Christmas, Winter, and Religion

Yiddish Children’s Stories Preserve Jewish Culture

A historical story of recovery, faith, and healing. To learn more about Kate Dudding visit www.katedudding.com

Guest:  Morgan Davis, PhD, Assistant Research Fellow at BYU’s Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, Director of the Middle Eastern Texts Initiative  The US Department of Education this week sent out an urgent plea for schools to guard against harassment and discrimination of students because of their race, religion or national origin. The call is a response to anti-Muslim and anti-refugee sentiments that appear to be on the rise since the San Bernardino terror attacks and the ongoing campaign rhetoric of Donald Trump, who says Muslims should temporarily be banned from entering the US.  Fostering understanding of the Muslim faith is a key priority of BYU’s Middle Eastern Texts Initiative, which translates and publishes ancient philosophical writings of Muslims, Jews and Christians into English.

Indra Neelameggham shares stories and traditions from her Hindu upbringing.

Guest: Alaa Murabit, Peace Activist and Founder of “The Voice of Libyan Women”  In 2005 Alaa Murabit moved with her family from Canada to Libya, where she says she was surprised to discover that women are not treated equally to men in that country. She was 15 and had grown up learning from Islamic scripture that all are equal in the eyes of God.  The disappointment she felt in being treated as a lesser person because of her gender has propelled her to become an activist and peacebuilder in Libya. She was active with other women in agitating for change during the 2011 Libyan revolution. Murabit has since formed an organization called “The Voice of Libyan Women” to promote equality and “improve the political participation and the economic empowerment of women in Libya.”

Dr. Tala'at al-Shuqairat is a medical doctor who found himself leading worship in his local mosque when he came to the US, since there was no one else to do it. As he studied, he found himself more and more committed to his faith, and discovered that he actually saw the differences between his religion and his culture more clearly once he had left his homeland in Jordan. In this episode he also shares a recitation of a favorite section from the Quran and how prayer and fasting improve his life.

Guest: Shadman Bashir, Professor of Law and International Relations at Dixie State University  Shadman Bashir is a native of the city of Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan. He’s a practicing Muslim and an attorney trained in a mix of English, Islamic, and U.S. law. Bashir recently visited BYU to do something he finds himself doing a lot of these days—explaining what Islam is and what it isn’t. He says it’s not just Westerners who get it wrong, but even people in predominantly Muslim countries misunderstand Islam. They see it as a single monolith—like a rock face with a single way to be Muslim and a single interpretation of Islamic belief.

In this episode, enjoy the following stories: It's America! By Corinne Stavish; Yom Kippur: A Cowboy's Prayer by Karen Golden; Stan by Dan Kedding; And an interview and story by Mark Binde.