Radio Salaam Shalom

Listen to Podcast #24: ‘Muslim Women as Peacemakers’

[podcast]http://salaamshalom.org.uk/wp-content/media/rsspodcast24.mp3[/podcast]

This is the second in the ‘Women in Islam’ series hosted by Majida Khan.

This podcast brings to light three stories of Muslim women, who keep their faith and femininity fully intact while carrying out dynamic peacemaking initiatives on numerous levels – international, national, community and even at home.

Meet Saida…a young French woman who determinately defends her faith as well as her civil rights when confronted with discrimination for her hijab.

Meet Tameem..an Iraqi academic in peacemaking as well as a witness to each of the recent wars in Iraq….learn from how she remained committed to peacemaking…even in the most dire circumstances…

Meet Anjum…a British Muslim and interfaith dialogue pioneer….how she chose to proactively deal with preventing violent extremism as well as its resultant discrimination..

Join presenter Majida Islam Khan on the 2nd of this series, as she get’s inspired from these real stories as well as learning from scholarly commentators on the unique role of women as peacemakers!

Music Credits:

‘Make a Prayer’ and ‘We will Never Submit’ – from the album ‘My Ummah’ by Sami Yusuf.

‘NOT IN OUR NAME’ SAYS CMJR PRESS RELEASE

This is the text of a press release from the Centre for Jewish and Muslim Research in Cambridge, UK.

Two academics from the Woolf Institute of Abrahamic Faiths in Cambridge have voiced their dismay at the news that all references to Christmas have been dropped from the switching-on ceremony for Dundee’s festive lights. Instead of the traditional Christmas Lights switch-on, The Times newspaper reported* that ‘residents will be attending the “Dundee Winter Light Night”. Council officials have also decided that rather than a retelling of the Nativity story there will be a disco, a contemporary circus, a continental market and a 7ft fairy on stilts.’

Executive Director of the Woolf Institute Dr Edward Kessler who is Jewish explains, ‘people of all faiths in this country should recognise that such developments are a curb on all our religious freedoms. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. If Christmas lights cannot be named as such how can the religious festivals celebrated by Muslims, Jews, Hindus and so on be openly celebrated? If restrictions are only imposed on Christian festivals (for the time being), the interfaith endeavour is threatened.’

Muslim colleague Dawud Bone, Stone Ashdown Director of the Centre for the Study of Muslim – Jewish Relations at the Woolf Institute concurs: ‘To call this political correctness would be to flatter those who have arrived at this policy. I am unaware of any academic research that suggests anyone of any faith is offended by Christmas lights. They are therefore responding to a problem that almost certainly does not exist and in doing so they are creating a greater problem. I believe actions such as this can only damage community cohesion and reduce the respect individuals have for each other’s faiths.’

www.woolfinstitute.cam.ac.uk

Radio Salaam Shalom webcasts the OneVoice International Education Programme, featuring Israeli and Palestinian Youth Leaders touring the UK.

On-Air: 17:00 – 19:00 GMT

OneVoice’s International Education Programme is launching its autumn outreach event from 9-20 November this year in universities and communities across the UK. The OneVoice Europe staff will be touring the country with two of their trained Youth Leaders from Israel and Palestine, seeking to win support from the UK’s students and citizens for the 600,000 Israelis and Palestinians who are calling for an end to the conflict and a two-state solution.

Radio Salaam Shalom is webcasting the event from Glasgow (UK) live on-air, via our dedicated Webcasts page.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO TUNE-IN

This event will be addressing the issue of how concerned British citizens can be most effective in pushing to achieve this change. The Youth Leaders will be speaking about their experiences of living in the region and will be promoting their hope and motivation for peace.

Universities already visited on this tour included: London, Manchester, Nottingham, Bristol, Oxford, Southampton and Birmingham. For more information about the OneVoice events visit: http://www.onevoicemovement.org/

Listen Again to the live webcast by Radio Salaam Shalom, held at the London University Students Union by OneVoice International. This talk & debate featured Israeli and Palestinian Youth Leaders talking about the current troubles in Gaza.

ABOUT:

This event addressed the issue of how concerned British citizens can be most effective in pushing to achieve the change in Gaza.  The Youth Leaders talked about their experiences of living in the regions and their hope and motivation for peace, one day.

For more information about the OneVoice events visit: http://www.onevoicemovement.org/

OneVoice’s International Education Programme is launching its autumn outreach event from 9-20 November this year in universities and communities across the UK. The OneVoice Europe staff will be touring the country with two of their trained Youth Leaders from Israel and Palestine, seeking to win support from the UK’s students and citizens for the 600,000 Israelis and Palestinians who are calling for an end to the conflict and a two-state solution.

Radio Salaam Shalom webcast this event from London (UK)

LISTEN AGAIN HERE:

Please find below two videos and the full audio recorded and webcast at this event. To listen again to either the audio or video’s, please click on the ‘PLAY’ buttons on the players you find below.

VIDEO 1:

VIDEO 2:

FULL AUDIO RECORDING: *Coming Soon

MEDIA RELEASE

For immediate release :  2^nd November 2009

Salaam Shalom broadcasts exclusive debates from Faiths & Environment conference

Radio Salaam Shalom has been chosen to exclusively broadcast discussions at the Celebration of Faiths and the Environment conference, led by HRH Prince Philip and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, starting on Monday 2^nd November.

The Bristol-based Muslim and Jewish media project will stream speeches and debates live from the conference across the internet via its website, www.salaamshalom.org.uk .  The three day event, which takes place in Windsor, is set to bring religious faiths to the forefront of environmental action.

Conference organisers the Alliance of Religions and Conservation, which was launched by The Duke of Edinburgh in 1995, approached Salaam Shalom after becoming aware of its work in stimulating Muslim Jewish dialogue through one of ARC’s employees.  There is considerable media activity scheduled throughout the conference.  However, only Salaam Shalom will be broadcasting live output from the important first day of discussion, workshops and debate, with additional interviews and speeches available online after the event finishes.

The conference is an opportunity to announce long-term action to “save the living planet.”  The United Nations regards it as so significant that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will make a keynote address before 200 faith and secular delegates, including key members of international Jewish and Muslim communities.  UN Assistant Secretary-General Olav Kjorven says the initiative could “motivate the largest civil society movement the world has ever seen.”

Salaam Shalom Chairman, Farhan Cheema, added: “This is an extraordinary event and we are delighted to have been asked to play such an important role in helping to broadcast the crucial message of climate change.

“There is no doubt that the planet’s future depends on everybody taking action, whatever their faith and culture” Cheema continued.  “However, cultural and religious ties are powerful and if organisations such as ARC and Salaam Shalom can help harness that power to affect positive change, then we do will everything we possibly can to make this happen.”

Martin Palmer, Secretary-General of ARC added: “In Salaam Shalom we get a glimpse of perhaps a better future, a world in which communication is easier than it has been before – which means the message needs to be more profound.   And nothing is more profound than faiths, who in the past could not work together, now walk side by side to protect our living planet.”

Ends

*this Media Release was published by Peter Brill, Chairman, Radio Salaam Shalom.

For further information contact Salaam Shalom via the CONTACT link in the above menu.

Notes to Editors:

1. Salaam Shalom is an internet-only media project which went ‘live’ on 1 February 2007.  It broadcasts both live and podcast-based programming from its website www.salaamshalom.org.uk. Its stated aim is to create dialogue and understanding between Muslims and Jews and the wider communities in which they live.
2. The Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) is a secular body that helps the major religions of the world to develop their own environmental programmes based on their own core teachings, beliefs and practices.  Founded in 1995 by HRH Prince Philip, ARC creates powerful alliances between faith communities and conservation groups.  The 11 faiths ARC works with own 7% of the planet’s habitable surface.