The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

State Department Visitors from Bangladesh and India

On Thursday, July 6, 2006, the Pluralism Project hosted a delegation from India and Bangladesh as part of the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program. The participants included religious leaders such as imams and principals of madrassahs, as well as teachers and community leaders who are interested in questions of religious pluralism, Islam in America, and the study of religion. The guests were particularly interested in how religious pluralism in India compares to religious pluralism in America. The delegation was in the U.S. from June 17 - July 8.

Divided We Fall Film Screenings: May 6–7, 2006

On May 6-7, 2006, the Pluralism Project hosted a preview and director's cut screening of Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath at the Harvard Film Archive. Writer/Producer Valarie Kaur, an affiliate of the Pluralism Project and a master's candidate at Harvard Divinity School, and Director/Producer Sharat Raju were on hand to answer audience questions. The auditorium of the Carpenter Center for Visual Arts was filled to capacity with artists, academics, activists, and citizens from around greater Boston. The film premiered on September 15, 2006 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Living Islam Out Loud: A Conversation with Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur

Photographer: Emily Ronald, Research Associate

On May 2, 2006, Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur and Sarah Eltantawi joined the Pluralism Project for a luncheon discussion. Abdul-Ghafur is the editor of LIVING ISLAM OUT LOUD: American Muslim Women Speak, a book which features 15 American Muslim women dealing with the complexities of forging their own identities while playing powerful roles in public life. Sarah Eltantawi contributed to the book and is a cofounder of the Progressive Muslim Union of North America and from 2001-2004 served as Communications Director for the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Washington, DC. The speakers drew out a lively discussion among the large group convened to hear from and about Muslim women who “don’t remember a time when they weren’t both American and Muslim.” As Saleemah put it, “Now more than ever, the world needs to hear our voices.”

Emerging Women’s Leadership in the Muslim Community

Photographer: Laine Walters, Research Associate

On March 2, 2006, the Pluralism Project co-sponsored an event with the Kennedy School of Government's Women in Public Policy Program and the Islam in the West Project entitled, “Emerging Forms of Muslim Women’s Leadership.” The featured speakers included Sarah Eltantawi, media commentator on American Muslim affairs and Middle East policy and doctoral student in religious studies at Harvard University and Raheel Raza, author of Their Jihad...Not My Jihad!: A Muslim Canadian Woman Speaks Out. Ms. Raza was also the first Muslim woman to lead congregational Friday prayers in Canada. In a Q&A session, the participants explored questions of Muslim women's leadership. A reception and book signing followed the discussion, which drew more than 75 people from the Harvard community and the greater Boston area.

Bangla-O-Biswa's Saraswati Puja 2006

Bangla-O-Biswa's Saraswati Puja- Cambridge, February 5, 2006

Images reused with permission from Lokvani.com

Religion and Politics 2004: Women’s Votes, Women’s Voices

The Pluralism Project at Harvard University convened a forum on September 13, 2004 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on “Religion and Politics 2004: Women’s Votes, Women’s Voices.” The aim of this forum was to discuss issues of concern for women in the upcoming elections, with a special emphasis on the voices of diverse religious women, now largely absent from the public conversation.

Women, Religion, and Social Change, April 30–May 4, 2003

Event held at Harvard University, 30 April–4 May 2003.

Tour to Richmond Hill Ganesha Temple and Cham Shan Temple, 23 November 2002

The event “Religious Pluralism in North America,” held 22–23 November 2002, featured a bus tour to Richmond Hill Ganesha Temple and Cham Shan Temple.

Pluralism Project Student Research Conference 2002

October 16, 2002, at the Barker Center, Harvard University

Harvard University Consultation on Women’s Networks in Multi-Religious America, 2002

April 27-29, 2002, at the Barker Center, Harvard University, and the John F. Kennedy School of Government