commonality of the schools' structures and processes in different settings, they offer their insights about the schools' success in achieving their twin goals of offering quality education and promoting interethnic harmony.
     
    About the Author:
    Vincent N. Parrillo
    Prof. Emeritus, Sociology, William Paterson University
    Vincent N. Parrillo is the author of numerous books and journal articles, some of them translated into ten languages. He is a Professor Emeritus of sociology at William Paterson University and a Fulbright Scholar and Fulbright Senior Specialist. An internationally recognized expert on immigration, he is the author of two historical novels about Ellis Island: Guardians of the Gate and Defenders of Freedom.
    His newest book is "Hearts and Minds: Hizmet Schools and Interethnic Relations." He is also the executive producer, writer, and narrator of six award-winning PBS television documentaries: "Ellis Island: Gateway to America"; "Smokestacks and Steeples: A Portrait of Paterson"; "Gaetano Federici: The Sculptor Laureate of Paterson"; "Paterson and Its People"; "Silk City Artists and Musicians", and "Paterson: A Delicious Destination".

    • 37 min
    In-Person Book Talk: “I Never Thought of It That Way”

    In-Person Book Talk: “I Never Thought of It That Way”

    We think we have the answers, but we need to be asking a lot more questions. Partisanship is up, trust is down, and our social media feeds make us sure we’re right and everyone else is ignorant (or worse). But avoiding and attacking one another is breaking… everything.
    Journalist Mónica Guzmán is the loving liberal daughter of Mexican immigrants who voted—twice—for Donald Trump. When the country could no longer see straight across the political divide, Mónica set out to find what was blinding us and discovered the most eye-opening tool we’re not using: our own curiosity.
    In this timely, personal guide, Mónica Guzmán, takes you to the real front lines of a crisis that threatens to grind America to a halt—broken conversations among confounded people. She shows you how to overcome the fear and certainty that surround us to finally do what only seems impossible: understand and even learn from people in your life whose whole worldview is different from or even opposed to yours.
     
    About the book: “I Never Thought of It That Way“
    Drawing from cross-partisan conversations she’s had, organized, or witnessed everywhere from the echo chambers on social media to the wheat fields in Oregon to raw, unfiltered fights with her own family on election night, Mónica shows how you can put your natural sense of wonder to work for you immediately, finding the answers you need by talking with people—rather than about them—and asking the questions you want, curiously.
    In these pages, you’ll learn:
    • How to ask what you really want to know (even if you’re afraid to)
    • How to grow smarter from even the tensest interactions, online or off
    • How to cross boundaries and find common ground—with anyone
    Whether you’re left, right, center, or not a fan of labels: If you’re ready to fight back against the confusion, heartbreak, and madness of our dangerously divided times—in your own life, at least—Mónica’s got the tools and fresh, surprising insights to prove that seeing where people are coming from isn’t just possible. It’s easier than you think.
      Author Mónica Guzmán is the Director of Digital and Storytelling at Braver Angels, a nonprofit working to depolarize America and host of the Crosscut interview series Northwest Newsmakers. She was a 2019 fellow at the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, where she studied social and political division, and a 2016 fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, where she studied how journalists can better meet the needs of a participatory public.
    Mónica lives for great conversations sparked by curious questions. Before committing to the project of helping people understand each other across the political divide, Mónica cofounded the award-winning Seattle newsletter The Evergrey and led a national network of groundbreaking local newsletters as VP of Local for WhereBy.Us. She was named one of the 50 most influential women in Seattle, served twice as a juror for the Pulitzer Prizes, and plays a barbarian named Shadrack in her besties’ Dungeons & Dragons campaign.
     
    Discussant Brian Allain founded and leads Writing for Your Life, a resource center and conference for spiritual writers, which includes the Publishing in Color conference series, intended to increase the number of books published by spiritual writers of color. Brian also founded and leads the teams that produce Compassionate Christianity and How to Heal Our Divides. Previously Brian served as Founding Director of the Frederick Buechner Center where he led the launch of Mr. Buechner’s online presence and established several new programs and strategic partnerships.
    Brian has developed and led spiritual writers conferences at Princeton Theological Seminary, Drew Theological Seminary, Western Theological Seminary, the University of Southern California, Belmont University, New Brunswick Seminary, and several churches. He led the publishing effort f

    • 1 hr 8 min
    3rd Interfaith Leadership Forum: "Building Interfaith Partnerships Beyond Racism and Religious Nationalism"

    3rd Interfaith Leadership Forum: "Building Interfaith Partnerships Beyond Racism and Religious Nationalism"

    Religious nationalism is on the rise worldwide. In the U.S., it has primarily taken the form of White Christian Nationalism: the affiliation of being White and Christian with belonging and mattering in this country. This program explored the nature of global nationalism and its specific manifestation in the U.S. First, we heard from Dr. Mark Juergensmeyer, who is an expert who has been studying this trend for over thirty years. His keynote remarks were followed by a panel of diverse faith leaders who shared their views on building interfaith solidarity to resist the White Supremacist Christian ideology threatening our nation. This program was a forum for people of faith to learn, become activated, and feel equipped to respond together effectively.
    Program Outline:
    Opening Remarks
    Rev. David Lindsey, Executive Director, Interfaith Council of Metropolitan Washington (IFC)
    Keynote
    “The Capitol Insurrection and the Global Rise of Religious Nationalism”
    Dr. Mark Juergensmeyer, Founding Director of the Orfalea Center of Global and International Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara
    Panel Presentations
    Moderated by Rev. David Lindsey, IFC
    “The Interfaith Imperative”
    Rabbi Jack Moline – President, Interfaith Alliance
    “Doctrine of Discovery, Manifest Destiny and Christian Nationalism: Nothing New.”
    Charles Watson Jr. – Director of Education, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty
    “The Pro-Democracy Faith Movement”
    Maggie Siddiqi – Senior Director, Religion and Faith, Center for American Progress
    “Religious Liberty and the Shortfall of Advocacy”
    Simran Singh – Vice Chairman, IRF (International Religious Freedom) Secretariat

    • 1 hr 33 min

Customer Reviews

3.8 out of 5
10 Ratings

10 Ratings

M in CT ,

My mistake!

I was reviewing the podcast and mistakenly gave it a 1-star while swiping on my phone. Not sure if there is a way to undo the rating on 5.1.21

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