Women’s Leadership and Activism in the Muslim World: A Daylong Public Symposium and Community Event

Saturday, October 10, 2009
9 a.m.–5 p.m.
All events will be held at the Nalanda Campus
6287 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder

Register for Symposium

Sponsored by Naropa University's Peace Studies Department and the Cordoba Initiative

The Naropa University Peace Studies Department and the Cordoba Initiative invite you to a daylong symposium focused on the challenges and opportunities facing Muslim women in the United States and beyond.

The 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate, Shirin Ebadi, will open the symposium with a Friday night keynote talk, “Human Rights and Women’s Rights in Islam.” Her talk will be in Farsi, with English translation. William Ury, co-founder of Harvard’s Program on Negotiation, will moderate the discussion following Dr. Ebadi’s talk. A book-signing will follow.

Dr. Ebadi will participate in the opening panel the next morning. The additional speakers, notable Muslim scholars and activists, are pioneers in the fields of conflict resolution and peacebuilding, community organizing, human rights, interfaith dialogue, media studies, and Islamic thought, including Sufi contemplative perspectives.

The goal of the symposium is to amplify the voices of Muslim women leaders and cultivate a learning community that deepens participants’ understanding of the evolving role of Muslim women and serves as a catalyst for thoughtful conversation and networking.

The program includes:

• Interactive panels designed to inform, inspire and engage
• Informal conversation during morning and afternoon tea
• Lunch with interest groups (a box lunch will be provided)
• Music by the Zevk Ensemble
• Wrap-up session on next steps

All are welcome—Muslims & non-Muslims, men and women of all spiritual perspectives, students and teachers, activists, academics, artists, bloggers, youth, community leaders, global citizens, senior citizens and other lifelong learners.

	Shirin Ebadi, 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate, human rights activist, lawyer, frequent lecturer around the globe, and author of Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope.
	Sanam Naraghi Anderlini has been a leading international advocate, researcher, trainer and writer on conflict and peacebuilding for more than a decade. She is the author of Women Building Peace: What They Do, Why It Matters.
	Laleh Bakhtiar has written more than twenty books on various aspects of Islam and Sufism and has translated many works, including the first English translation of the Quran by an American woman.
	Terry Greenblatt consults and speaks nationally and internationally on the responsibility of women as agents of both social and political change. Currently she serves as executive director of the Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights. Terry will moderate the opening panel of the symposium.
	Banafsheh Keynoush specializes in Middle East foreign relations, security issues, and international human rights law. Dr. Keynoush has more than twenty years of professional experience as a Farsi-English simultaneous interpreter and will serve as Dr. Ebadi’s translator for the keynote address and the symposium.
	Daisy Khan is executive director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA). She has launched two groundbreaking flagship programs: the Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow (MLT) and Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE).