TruthBook Religious News Blog

Wednesday July 15, 2009

Linda Moulin | 15.07.2009 | 16:55

Tribune de Geneve

In advance of their annual Leading Figure award to a religious figure who has done the most to advance the cause of humanism and peace, the Geneva-based International Coalition for the Advancement of Religious and Spirituality (ICARUS) has chosen to bestow a special award this year on the Buddhist Community. "We typically prefer an under-the-radar approach for the organization, as we try to embody the spirit of modesty found in the greatest traditions," said ICARUS director Hans Groehlichen in a phone conference Monday. "But with organized religion increasingly used as a tool to separate and inflame rather than bring together, we felt we had to take the unusual step of creating a "Best Religion in the World" award and making a bit of a stir, to inspire other religious leaders to see what is possible when you practice compassion."

Groehlichen said the award was voted on by an international roundtable of more than 200 religious leaders from every part of the spiritual spectrum. "It was interesting to note that once we supplied the criteria, many religious leaders voted for Buddhism rather than their own religion," said Groehlichen. "Buddhists actually make up a tiny minority of our membership, so it was fascinating but quite exciting that they won."

Criteria included factors such as promoting personal and community peace, increasing compassion and a sense of connection, and encouraging preservation of the natural environment. Groehlichen continued "The biggest factor for us is that ICARUS was founded by spiritual and religious people to bring the concepts of non-violence to prominence in society. One of the key questions in our voting process was which religion actually practices non-violence."

Labels: Buddhism, ICARUS, Linda Moulin, non-violence, peace, religion

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Friday, March 27, 2009

Interfaith Marches in Bethlehem Deliver Message of Peace

Mar-24-2009

Tim King
Salem-News.com

A movement to end the violence in Palestine and Israel is spearheaded by an author with rare insight into religious extremism.

(SALEM, Ore.) - A strong message embraced in peaceful solidarity was shared with people in the Middle East during an interfaith peace march in Bethlehem, for the future of the West Bank and Israel.

Dr. Frank Romano is the author of a fascinating book called STORM OVER MOROCCO that retells the story of his captivity among religious zealots in the middle east.

He is presently organizing interfaith events for Hebron, West Bank and Gaza that will take place in August, 2009.

The marches are also dedicated to building humanitarian efforts to improve the education of people in the area, including cross-cultural dialogues, mixed student programs, and other methods that will improve the economic environment.

Dr. Romano's inadvertent induction into the world of Islamic extremists began in 1977 when he was attending the Sorbonne in Paris, studying philosophy.

He says he had sort of a vision that if he traveled to the middle east maybe on the way he would find himself, and learn what my spirituality was, and become helpful and more directly involved in the peace process.

Interfaith Freedom March

"The marchers walked in the light of the creator, following the principles of non-violence and respect for all creatures which are common denominators among the Peoples of the Book (ahl al-kitab) who reside in the area, as it is written in their Holy Scriptures of the Qur’an, the Torah, the New Testament, and in other texts."

Romano explained that Muslims, Jews, Christians, Sufis, Kabbalists, Buddhists, Hindus, atheists, etc., and members of all faith communities were welcomed as part of the event.

With the recent Israeli attack on Gaza that cost 1300 Palestinian lives and 13 Israeli lives, 4 by friendly fire, we may have reached the turning point that can lead to a lessening of tension among people in a part of the world that has simply seen too much violence in recent years.

It is optimistic but a worthy gamble. The Internet is allowing more western viewers to see real and accurate stories about Gaza and similar Israeli situations, without a complete and total pro-Israeli slant, or a strictly pro-Palestinian bias.

In keeping with that, Romano says hopes the marches help counter-balance the filtered and false information about the suffering of the people in the area, notably Palestinians and Israelis.

"Their suffering has become invisible in the face of narratives with no basis in reality and exaggerated reporting on incidents of violence and subsequent retaliation, often dominating the news and distracting the world from focusing on the day to day suffering of the residents in the area."

Romano, like many who strive to help create peace in this contested place, believes that removing all West Bank settlements would help in diffusing the tension accelerating since 1967; tension that is begging to have the emergency brake applied.

"As such, the occupation of the West Bank must end as a precursor to peaceful coexistence on the condition that adequate security measures are taken by both sides to preserve the peace."

He says he hopes the march, "is a precursor to freedom through love and understanding that is achieved by bringing all people together, as brothers and sisters and as children of the creator, showing the world that all people want peace in Israel and Palestine."

It could not happen soon enough, and plenty of people in Israel and Palestine agree. Below are scheduled appearances for Dr. Frank Romano, and other links that will help a person learn more about his efforts to bring about a lasting change that benefits the entire world.

Labels: faith, Frank Romano, interfaith, non-violence, peace, peacemaking, Tim King

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Friday, January 23, 2009

The Power of Nonviolence

The Power of Nonviolence

January 14, 2009

Last spring The Nation Institute sponsored a forum at the Society for Ethical Culture in New York City on "Gandhi, King and the Power of Nonviolence: Alternatives to Force in the 21st Century." The participants were Jonathan Schell, The Nation's Peace and Disarmament correspondent, author of The Fate of the Earth and most recently, The Seventh Decade: The New Shape of Nuclear Danger; and Taylor Branch, author of a Pulitzer Prize-winning three-volume history of the Martin Luther King era. The moderator was the writer Suzannah Lessard. What follows is an edited transcript of the discussion.

Please click on "external link" to access the entire discussion.

Jonathan Schell and Taylor Branch in conversation about Mohandas K. Gandhi, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the transformative power of nonviolence.
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An Inauguration for the Ages

The spirits of the civil rights movement--and movements for social justice everywhere--were with Obama on this historic Inauguration Day.

Labels: civil rights, discussions, Gandhi, Jonathan Schell, Martin Luther King Jr., Nation Institute, non-violence, Suzannah Lessard, Taylor Branch