The Voice of Moderate Muslims

The Voice of Moderate Muslims

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Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, founder and chairman of the Cordoba Initiative,  a multi-national, multi-faith organization dedicated to improving Muslim-West relations, will hold a discussion on religious moderation at the Buchanan Chapel in the new Gratz Center of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago.

Ever wondered, “Where are all the moderate Muslims, and why don’t they speak out against terrorism?”  Imam Feisal will explore this question during this talk.  He will also read from his most recent book, Moving The Mountain. Imam Feisal will discuss his mission “to reclaim religious and political discourse from the extremists of all faiths who dominate so many of the headlines.” As he notes, “the real fault line in global religion and politics is not that between the Muslim world and the West, but rather between political and religious moderates of all faiths and extremists of all faiths.”

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is one of the most noted and influential Muslim voices for moderation in the world today. He understands Islam as a religion committed to peace, pluralism, tolerance, and, above all, love of God and fellow human beings regardless of faith—a view of Islam shared by the vast majority of the world’s 1.7 billion Muslims but so absent from the portrait painted by the words and deeds of extremists that dominate the media coverage.

As a member of Interfaith Center of New York, Imam Feisal has been called on by the administrations of both Presidents Bush and Obama to be an emissary of peace and understanding between America and Islam and has received numerous honors, including being named one of the 100 most influential people of the world by Time magazine and one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers of 2010 by Foreign Policy magazine.

As Imam of Masjid al-Farrah, a mosque located in Lower Manhattan, he preached a message of understanding between people of all faith traditions. Imam Feisal sits on the Board of Trustees of the Islamic Center of New York, serves as an advisor to the Interfaith Center of New York, and is a member of the World Economic Forum Council of 100 Leaders (Islamic-West dialogue).

This program is part of the series of Gratz Center Community Grand Opening events at Fourth Presbyterian Church.