Women of Islam - 8

Dr. Amina Wadud (USA, 1952-Present)

In 2005, Amina was the first female imam to lead a mixed-congregation prayer. This act caused a shock wave to run throughout the Islamic world.

 

Some viewed it as an awakening and a return to the equalitarian way of Islam. Others viewed it as an offensive innovation.

 

According to Amina, "The radical notion that women are full human beings is already inscribed in Islam by our notion of tawhid. So the binary that tries to give women less than full human dignity is transformed into a relationship of equality and reciprocity."

 

Despite individuals' views on the subject, she has created a platform where diverse Muslim views can be voiced.

From Huffington Post

Asylum Seekers in our Community - Ballarat's response : 14 October 2013

Faith knowledge informs not only ecological knowledge but our universe

The Shifting Mandala

By ANNA HITCHCOCK

Published: September 27, 2013 

RACING through our school lobby on the way to recess, my sixth-grade classmates and I stopped short. Usually, we would barrel onto the street for our 20 minutes of sunlight, but a Buddhist monk dressed in brilliant saffron robes caught our attention. He was creating a mandala. In this ancient art form developed by Tibetan Buddhist monks, millions of grains of multicolored sand are painstakingly poured into complex patterns. After hours of work, the sand painting is only one square meter yet symbolically portrays our entire universe in its shifting complexities.

Katie Scott

To find out more about Mandalas:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandala

http://www.mandalaproject.org/What/

Three years later, I thought of the mandala when I began an internship with Ellen Pehek, a principal research ecologist in the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. For months, I helped her measure the diameter of trees in Inwood Hill Park as part of a study on the effects that invasive plant species — threatening, nonnative ones — have on forest health.

To read more please go here

Women of Islam - 7

 

Shirin Ebadi (Iran, 1947-Present)

In 2003, Shirin became the first Muslim woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

 

As a judge in Iran, she was the first woman to achieve Chief Justice status. However, she was dismissed from this position after the 1979 Revolution.

 

As a lawyer, Shirin has taken on many controversial cases and in result, has been arrested numerous times. 

 

Her activism has been predicated on her view that, "An interpretation of Islam that is in harmony with equality and democracy is an authentic expression of faith. It is not religion that binds women, but the selective dictates of those who wish them cloistered."

From Huffington Post

Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka - M.A.D.E. : Human Rights Arts and Film Festival - Oct, Nov 2013

M.A.D.E for Movies M.A.D.E and the Human Rights Arts and Film Festival present four award winning and thought provoking documentaries.   PRAY THE DEVIL BACK TO HELL  (72 minutes) FRI 25th OCT 7.30pm SUN 27th OCT 11.30am SUN 3rd NOV 2pm Director: Gini Reticker/ USA / 2008 / Documentary Tribeca Film Festival ‐ Best Documentary Feature        Pray the Devil Back to Hell chronicles the remarkable story of the courageous Liberian women who came together to end a bloody civil war and bring peace to their shattered country. Thousands of women — ordinary mothers, grandmothers, aunts and daughters, both Christian and Muslim — came together to pray for peace and then staged a silent protest outside of the Presidential Palace. A story of sacrifice, unity and transcendence, Pray the Devil Back to Hell honours the strength and perseverance of the women of Liberia. Inspiring, uplifting, and most of all motivating, it is a compelling testimony of how grassroots activism can alter the history of nations. Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uon9CcoHgwA WORDS OF WITNESS (68 minutes) SAT 26th OCT 7.30pm (one screening only) We are pleased to announce this session will be introduction by Ella McNeill - Director of Human Rights Arts and Film Festival.  Director: Mai Iskander / Egypt and USA / 2012 / English and Arabic with English subtitles / Documentary Berlinale, 2012, One World Film Festival, 2012 – Best of the Festival Jury Award During the Egyptian uprising, social media was the weapon of choice for a new generation. In Words of Witness, filmmaker Mai Iskander follows Heba Afify, a budding online journalist reporting from the frontline of the revolution. Heba's attempts to report are continually compromised by the restrictions she faces as a young woman in Egyptian society – in particular, by her mother's incessant reminders that, whilst a journalist, she is above all 'a girl'. Exploring the personal and political in equal measure, Words of Witness is a timely glimpse into post-­revolution Egypt today.               Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jjgin_7xpb8   TAXI SISTER + RED WEDDING - 2 Documentaries combined as one session (1hr 45 including 15minute intermission) SUN 27th OCT 1.30pm SUN 27th OCT 5.00pm FRI 1st NOV 7.30pm TAXI SISTER (30 minutes)   Director: Theresa Traore Dahlberg / Senegal / 2011 / Wolof and French with English subtitles / Documentary     There are 15,000 taxi drivers in Senegal; only 15 of them are women. Taxi Sister follows one of them. As Boury speeds around Dakar transporting tourists and locals to their destinations, she must defend herself against the social taboos that define driving as a male profession. An energetic peek into urban West Africa, Taxi Sister revels in the solidarity of a small group of women as they accelerate change. Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGf6pVRRui0 RED WEDDING (58 minutes) Directors: Lida Chan & Guillaume Suon / Cambodia and France / 2012 / Khmer with English subtitles / Documentary IDFA, 2012 – Winner Best Mid-­Length Documentary   Thirty years have passed, and on the eve of her son’s wedding, Sochan Pen is finally ready to break her silence. At the age of 16, she was forced to marry a soldier as part of Cambodia's genetic engineering. Juxtaposing haunting archival and present day footage as Sochan confronts the people responsible for her rape and torture, Red Wedding is a land mark exposition of forced marriages under the Khmer Rouge.  Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBnePP31c04   Bookings Essential - 1800 287 113 or http://made.org/WhatsOn/Events.aspx Tickets $10 or Conc. $7 per session M.A.D.E (Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka) 102 Stawell St South, Ballarat Phone: 1800 287 113 info@made.org http://www.made.org Share Tweet Forward to Friend Facebook Twitter Website

Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka (M.A.D.E) is Australia's newest museum. It is located on the site of the Eureka Stockade in Ballarat, western Victoria. With the evocative 159-year-old Eureka Flag as its centrepiece, M.A.D.E’s interactive and immersive exhibitions will explore the evolution and the future of democracy – looking at culture, civics, history and citizenship. For more information, visit our website www.made.org

Buddhism, Ageing and Acceptance

Acceptance Of What Can't Be Changed

 Is Key To Satisfaction In Later Life, Research Shows

The Huffington Post  |  By Carolyn Gregoire Posted: 07/12/2013 12:11 pm EDT  |  Updated: 07/12/2013 5:35 pm EDT

Buddhist teachings on happiness have long held that accepting that which cannot be changed or controlled is key to reducing suffering. Now, this ancient doctrine has science on its side: A new study has found that during the difficult changes of later life -- moving into residential care and losing a certain level of independence -- an acceptance of what can't be changed is a major predictor of life satisfaction.

Researchers at Deakin University in Australia found that when it comes to life satisfaction in one's later years, the ability to accept what cannot be changed is equally important to the feeling of being able to exert control over one's life.

For more please go here

Women of Islam - 6

Laleh Bakhtiar (USA, 1938-Present)

 

Laleh's Quran translation, "The Sublime Quran" (2007), is the first translation of the Quran into English by an American woman.

 

Her translation incorporates alternative meanings to Arabic terms that are ambiguous or whose meaning scholars have had to guess due to the antiquity of the language.

 

Notably, her translation of Chapter 4, Verse 34 has gained a lot of attention. She translates the Arabic word daraba as "go away" instead of the common "beat" or "hit."

 

Her Quran translation is used in many mosques and universities and has been adopted by Prince Ghazi Bin Muhammad of Jordan.


From Huffington Post



Faith and secularism - can they co-exist?

Picture from Here

UNITED STATES

In Death of Ex-Hasid Estranged From Her Religious Children, a Mirror for Trauma of Many

A father reflects on his own efforts to stay close to his children after deciding to live a secular life

By Shulem Deen|October 2, 2013 12:00 AM|

Last Friday, Deb Tambor, a 33-year-old woman who left the Skverer Hasidic community in New York, took her own life.

Like me, Deb was part of the growing community of ex-haredim, men and women who have undertaken difficult journeys away from ultra-Orthodoxy. I do not know all the specifics in Deb’s case, but I do know that, like me, she was denied meaningful contact with her children because she chose to leave her Hasidic community.

The particulars of her situation were unusually sad: She was allowed to see her children only once a month, under supervision of a family member who remained within the community where she grew up. She was not allowed to take her children out of the Hasidic enclave where they live. The visits were frequently canceled; the children had weddings and bar mitzvahs and other events to attend, and she could always visit with them next month, she was told. She felt humiliated when they began to call her by her first name, Devorah. She wanted them to keep calling her “Mommy,” but “Mommy” was a title given to somebody else—the Hasidic woman her ex-husband married.

To read more please go here

The Tree of Life Project in Ballarat is on Facebook

Please check out our Facebook page 

for 

The Tree of Life Project

and here is our Preliminary Program

The Tree of Life Project

Various Locations

Fri, Nov 15, 2013 12:00 AM - Sat, Nov 23, 2013 12:00 AM

TREES OF FAITH SELF-GUIDED TOUR
Brochures will be available at various Ballarat Outlets

Primary Schools Art Competition for Grades 4, 5, 6 on display at Ballarat Library

Tree of Life made by Ballarat East Community Men’s Shed on display at Ballarat Library 15-20 November and the Conservatory, Ballarat Botanical Gardens 21-23 November

Children's Story-Telling Time
Mon 18- Fri 22 November
Around the idea of trees, hopes and wishes – concluding each day with an activity where children write hopes or wishes on leaves (or birds) to hang in our Tree of Life. Story telling will rotate around Ballarat at various library venues.

Family History Research – Family Trees
Mon 18-Wed 20 November
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will provide assistance with Family Tree research with an explanation of why LDS Church members themselves research to trace their family tree ancestors.

15/11 - 5.30pm-7pm Ballarat Library Opening Event of The Tree of Life Project
Announcement of winners of Primary Schools Art Competition

16/11 - 10am-4pm Evera, Trentham
A visit to an Interfaith Garden. This will be a ‘most of the day’ event. Please phone 0439 425 751 for more information and details of meeting.

17/11 - 1.30pm-3pm Art Gallery of Ballarat
Various speakers – on The Tree of Life theme

19/11 - 10am Landcare Trail, Creswick
A meditative walk on the Landcare Trail See http://www.creswick.net/things_to_do/bush_walking
For details of the track please phone 0439 425 751 for more information and details of meeting.

23/11 - 4.30pm – 6.30pm Ballarat Botanic Gardens – Conservatory
Followed by Robert Clark Centre
Closing Event of The Tree of Life Project

Contact : Ballarat Interfaith Network

Women of Islam - 5

 

Nana Asma'u (Nigeria, 1793-1864)

Nana was a princess, poet and teacher. She was fluent in Arabic, Fulfulde, Hausa and Tamacheq and well versed in Arabic, Greek and Latin classics. In 1830, she formed a group of female teachers who journeyed throughout the region to educate women in poor and rural regions. With the republication of her works, that underscore women's education, she has become a rallying point for African women. Today, in northern Nigeria, Islamic women's organizations, schools and meeting halls are frequently named in her honor.

 

(Photo: Fula women.)

From Huffington Post