Inter-faith harmony between societies stressed

The Punjab University’s English Department (Language and Literature) on Sunday arranged a lecture on inter-faith harmony by world-acclaimed Pakistani-American novelist Nafisa Haji at the Prof Sirajuddin Library.
In her lecture, as part of promoting inter-faith harmony among cultures, Nafisa Haji highlighted the importance of inter-faith harmony between various religions, cultures and societies in the contemporary world. She based her discussion on her second novel, The Sweetness of Tears, which embraces inter-faith, intra-faith, inter-cultural, inter-generational and inter-continental dialogue at its finest.
Nafisa told the participants how her novel depicted Jo March, her protagonist, on an unlikely quest across boundaries of language and faith, through chasm of sectarian divides in the Muslim world, against the backdrop of the war on terror, from California to Chicago, Pakistan to Iraq. A large number of students attended the lecture -- Source: Daily Times; Nafisa Haji's website

On the same shelf:

Book reviews of Sweetness of Tears: Publishers Weekly 4/25/2011, Vol. 258 Issue 17, p113-114; Booklist June 1, 2011, v107:19-20, p38;

What others say: "The Sweetness of Tears is a character-driven novel that is structured as a series of interwoven life-stories..." by TChris @ Amazon.com; The overall message of The Sweetness of Tears is one of peace and compassion, by skrishna @ Amazon.com; "Haij does a wonderful job of creating this diverse family though which we see the effects being in the military has had on multiple generations, the effects of parents who are missing or absent and through one family the we are shown views of the middle east from those who lived there and left, those who remain and those who came there because of a war not fully aware of the connection they already with this region." by Rebecca @ Amazon.com

 Discussion-Based Teaching in the Religion Classroom

Happiness and the Pursuit of Happiness in faith-based context

The following event also discussed Thomas Jefferson's approach to happiness...

Center for the Study of Law & Religion's (CSLR) Summit on Happiness in news

Extract:






On the same shelf:

The Missionary Church of Kopimism—as in, "copy-me-ism" - File Sharing Is Now an Official Religion In Sweden

Extracts from news sites:

Welcome to the missionary church of kopimism. The swedish Constitution Act, Chapter 2. § 1 states that every citizen is against the government guaranteed freedom of ...

File sharing Is Not a Crime--It's an Official Religion

Legal Ramifications Of File-Sharing Now Being Religious ...

Piracy Becomes a Religion in Sweden - Missionary Church of Kopimism Approved by Authorities-1

The Missionary Church of Kopimism—as in, "copy-me-ism"—has sought official status in Sweden since 2010, and it's finally won the battle...

New Yorker on new Pirate Bay religion, the Missionary Churc

Culture Desk: The First Church of Pirate Bay : The New Yorker

On the same shelf:

A Guide to Buddhist Memorial Service for lost information, Daioh Temple, Kyoto, Japan (Anonymous) in Cyber Worship in Multifaith Perspectives (2006)

Christmas Eve brings together Houston Jews, Muslims

Kate Shellnutt, 12/21/11, Houston Chronicle (blog)
Kate Shellnutt is the web producer for HoustonBelief.com.

Extract:

About 50 Jews and Muslims will pray and light a menorah for Hanukkah during their interfaith Christmas Eve gathering.

...On Christmas Eve, Jews and Muslims may find themselves with nothing to do while Christian neighbors plan fancy dinners and special church services.

For the past two years, the Jewish and Muslim communities in Houston have taken advantage of their free schedules to gather together to learn about each others’ traditions and find commonalities as minority faiths. continue reading

[Info courtesy: Amin H Karim MD, WorldMemons@yahoogroups.com]

On the same shelf:

A Muslim Imam's Plea to Jesus Christ (Peace be upon him), by Imam Syed Soharwardy
[Info courtesy: Haider Ashraf Group: HaiderAshrafGroup@yahoogroups.com]

Dallas Morning News - How did your faith shape you in 2011. THE JOURNAL OF PLURALISM, December 20, 2011

For Muslims celebrating Christmas, it's a holiday, not a holy day, Los Angeles Times - 12/23/11

Extract:
At a time when Christmas is being pulled in different directions, it's not unusual for Muslims to use the occasion as an entry into American culture — no different from signing up their kids for Little League. But most clerics frown on the practice. ...

Sahira Traband, here with her sons Teo, 10, left, and Mikail, 6, is a Muslim who decorates her house for Christmas, hangs stockings and puts gifts under the tree. She views the holiday as a happy time that doesn't conflict with her faith in Islam. “The magic of Christmas is the part we celebrate,” said Traband, 45. “We didn’t get into the whole religious thing.” (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times / December 19, 2011)

Jews, Muslims continue volunteer alliance, WDIV Detroit - 12/23/11

Christmas fading in the Holy Land, Salon - 12/23/11
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Ottawa: Jews and Muslims present Comedy Show for Christmas‎ Canadian National Newspaper

Quran with Bhagavad Gita in a communal harmony class

Monday November 21, 2011 10:27:29 AM, Asit Srivastava, IANS

Varanasi: Holding the Quran in one hand and the Bhagavad Gita in the other, Mukhtar Ahmad conducts "a class of communal harmony" at a madrassa in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi district to enable students to draw similarities between Islam and Hinduism.

Welcome to Bahrul-Uloom madrassa (Islamic seminary) in Chittanpura town where like Ahmad several other Muslim teachers are involved in imparting lessons of brotherhood and unity to inculcate "moral values" in their students.

"Our main objective behind teaching Hindu scriptures along with the Quran is to undertake a comparative study of the holy books of the two religions to enable our students to draw similarity between Islam and Hinduism," Ahmad, a teacher at the Islamic seminary, said.

"By drawing similarity between the two religions, students will be able to correlate the teachings of Quran with those of the Bhagavad Gita and other Hindu ancient text, which in turn would enable them to respect the two religions in the same manner," he added. continue reading

On the same shelf:

Quran with Bhagavad Gita in a communal harmony class, Mayank Kumar, Aaj Ki Khabar,

Quran with Bhagavad Gita in a communal harmony class, FnF Correspondent ,

Quran with Bhagavad Gita in a communal harmony class, Canada India Education Council

New Publications on the Theme: Cyber Worship and Online Religion

On the same shelf (see below articles in Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet on the topic of online religion / cyber worship in different faiths, including Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, etc.):

Vaishnava Cyber-Puja: Problems of Purity and Novel Ritual Solutions
by Karapanagiotis, Nicole, University Heidelberg Philosophische Fakultät. Institut für Religionswissenschaft 2010, in Online - Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet [Vol. 04.1 Special Issue on Aesthetics and the Dimensions of the Senses, ed. by Simone Heidbrink and Nadja Miczek ]

Seeing the Divine through Windows: Online Puja and Virtual Religious Experience
Author: Herman, Phyllis K. Year: 2010. [Vol. 04.1 Special Issue on Aesthetics and the Dimensions of the Senses, ed. by Simone Heidbrink and Nadja Miczek ]

Hindu Embodiment and the Internet, Author: Scheifinger, Heinz [Vol. 04.1 Special Issue on Aesthetics and the Dimensions of the Senses, ed. by Simone Heidbrink and Nadja Miczek ]

Introduction to the Special Issue: Religions on the Internet - Aesthetics and the Dimensions of the Senses, Author: Heidbrink, Simone ; Miczek, Nadja [Vol. 04.1 Special Issue on Aesthetics and the Dimensions of the Senses, ed. by Simone Heidbrink and Nadja Miczek ]

"Tweeting Prayers and Communicating Grief Over Michael Jackson Online"
by Jimmy Sanderson; Pauline Hope Cheong, The Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 30, no. 5 (2010): 328-340

"Sacred Island or World Empire? Locating Far-Right Movements In and Beyond Malta"
by Mark-Anthony Falzon; Mark Micallef, Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 16, no. 3 (2008): 393-406

"Spirituality, Religion, and Globalization" by Sudhir Kale, Journal of Macromarketing, 24, no. 2 (2004): 92-107

"Cyber Synagogues - On the Web, architecture students in Germany reconstruct houses of worship destroyed by the Nazis" by Daryl Scott Lindsey, Architecture : the AIA journal. 88, no. 10, (1999): 134

Cyber hymnal : dedicated to the glory of God.

Cyber cafe trades websites for worship: The Hard Disk Cafe doesn't look like your typical house of worship. By The Calgary Herald