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The Holy Night – Remembering the Virgin Mary

We held an online meeting via Zoom on the 19th of December. The topic of the meeting was ‘Holy Night – Remembering the Virgin Mary.’ We had esteemed guests and a colorful program filled different activities and performances. The meeting was hosted by Mukaddes Kocabiyik who also organized the previous Christmas’ interfaith event on Jesus and Mary.

The meeting started with a recitation of Quran. Fatima recited Surah 66 At-Tahrim which talks about Maryam’s (Mary) spiritual importance as a devout follower of God.

The meeting continued with Dr. Zeki Saritoprak’s short lecture on Mary’s birth and her childhood. It was remarkable to see how she was able to keep herself strong in a community dominated by patriarchy. Her faith was something to behold.

Melike Durmaz recited a poem from Patty Griffin titled ‘Mary.’ It filled our hearts with love as we once again remembered the devotion of Mary. Dr. Glorius Fealing kept uplifting our spirits with a beautiful performance of ‘The Song of Mary Medley.’ Her beautiful voice washed our ears from all dirty sound stains.

One of our regulars and the host of the Interfaith and Intercultural dialogue radio show, Imam Mujahid Ramadan also joined to the meeting. He contributed with his beautiful remarks on the importance of Mary. He emphasized how the love of Mary and of her family can bring Muslims and Christians together. Our long-lasting friend and scholar, Dr. Rosalie Marinelli took the microphone to make some very important remarks on the Virgin Mary and her role. She praised the meeting as a great opportunity for dialogue and understanding.

Unfortunately, Dr. Craig Considine couldn’t able to participate in the meeting as was planned. But he sent a very valuable video in which he gave some very important remarks on the role of Mary and the vital significance of co-understanding between Christianity and Islam. You can find Dr. Considine’s video on our Instagram account.

After several remarks from our participants, we ended the meeting with smiling hearts. We enjoyed this short celebration of Mary a lot. It was a meeting of both pleasure and learning. We hope to repeat such meetings in future, preferably onsite as we miss our dear friends a lot. We wish everyone a blessed and merry Christmas. May it bring joy to everyone.

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Radio Show – Rumi and Mysticism in the 21st Century

Imam Mujahid Ramadan’s Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue Radio Show aired its newest episode on November 6th. The topic was titled ‘Rumi and Mysticism in the 21st Century.’ As always, the show was aired on KCEP 88.1 FM and sponsored by Silver Sage Foundation.

This month’s esteemed guests were Reverend Gard Jameson (President of the Interfaith Council of Southern Nevada), Dr. Zeki Saritoprak (Professor and Director of the Bediuzzaman Said Nursi Chair in Islamic Studies at John Carroll University), and Ibrahim Anli (Executive Director at Rumi Forum).

The discussion began with Gardner’s remarks on Rumi’s importance as someone ‘who is beyond all faith.’ As he is the most read poem all around the world, his influence transcends the Islamic communities and compel everyone’s hearts. Gardner emphasized on the importance that Rumi tried to open a way to heal this damaged and broken word through unconditional love. He also remarked how Rumi could read the God’s language which is a ‘silence’ for our naked ears.

Saritoprak shared a striking fact that Rumi’s funeral was attended by the people of 7 different faiths. He was a man who managed to see ‘good in everything.’ He loved the creation due to its creator and was able to see love and unity in all beings.

Ramadan put forward an interesting coincidence that while we celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas in this late 2021, another celebration takes play among the followers of Rumi as they ‘celebrate’ his death. It is celebrated as he saw his own death as a ‘migration’ to the afterlife where you meet with the creator.

Anli contributed to the show with his extensive academic knowledge on Rumi as he gave the names of all his writings. He said that his magnum opus, ‘Mesnevi,’ can be described as a ‘Persian Quran’ as it translates the Holy book’s spirit and meaning into the Persian language beautifully. He also talked about the positive influences of Mysticism as it stripped people away from a politicized and legalized Islam to a restorated and pure one.

Unfortunately, the show ended abruptly due to the time limit given by the radio station. There were so much more to discuss and we hope that Ramadan will continue to deal with this subject in the upcoming months.

We would like to thank Imam Ramadan for yet another great discussion. Special thanks to Rev. Gard Jameson, Dr. Zeki Saritoprak, and Ibrahim Anli for their invaluable contributions. To get the latest updates on the future episodes, please follow our social media channels.

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