Panel to discuss Afghanistan conflict

Religious leaders from six sects will share their perspectives on the Afghanistan conflict in a panel discussion at 8 p.m. tonight in the Indiana Memorial Union State Room East.\nThe IU Students for a Non-Violent Solution and the Undergraduate Religious Studies Association will present a discussion entitled "Western Religious Perspectives on the War in Afghanistan" moderated by junior Ross Eiler, a member of both sponsoring groups.\nEiler said he hopes students will come away with better understanding of the religious implications surrounding the conflict in the Middle East.\n"Certainly we are at war and religious organizations have a lot of interesting ideas and perspectives to offer surrounding the current situation," Eiler said. "We just want to present all of these ideas together in one forum for students to get a better understanding."\nLeaders of Evangelical Christians, Jews, Muslims, Quakers, Roman Catholics and Unitarian Universalists will offer six-to-eight minute "snippets" of information followed by a lengthy question and answer period where students can ask any questions they have, Eiler said.\nGraduate student Michael Thomas is expected to speak on behalf of the Muslim faith at tonight's discussion. Although the sides may disagree on the validity of the current military conflict in Afghanistan, Thomas said he feels panels like these are important to help students facilitate their own opinions.\n"Of course it's always good to get multiple perspectives on an issue in which people might disagree, especially when we are dealing with something so serious," Thomas said. "Armed conflict and war are serious things. It's important to try to be as informed as possible."\nEiler said Bob Whitaker will represent Evangelical Christians, Rabbi Sue Shifron will represent the Jewish community, Hank Swain will represent Quakers, IU Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies James Hart will represent Roman Catholics, Bill Breeden will speak for Unitarian Universalists and Thomas will represent the Muslim perspective.\n"This is a very open forum on a huge topic," Eiler said. "We're just going to touch the surface, but hopefully we'll get some important ideas out to students."\nShifron said she agrees that tonight's discussion is very important to fostering better relations between the religious sects.\n"It's crucial for different religious groups to work with each other," Shifron said. "The more we talk, the more (we) can bring people together"