MC Presents Interfaith Dialogue with Paul Monteiro

Montgomery College’s Frank Islam Athenaeum Symposia presents Paul Monteiro and others in a Interfaith Dialogue – Its Significance in Public Policy & The White House Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. at Globe Hall, Germantown Campus. The spring 2014 Speaker Series includes timely, stimulating topics delivered by today’s leading experts in international affairs, the arts, politics and economics. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Paul Monteiro, former associate director in the White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs, will describe his interfaith outreach efforts and the dialogue between faith communities and the forming of public policy in the Obama administration.

On stage with Monteiro will be a distinguished panel of interfaith leaders: Rabbi Gerald Serotta, executive Director of Clergy Beyond Borders and former Chair of the Board of Chaplains at George Washington University; Imam Yahya Hendi, Muslim Chaplain at Georgetown University and Founder and President of Clergy Beyond Borders; Reverend Wilson Gunn, General Presbyter, National Capital Presbytery; and Reverend Dr. Stephanie J. Nagley, Rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. The distinguished panel will discuss their faith traditions and the potential for religion to enhance the possibilities of peace and the elimination of poverty and inequality.

Schedule of remaining speakers:

Wednesday, March 26 – 7 p.m.
Lisa Crooms: Using Human Rights to Advance Our Common Humanity
Director of the Constitutional Law Center, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, and Professor of Law at Howard University School of Law, Lisa Crooms will explore human rights, both national and international, and she will comment on The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – the One Book Germantown selection for spring 2014.

Wednesday, April 2 – 7 p.m.
Sheila Kay Adams: Ballad Singing, Storytelling and Banjo Performance
Sheila Kay Adams, one of nine individuals to receive the 2013 National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, will demonstrate her signature drop-thumb style claw-hammer skills on the five-string banjo, her Appalachian storytelling, and ballad singing for an unforgettable evening of North Carolina folk traditions.

Monday, April 14 – 7 p.m.
NOOR – Screening of Drama: Written by Akbar Ahmed and Directed by Manjula Kumar, Followed by Distinguished Panel: Director, Actors, and Frank Islam

Noor is a two-act play about the abduction of a young woman named Noor and her three brothers who represent currents inside modern Muslim communities: a Sufi, a secular government bureaucrat, and an angry fundamentalist. Noor was written by Dr. Akbar Ahmed, chair of Islamic Studies at American University. Manjula Kumar, director of Noor, will lead a panel discussion of this significant drama.

Author of over a dozen award-winning books, he recently completed The Thistle and the Drone: How America’s War on Terror Became a Global War on Tribal Islam.

Following the screening of Noor, Manjula Kumar, director of Noor and Program Director at the Smithsonian Institution, will lead a panel discussion of this significant drama.

Wednesday, April 30 at 7 p.m.
Charles Williams, accompanied by Betty Bullock, formerly of the Washington Opera: Opera, The American Song Book, and Poetry of Langston Hughes

Renowned international singer, Charles Williams, will sing two selections from Porgy and Bess; he performed the role of Sportin’ Life at the Metropolitan Opera. In addition, he will sing some favorites from the American Song Book and recite the poetry of Langston Hughes.