The International Interfaith Initiative’s very ambitious symposium on faith, civil society, and international relaitons concludes with a two day film festival and book discusison. you don’t have to read the books before going … but chances are you will want to after you attend the discussion. Each session is stand-alone, you can attend just one or as many as you like. All tak place on the fourth floor of the IUPUI Student Center, on Michigan & University Blvd.
Friday 10 am A screening of the documentary Hold Your Breath, with discussion hosted by John Clark and local doctors, medical ethicists, and medical anthropologists
In Hold Your Breath, the tragic consequences of cultural miscommunication unfold in a dramatic race against death. Directed by award-winning filmmaker and physician Maren Grainger-Monsen, this haunting documentary exposes the poignant clash between ancient Islamic traditions and contemporary medical technology through intimate moments of anguish, frustration and hope. After fleeing Afghanistan in 1979, Mohammad Kochi settled in Fremont, California and raised his family. Just when life seems to be getting easier for Kochi, he is diagnosed with an aggressive, life-threatening cancer. When Mr. Kochi rejects chemotherapy and instead embarks on a pilgrimage to Mecca, his doctor fears that family members acting as interpreters have misinformed Kochi about the gravity of his disease. Meanwhile, Kochi’s daughter, Noorzia, blames a culturally insensitive health care system for her father’s rapidly declining health. Can this deeply religious Muslim immigrant and his Western medical doctor find a common language in time to save his life? Grainger-Monsen She is filmmaker-in-residence at the Stanford University Center for Biomedical Ethics.
Friday 11 am A discussion of the novel Bel Canto led by Indiana Writers’ Center and NUVO
The plot of Ann Patchett’s award-winning novel:
Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country’s vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of Mr. Hosokawa, a powerful Japanese businessman. Roxanne Coss, opera’s most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening — until a band of gun-wielding terrorists breaks in through the air-conditioning vents and takes the entire party hostage. But what begins as a panicked, life-threatening scenario slowly evolves into something quite different, as terrorists and hostages forge unexpected bonds and people from different countries and continents become compatriots. Friendship, compassion, and the chance for great love lead the characters to forget the real danger that has been set in motion and cannot be stopped.
Friday 3 pm A discussion led by author Sheila Kennedy of her book God and Country: America in Red and Blue
Sheila Kennedy is Professor at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, teaching Law and Public Policy, a member of IUPUI’s Philanthropic Studies faculty, a Faculty Fellow with both the Center for Religion and American Culture in the School of Liberal Arts and the Tobias Center of the Kelley School of Business, an adjunct professor of political science, a founder of the American Values Alliance, former director of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, author of many books and articles on too many topics to count. Sheila loves the law and despises bullies, which probably tells you where she plunks down on most issues. Her newest book, God and Country: America in Red and Blue, makes important contributions to local and national political thinking. Americans increasingly think in terms of red and blue. God and Country examines the religious roots of these cultural divisions in American political life. But instead of pitting a “people of faith” against a “secular humanist elite,” God and Country helps Americans understand the religious differences that divide us, appreciate the public agreements that allow us to live with religious differences, evaluate how existing democratic processes alleviate divisions, and identify ways Americans can agree to disagree.
Friday 4 pm A discussion of the anti-war exhibit Eyes Wide Open led by NUVO and North Meadow Circle of Friends
Eyes Wide Open, the American Friends Service Committee’s controversial and moving exhibition about the human cost of the Iraq War, features a pair of boots honoring each U.S. military casualty; and a Wall of Remembrance to memorialize the Iraqis killed in the conflict, and a multimedia display exploring the history, cost and consequences of the war. Watch and discuss a short video about the exhibit. September 11 2004 the exhibit was in Indianapolis and attracted national attention. (On April 11 and 12 AFSC, North Meadow Circle of Friends, Veterans for Peace, and the Indianapolis Peace & Justice Center will display 133 boots representing the Indiana casualties on th enorth end of Indianapolis’ Monument Circle. For more info or to volunteer, contact Erin Polley at epolley@afsc.org or 317.626.0868)
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Saturday 10 am Authors William Buffie, MD & John Charles lead a discussion of their book, The Christian Pluralist: An Invitation from the Pew
Here’s a brief excerpt from the book’s introduction:
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: …a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away…Ecclesiastes 3.1
We live in a world of sometimes-frightening religious polarization. Fundamentalists illustrate the extreme manifestation of conflicting agendas, but potentially even more alarming are the battles ongoing in political and social arenas of those claiming moral superiority based upon their culturally determined interpretation of scripture. A division is growing and is fostered by those who try to reduce extremely complex issues into simple moral imperatives, using their God, or their interpretation of God’s thoughts, to support particular agendas. Conservative traditionalists presenting their understanding of God’s intentions in very simple terms are, in some respects, doing a disservice to all of us. Unless we all seek to understand why we believe what we believe, there will continue to be absolute claims that will necessarily contribute to further polarization and conflict. None of this is simple. To suggest that the understanding of God’s message can be simple if only we are obedient to the dictums of one’s culturally determined faith undermines the potential that we see in a more pluralistic approach to matters of faith. Leaders who promote their messages in simplistic, rigid, or exclusive terms are, we fear, behaving irresponsibly in an age of multi-faith communities, locally and globally. There is a time to refrain from embracing solely our own perspective, a time to relinquish claims of absolute insight into the mind of God, and a time to re-evaluate whether the message we promote can, and should be, more inclusive. That time is now.
Saturday 10 am A screening of the documentary Bridge Over the Wadi with a discussion led by Indianapolis International Film Festival and www.Provocate.org
In Bridge Over the Wadi, Jewish and Arab adults, living on the West Bank, put aside their enmities where their children are concerned and place a bet on mutual understanding for the next generation, even if they cannot believe in it themselves. The Wadi Ara School in Israel is the third school to open in a program called Hand-in-Hand, a project aimed at educating Israeli and Arab children together in schools jointly run by Arabs and Israelis. Devoid of voiceover narration, with titles in English to identify key events such as holidays, and to indicate participants and their ethnicity, Bridge Over the Wadi excels in its depiction of the everyday tension and the cultural differences that mark even the most benign aspects of life in this part of the world. We also see small but steady progress: when a Jewish teacher is sick one day, the substitute teacher, an Arab, announces that the day’s lessons will be taught in Arabic, forcing the children to concede that Hebrew is generally the dominant language. This is followed by a scene in which the children play in a completely bilingual way as a result. Bridge Over the Wadi shows a journey through a truly brave new world, as parents of both sides courageously set about to raise their children in understanding, however uneasy it may be. The film is a primer, through the eyes of children, in the Israeli-Arab conflict; a conflict, a Jewish parent explains to his daughter, in which “both sides are right.” Bridge Over the Wadi offers hope while facing up to the intractability of the conflict.
Saturday 1 pm The book Faith Club discussed by Bridging the Gap
After September 11th, Ranya Idliby, an American Muslim of Palestinian descent, faced constant questions about Islam, God, and death from her children, the only Muslims in their classrooms. Inspired by a story about Muhammad, Ranya reached out to two mothers to try to understand and answer those questions for her children. After just a few meetings, however, it became clear that the women themselves needed an honest and open environment where they could admit—and discuss—their concerns, stereotypes, and misunderstandings about one another. The Faith Club is a memoir of spiritual reflections in three voices that will make readers feel as if they are eavesdropping on the authors’ private conversations, provocative discussions, and often controversial opinions and conclusions. The authors wrestle with the issues of anti-Semitism, prejudice against Muslims, and preconceptions of Christians at a time when fundamentalists dominate the public face of Christianity.
Saturday 1 pm The CBS documentary In God’s Name screened with a discussion led by an interfaith panel
IN GOD’S NAME, a primetime special produced in association with the acclaimed French filmmakers Jules and Gedeon Naudet, explores the complex questions of our time through the intimate thoughts and beliefs of 12 of the world’s most influential spiritual leaders. These diverse and powerful voices offer provocative, compelling and enlightening perspective on myriad issues in our post-9/11 world, including the rise of terrorism, fanaticism, intolerance and war. The program marks the first time that this distinct group of leaders has appeared in one broadcast. These spiritual beacons speak out about violence and hatred and reveal their own thoughts about faith, peace, unity, tolerance and hope. Viewers will see them in intimate settings, including their homes and personal places of worship. Ultimately, through the eyes of these 12 very different religious figures, the filmmakers discover the common ground among believers around the world.
Saturday 4 pm Another discussion of Eyes Wide Open led by NUVO and North Meadow Circle of Friends
Parking: Directions: IUPUI Campus Center is located on the southwest corner of Michigan and University Blvd. Parking is available just west of the building with the entrance on Vermont St. 3rd floor parking provides covered access.
