Summary of Festival of Ideas events this year

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Below is a summary of the Festival of Ideas events organised by the Cambridge University Bahá’í Society this year. Please click the links for more information.

  1. The gathering sound: Weaving a tapestry of sacred text, invocations, and poetry from the world’s spiritual traditions, this musical odyssey celebrates humanity’s inter-connectedness.
  2. Young people: What is our identity? How can we discover our true potential, inner capacities, and unique talents and use them to create the kind of world we really want?
  3. From the selfish me to the selfless self: Insights from science and mysticism on the paradox of identity.
  4. Nahal Mavaddat and Jacqueline Lam-McArthur read poems by Bahá’í women imprisoned in Iran because of their beliefs and how the poetry speaks of their resilience in the face of hardship.
  5. Faiths for climate action: multi-faith walk: Join a movement of people from all different faiths in Cambridge, to take a walk celebrating unity between religious identities in the face of climate change challenges.

Festival of Ideas: Faiths for Action multi-faith walk

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Faiths for climate action: multi-faith walk

Join a movement of people from all different faiths in Cambridge, to take a walk celebrating unity between religious identities in the face of climate change challenges. A move towards low-carbon lifestyles to reduce human impact on climate change raises deep questions about the nature of truly fulfilling lives and design of flourishing societies. To reduce carbon emissions at the level that is required to impact climate change, radical rethinking of our personal, social and economic actions is needed, much of which can be informed by spiritual and faith identities.

6:00pm – 7:30pm, Friday 24 October
Beside Riverside Bridge, next to the Museum of Technology, Riverside Road, Cambridge CB5 8JB

No need to book (just turn up). More information is available here.

Women of the World: Poems by Bahá’í Women

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Nahal Mavaddat and Jacqueline Lam-McArthur read poems by Bahá’í women imprisoned in Iran because of their beliefs and how the poetry speaks of their resilience in the face of hardship.

12 noon – 1pm, Sunday 26 October
Cambridge Junction (Foyer area), Clifton Way, Cambridge CB1 7GX

This is the only event organised by the Bahá’í Society that requires payment but gives you access to other Women of the World (WoW) Festival events. Tickets can be purchased here.

Festival of Ideas: From the Selfish Me to the Selfless Self

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From the selfish me to the selfless self: Insights from science and mysticism on the paradox of identity.

A talk by Ismael Velasco.

3pm – 4pm, Sunday 2 November
Latimer Room, Clare College. Trinity Lane, Cambridge CB2 1TL
Organised by the Cambridge University Bahá’í Society as part of the Multifaith Series.  Free and open to all. Tickets can be booked here.

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Festival of Ideas: Young people: What is our identity?

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Young people: What is our identity? How can we discover our true potential, inner capacities, and unique talents and use them to create the kind of world we really want?

Talk and lively discussion with members of the Bahá’í Society, alongside Ismael Velasco.

3pm – 4pm, Saturday 1 November
Little Hall Lecture Theatre, Sidgwick Site

Organised by the Cambridge University Bahá’í Society as part of the Multifaith Series.  Free and open to all. Tickets can be booked here.

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Festival of Ideas: The Gathering Sound

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The gathering sound: Weaving a tapestry of sacred text, invocations, and poetry from the world’s spiritual traditions, this musical odyssey celebrates humanity’s inter-connectedness.

A concert with Richard Leigh and friends.

3pm  – 4pm, Saturday 25 October
Michaelhouse Centre, Trinity Lane, Cambridge CB2 1SU

Organised by the Cambridge University Bahá’í Society as part of the Multifaith Series.  Free and open to all. Tickets can be booked here.

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“Excluded but not Defeated” talk on 7th May

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Excluded but not Defeated: The Constructive Resilience of Bahá’ís in Iran in Light of Education Denial

Wednesday, 7th May, from 7:30-9:30pm, in the Latimer Room (Old Court) of Clare College on Trinity Lane, Cambridge, CB2 1TL

In this presentation, Dr. Ghanea will explore the themes of exclusion, constructive resilience, and education access as they apply to the current political situation in Iran, where Bahá’ís and other minority groups are systemically denied human rights. She will discuss these issues in light of both historical and legal aspects, applying Bahá’í principles derived from the Faith’s scriptural texts. Her talk will be accompanied by portions of the 30-minute documentary Education Under Fire. This film addresses the denial of higher education to Bahá’ís in Iran and the need for schools to consider offering academic credit to Iranian students through distance learning programmes.
Biography
Nazila Ghanea, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of International Human Rights Law at the University of Oxford and a member of the OSCE Advisory Panel of Experts on Freedom of Religion or Belief.  She serves on the board of governors of the United Rights Group and was part of a research team investigating Religion and Belief, Discrimination and Equality in England and Wales until early 2013.  Nazila has acted as a human rights consultant for a number of governments, the United Nations, UNESCO, OSCE, the Council of Europe, and the EU.  Her publications include 9 books, a number of UN publications, and numerous journal articles and reports, including Are religious minorities really minorities?; Does God Believe in Human Rights?; and Human Rights, the UN, and Bahá’ís in Iran.  Additionally, she has published an analysis of Iran’s proposed human rights charter in EJIL Talk, the blog of the European Journal of International Law, on December 10, 2013.

 

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Belief in Science & Belief in God

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Belief in Science & Belief in God: A Scientist’s Perspective on “New Atheism”

Talk and Q&A Session with Canadian physicist Dr. Dinesh Singh

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Wednesday, 26 February 2014, 7.30 pm – 9:30 pm
Friends Meeting House (Aldren Wright Room)
12 Jesus Lane, Cambridge CB5 8BA

The modern-day proponents of atheism, such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Lawrence Krauss have gained the public’s imagination regarding their claims that God does not exist and that organized religion is harmful to the human race.  They also claim that “no evidence” exists whatsoever to support the presence of God in human experience, suggesting on scientific grounds that the need for a Divine Creator is a “failed hypothesis.”  Furthermore, they contend that holding a belief in God is a “delusional” act with disastrous consequences for global society on multiple fronts.

According to the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, science and religion are both complementary and necessary for the progress of humanity into the future.

In this presentation, Dr. Dinesh Singh offers interested people the opportunity to thoughtfully consider his professional and personal response to the “new atheism” of Dawkins and others with examples from theoretical physics to suggest that “belief” within science is not fundamentally different from “belief” within religion, and that the main conclusions drawn by these atheists about the science and religion debate need to be thoroughly re-examined.

Dinesh Singh, Ph.D. is a Canadian research scientist in theoretical physics at the University of Regina, Adjunct Professor at the University of Saskatchewan, and a member of the Bahá’í Faith.

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Soul Food February 2014 “A Sense of Time”

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You are warmly invited to attend the next Soul Food event on Saturday, 8 February 2014, on the theme “A Sense of Time.”

Venue
Latimer Room, Old Court
Clare College
Trinity Lane, Cambridge, CB2 1TL

Time
4-5pm

Description
Soul Food is a community devotional event held monthly in Cambridge and open to all. It provides an occasion to be inspired and reflect on uplifting themes. Our programs feature live music, audio-visual pieces, and readings from various authors, sources and Faiths—indigenous, ancient and modern—from all over the world.

Soul Food’s purpose is to inspire us to transform our lives, our neighbourhoods and communities, with actions that promote the unity and betterment of society.

You can download the flyer, join the Facebook event, and like our Facebook page.

Islam in Modernity: Overcoming Barriers Between Faiths

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Abstract
Dr. Khazeh Fananapazir has been engaged in interfaith dialogue since the 1970s, an interest that increased commensurately with the rise of various fundamentalist groups in the ‘70s and ‘80s, especially after 9/11. His research focuses on two pivotal questions:

(1) Is there any way out of the impasses and misunderstandings between faiths and communities?
(2) How can various faith groups work together to achieve unity?

Khazeh believes that there is a way out, and a hundred years ago that way was delineated by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

When
Friday, 7th February, 7:30-9pm
Harrods Room, Emmanuel College

Biography
Dr. Khazeh Fananapazir graduated in Medicine from Oxford University and is now a cardio-thoracic surgeon in Leicester, and a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. Teaching is one of his passions, and he is much admired and loved by his students. Khazeh has a keen interest in study of the Sacred Books. Fluent in Arabic and Farsi, he has published extensively. He is a lifelong student of the Bahá’í Faith, and in particular its relationship with Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

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