Home Programs and Presentations 2023

THE SALAAM NETWORK

ANNUAL REPORT, 2023

  • PROGRAMS AND PRESENTATIONS sponsored by TSN in 2023 included the following:

     

    1. INTERFAITH STUDY GROUP held a zoom meeting attended by participants from TSN and All Peoples Unitarian Universalist Congregation, as well as by Invited Guests, on January 11, 2023. The review of Chapters 5-9 of Muhammad, the World-Changer: An Intimate Portrait, by Mohamad Jebara, was completed.

    1. Saleem Seyal, Core Member of The Salaam Network, an eminent interventional and clinical cardiologist of Louisville, made a presentation on “Islamic Calligraphy” at All Peoples’ Unitarian Universalist Congregation, on January 17, 2023. The objectives of the presentation were: 1) To familiarize the audience with Islamic Calligraphy which is regarded as a supreme Art Form in Muslim culture; 2) To describe the origin, evolution and different styles and scripts that evolved and have continued to flourish over the centuries; 3) To highlight differences in Islamic Calligraphy including Chinese, Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman (Turkish), Mughal and Andalusian (Spanish) influence; 4) To discuss the increasing popularity of Islamic Calligraphy among Muslims, as well as non-Muslims, from an aesthetic, artistic standpoint.

    1. INTERFAITH STUDY GROUP held a zoom meeting attended by participants from TSN and All Peoples Unitarian Universalist Congregation, as well as by Invited Guests, on February 1, 2023. The review of Chapter 10 and the Epilogue of Muhammad, the World-Changer: An Intimate Portrait, by Mohamad Jebara, was completed. Following the review, there was a conversation on what were regarded as the positive/negative aspects of the book. Finally, there was a discussion on how the book is to be characterized: a) as a biography; b) as an historical novel; c) as a novel; or d) as something else.

    1. INTERFAITH STUDY GROUP held a zoom meeting attended by participants from TSN and All Peoples Unitarian Universalist Congregation, as well as by Invited Guests, on February 21, 2023. There was a preliminary conversation on Salman Rushdie’s book The Satanic Verses which has been a subject of intense controversy and debate since its first publication in September 1988. PART I and PART II were reviewed. Dr. Riffat Hassan explained the symbolic, mythological, theological and historical references in the book.

    1. INTERFAITH STUDY GROUP held a zoom meeting attended by participants from TSN and All Peoples Unitarian Universalist Congregation, as well as by Invited Guests, on March 20, 2023. Discussion was held on PART III, PART IV, PART V, and PART VI of Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses.

    1. INTERFAITH STUDY GROUP held a zoom meeting attended by participants from TSN and All Peoples Unitarian Universalist Congregation, as well as by Invited Guests, on May 17, 2023. Discussion was held on PART VII, PART VIII, and PART IX of Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses.

    1. INTERFAITH STUDY GROUP held a zoom meeting attended by participants from TSN and All Peoples Unitarian Universalist Congregation, as well as by Invited Guests, on June 14, 2023. Review of Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses was completed. It was followed by the comments on this book by a special panel of members including Dr, Joe Brennan, Dr. Marcia Segal, Rev. Kathleen Owens, Azam Saeed, Rev. Walter Snowa and Dr. Dennis Neyman. Dr. Riffat Hassan made the concluding remarks.

    1. INTERFAITH STUDY GROUP held a zoom meeting attended by participants from TSN and All Peoples Unitarian Universalist Congregation, was held on October 11, 2023, to begin a review of Muhammad Asad’s classic “The Road to Mecca”. Kathleen Owens presented the review of Chapters 1 – 4 of the book. {Asad’s translation of, and commentary on, he Qur’an, entitled “Message of the Qur’an” is widely regarded to be the best one in English}

    1. INTERFAITH STUDY GROUP held a zoom meeting attended by participants from TSN and All Peoples Unitarian Universalist Congregation on November 8, 2023. Dr. Marcia Segal presented her review of Chapters 5 – 8 of Muhammad Asad’s “The Road to Mecca”.

    1. INTERFAITH STUDY GROUP held a zoom meeting attended by participants from TSN and All Peoples Unitarian Universalist Congregation on December 6, 2023. Ron Smith and Dr. Qaisar Sultana presented their review of Chapters 9 – 12 of Muhammad Asad’s “The Road to Mecca”.

    (10 PROGRAMS)

     

    HONORS AND AWARDS:

    On March 21, 2023, TSN Founder Dr. Riffat Hassan was awarded the Mary K. Bonsteel Tachau Gender Equity Award by the Committee on the Status of Women of the University of Louisville. The Award letter by Emily Spoden, Tachau Award Selection Committee Chair, stated: “This Award is presented to a member of the UofL community whose work has directly furthered gender equity.  The Award Selection Committee felt that the breadth of your work and global contributions to society embodied the qualities of the Tachau Gender Equity award.”

     

    TSN has had the honor of getting the Better Business Bureau Accreditation and the TOP-RATED Award from GreatNonProfits.org in 2023.