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May 26, 2016

Thomas Merton wrote, “The peace produced by grace is a spiritual stability too deep for violence – it is unshakeable.”

Invited guests will reflect on Merton’s statement by sharing the sacred wisdom within their faith traditions as it relates to violence and how to attain spiritual stability. Speakers will offer stories, insights, and practices to address the violence both inward and outward in our lives today.

PICO IYER is an acclaimed travel writer whose work documents the disconnect between local tradition and imported global pop culture, as well as isolation. He has written ten books including his recent “The Art of Stillness” inspired by his TED talk which went viral.

INGRID MATTSON is the former president of the Islamic Society of North America, the largest Muslim organization in America. She is a leading Islamic scholar in the West, whose writings focus primarily on Qur’an interpretation, Islamic theological ethics, and interfaith relations.

IMAM ZAID SHAKIR is the co-founder of Zaytuna College located in California, the first Muslim liberal arts college in the United States. As an American Muslim who came of age during the civil rights struggles, he has brought both sensitivity about race and poverty issues and scholarly discipline to his faith-based work. In 2015 he was named one of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world.