Thursday, December 10, 2009

Screening Melbourne @ Parliament of the World's Religions


There were so many events going at the Parliament of the World's Religions that I wondered whether the turnout would be good...but all was fine with the room almost completely filled.

It was a mostly non-Ismaili crowd and they asked some good and insightful questions. There seemed to a large number of questions around succession. I think the questioners were concerned that this good leader the Aga Khan must be followed by an equally good or better leader to continue helping the Ismailis play a positive force in the world. I agree.




Me (in the middle) and Hussein Rashid (on my immediate left) with Ismailis from the local Melbourne community.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

2-year anniversary and an Australian Premiere

I am packing to head off to Australia for a screening in Melbourne and I just realized that today is the two-year anniversary of the Aga Khan Film's launch. Time has flown by quickly and I feel a sense of gratitude that the film is still being requested to be shown. But there is also a sense of concern that Islam is increasingly being juxtaposed against peace and tolerance, such as the Swiss ban on the building of new minarets. Within the Ummah and externally, there is a lot more work to be done...

Australia Screening Details:

Parliament of the World's Religions
http://www.parliamentofreligions.org/
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre

AN ISLAMIC CONSCIENCE: the Aga Khan and the Ismailis (61 mins)

Sun 6 Dec 4:30 - 6:00pm
Room 107
Followed by a Q+A

I will also be on a panel discussion 2 days later:

Changing the Conversation about Islam and Muslims Through Film: Shia, Puerto Rican-American and Australian Voices
With: Shamir Allibhai, Dr Pamela Ryan, Macky Alston, Hussein Rashid (Chair)
Tue 8 Dec 2:30 - 4:00pm
Room 106



About the Parliament:
(from their website)
The Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions was created to cultivate harmony among the world's religious and spiritual communities and foster their engagement with the world and its guiding institutions in order to achieve a just, peaceful and sustainable world.
To accomplish this, we invite individuals and communities who are equally invested in attaining this goal.