Muslim group to hold forum on tolerance, interfaith relations tonight

The Bloomington Muslim Dialogue Group will hold a forum on the status of interfaith relations at 7 p.m. tonight in the Frangipani Room in the Indiana Memorial Union. \nThe program, called "Interfaith Dialogue: Myth or Reality," will feature a panel of scholars on the topic, including Rev. Rebecca Jimenez, campus minister of the IU Center for University Ministry, IU religious studies professor R. Kevin Jaques, Purdue philosophy professor Donald W. Mitchell and Harold Vogelaar, professor at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. \nThe discussion commemorates Sunday's United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization International Day of Tolerance. The topics will deal with tolerance, love, peace, brotherhood, compassion and freedom.\n"We are trying to bring people from different cultures and religions so they can sit and talk about different viewpoints," said Mehmet Akgun, graduate student and executive member of BMDG.\nGraduate student and executive member of the BMDG Hasan Deniz said the group will discuss tolerance and give the Islamic point of view on current issues.\nThe BMDG was started a year ago by a group of Turkish graduate students including Akgun, who felt in the wake of Sept. 11 that Islam was unfairly receiving negative attention on national and local levels. \n"They felt a need to do something about reducing misunderstandings and misconceptions about Islam," community adviser Darrel Davis said. Davis has had a large role in supporting the group; some of the founding members, like current President Ahmet Uyar, have stayed at his home in Bloomington. \nThe BMDG started reaching out to churches and synagogues, and last March it held an inaugural ceremony that included representatives from 17 churches, the Jewish and Hindu communities and other religious groups. Since then there has been an "ongoing building of sharing relationships in the community, including picnics and coffeehouse talks," Davis said.\nTonight's event is co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of Global Change, IUB International Programs, the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, the Department of Religious Studies and the Arab-American Association. Admission will be free and is open to all members of the greater Bloomington community. A reception will follow the program in the President's Room of the IMU where international homemade foods will be served.\n"We want to go every place as long as they are open to dialogue and want to learn more about Islam," Akgun said. "It's the whole Bloomington community we are aiming to involve, not just students."\n-- Contact staff writer Aaron Uslan at auslan@indiana.edu.