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Program for the first
Module - EPIL
European Project for Interreligious
Learning
Protestant Academy Boldern
Männedorf (near Zurich), Switzerland
Saturday, May 26 - Saturday, June 2,
2007
"Difference and the Search for
Identity"
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For centuries Bosnia and Herzegovina
nurtured traditions of tolerance and respect for its different
ethnic and religious groups. However, in the last decade
of the 20th century the country experienced a brutal conflict
that divided people, seemingly along religious lines. How
this could happen and how people are now reconstructing
their lives and their country will be the focus of attention.
The module will introduce the history
of Bosnia's multiethnic nationalism, analyse the historical
background of its religious communities and examine how
religion has been used both, to intensify conflict and to
build peace. It will also explore what "respect for
difference" actually means, how it is necessary for
the development of democracy, and what has been achieved
in the period after signing the Dayton Agreement. It will
further focus on women's efforts to heal and rehabilitate
in a post-conflict situation that left people wounded and
traumatised.
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Saturday, May 26
Early Afternoon Arrival and Welcome
16.30 Welcome and introduction: Understanding EPIL as
an alternative discourse
Reinhild Traitler and Teny Pirri-Simonian (EPIL Board)
18.15 Dinner
19.30 - 21.30 Getting to know each other
With Rifa'at Lenzin and Tania Oldenhage
Sunday, May 27
8.45 Morning Meditation
9.00 "The Basics of my Faith" - Voices from
Islam and Christianity
We listen to speakers from five religious traditions:
· Randa Halabi, The Druze Faith
· Rifa'at Lenzin, Islam
· Teny Pirri-Simonian, Orthodox Christianity
· Sonja Sailer-Pfister, Roman Catholic Church
· Heike Wolf, Protestant Christianity
Group Work and Plenary Discussions: "The Basics of our Faiths"
16.00 "The Philosophy of Human Rights and Intercultural
Identity"
Public Lecture by Gret Haller
Public Reception with Representatives from EPIL and VIOZ (Vereinigung
Islamischer Organisationen in Zürich), the Zürich Forum
der Religionen, the Ecumenical Women's Movement and the Fatima
az Zahra Women's Movement
19.00-21.00 Banquet républicain
Monday, May 28 Dialogue
- A Different Approach to Learning
All Day Training Seminar with Martina Hartkemeyer
Tuesday, May 29
8.45 Morning Meditation
9.00 Identities and Sacred Texts
We engage in narratives from the Bible and the Qur'an
Led by Tania Oldenhage and Rifa'at Lenzin
15.00 Religion, Truth and Power
Are claims to truth and claims to power related in monotheistic
religions?
Perspectives on some historical and present day realities. Inputs
and Discussions
With Amira Hafner-Al Jabaji and Reinhild Traitler
19.30 - 22.00 Identities and Places
Five Country-Presentations
Wednesday, May 30
8.45 Morning Meditation
All Day The Visibility of Religion
Excursion to the City of Zurich led by Hanna Kandal-Stierstadt
· Visiting the Office of Integration in Zurich
· Walking through the city with open eyes
· Having dinner at the Bosnian Mosque in Schlieren and
meeting members of the community
Thursday, May 31
8.45 Morning Meditation
9.00 Religious Identity and Gender
Group Work: Gender - what difference does it make?
The Feminist Question - Inputs by Rifa'at Lenzin and Tania Oldenhage
Plenary Discussions
15.00 Women's Perspectives on Interreligious Dialogue
Brigit Keller and Marise Lendorff-El Rafii share their experiences
with women's interreligious dialogue projects in Switzerland
Evening Free Time
Friday, June 1
8.45 Morning Meditation
9.00 Open Questions - Unfinished Business
15.30 Evaluations
19.30-21.00 Farewell Party
Saturday, June 2
Morning Meeting of Learning Groups
Good Bye Ritual
Departure after Lunch
Who is Who?
Amira Hafner-Al Jabaji, Scholar of Islamic Sciences, Grenchen
Randa Halabi, managing since
1998 the Toufic Assaf Lebanese cultural center, initiating and
directing the cultural program for youth, lifelong learning and
multiculturalism.
Dr. Dr. h.c. Gret Haller,
former president of the Swiss Parliament and Human Rights Commissioner
for Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, now teaching at the J.W.
Goethe University in Frankfurt
Hanna Kandal-Stierstadt, Protestant
pastor in Zürich-Schwamendigen
Dr. Brigit Keller, writer
and former study director at the Paulus-Akademie, Zürich
Marise Lendorff-El Rafii,
Lecturer of Intercultural Pedagogy
Rifa'at Lenzin, Scholar of
Islamic Sciences and Comparative Religions, Vice-president of
the Interreligious Association of Switzerland (IRAS-COTIS)
Dr. Martina Hartkemeyer, specialist
in dialogue with the Adolf Reichwein Society, Osnabrück
Dr. Tania Oldenhage, Protestant
Theologian at the Protestant Academy of Boldern
Dr. Sonja Sailer-Pfister,
works with the Dean of the Roman Catholic Church of Cologne
Teny Pirri-Simonian, works
in the office of Ecumenical Relations, World Council of Churches
in Geneva
Dr. Reinhild Traitler, former
study director at the Boldern academy, works on interreligious
projects and as EPIL coordinator
Heike Wolf, Protestant Theologian,
teacher of religious education, Vienna
