House of Dates: Spiritual Leadership in Times of Crisis
Author: Center for Multi-Religious Studies
Join us in the House of Dates for an intimate conversation with renowned Sufi author and spiritual teacher Omid Safi and Arab Jewish mystic, scholar, and artist Hadar Cohen. In conversation with House of Dates conveners Dr. Som Pourfarzaneh and Taya Mâ Shere, our speakers will explore what guides their leadership at this time of crisis in Palestine / Israel, and consider what is distinct about spiritual practice, leadership and community in times of crisis.
This event will take place online via Zoom Friday, February 16 from 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm PT (3 pm – 4:30 pm ET). The service will be followed by a discussion on weaving multi-religious worship and community. To register, please click the “Register Here” button below.
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Hadar Cohen
Hadar Cohen is an Arab Jewish scholar, mystic and artist. She is the founder of Malchut, a spiritual skill building school teaching Jewish mysticism and direct experience of God. She is a 10th-generation Jerusalemite with lineage roots also in Syria, Kurdistan, Iraq and Iran. Hadar weaves the spiritual with the political through performance art, writing, music and ritual. Her podcast, Hadar’s Web, features community conversations on spirituality, healing, justice, and art.
To learn more, visit hadarcohen.me or malchut.one and on Instagram.
Omid Safi
Omid Safi is a Sufi teacher, a professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at Duke University, a columnist for On Being, and a leading Muslim public intellectual appearing often on news outlets including PBS, BBC and CNN. He guides journeys in Turkey, Morocco and beyond and offers online courses open to spiritual seekers of all backgrounds. Hehas a podcast called Sufi Heart, and his books include Memories of Muhammad and Radical Love: Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Tradition.
To learn more, please visit illuminatedcourses.com and on Instagram.
Taya Mâ Shere
Taya Mâ Shere roots in her spiritual lineage by birth and prays on a multi-religious path. With Shaykh Ibrahim Baba Farajajé, she co-founded Makam Shekhina, a community of Hebrew Priestesses and Sufi Dervishes gathering in embodied, multi-gender, ecstatic counter-oppressive devotion. Taya also serves as Assistant Professor of the Practice of Organic Multi-Religious Ritual at Starr King School for the Ministry, where she trains emergent clergy across faith traditions in transformative ritual craft, multireligiosity, ancestral practice, and trauma-aware spiritual leadership.
Dr. Som Pourfarzaneh
Som’s scholarship is focused on Islam and media, Muslims in America, anthropology of Islam, digital and social media, social justice, cultural production, interreligious dialogue, and multi-religious identity. Som has written and worked for entertainment companies and editorial websites such as Electronic Arts, Perfect World Entertainment, Modus Games, and MMORPG.com, and is the author of four books and three games. Som received a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA, a master’s in social change from Starr King School for the Ministry, and a Ph.D. in cultural and historical studies of religions from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA, USA.
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