nt
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another in their future and to rate their feelings as more like impatience or excitement.
Grandthey
Rapids
09/04/2014
While
mostlyPress
reported
positive feelings
across the board, things such as concert
tickets and vacations were described as
more exciting to think about than were lap-
times, asking them if they were thinking
researcher and study author Thomas
about a future purchase at that moment
Gilovich said, “because it suggests that overReduced
to %d%%
originalall
to well-being
fit letter page
(about 20Copy
percent
of the time,
theyfrom
were).
can be advanced by providing
Thinking about experiential purchases
an infrastructure that affords experiences
made them happier than when they had not — such as parks, trails, beaches — as much
been thinking about any purchases at all,
as it does material consumption.”
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INTERFAITH INSIGHT
Finding a common theme amid diversity
By Douglas Kindschi
business people.
We heard
multiple calls
f you have the stereotype
for working
image of what it is to be a
together for
Muslim, then attend one
peace, as well as
of the annual conventions of
concerns about
the Islamic Society of North
the growing
Kindschi
America, as I had the privilege
Islamaphobia
of doing this past Labor Day
that seeks to paint all Muslims in
weekend in Detroit. If you have
a negative light.
only met a few Muslims, then
Shouldn’t we be supporting
you will appreciate the 10 Jewish and celebrating the vast majority
and Christian seminary students who are patriotic, God-loving and
with whom I had the opportunity peacemaking, as well as responto work, as we were exposed to
sible and productive members of
the diversity of the thousands
our society?
who attended the ISNA convenIf your image of Muslim
tion.
society is that it is degrading to
We met Muslims from India,
women, you should have heard
Pakistan, Africa, Turkey, Canada, the speakers, at least half of
Great Britain and the Middle
whom were women, and the vast
East. We heard from doctors,
majority of the session moderalawyers, professors, social
tors who were strong, articulate
workers, teachers, poets, film
women. This is not to deny that
directors, rappers, students, Boy worldwide there are many places
Scouts and highly successful
where women do not have equal
Director of the Kaufman Interfaith
Institute at GVSU
I
Copyright © 2014 The Grand Rapids Press 09/04/2014
rights and are in fact degraded
and daily face violence.
Former President Jimmy
Carter, the keynote speaker,
pointed out this problem of violence against women is a global
issue and exists in all countries,
including the West, where thousands of women and girls are
sold each year as sex slaves. Just
in the city of Atlanta, between
200 and 300 children are sold
each month, said Carter, author
of the just published book, “A
Call to Action: Women, Religion,
Violence and Power.” He also
called for religious leaders of all
faith traditions to speak out on
these issues.
While attending the various
sessions, it became clear this
convention was in many ways
very similar to Christian gatherings I have attended over the
years. While the racial composition and clothing styles were
much more diverse, the themes
echoed what I have often heard
in my own community — concerns for justice, love, hope and
coming closer to God.
Another convention theme
similar to my own religious
understanding, as well as to
every other religious tradition
I know, was the commitment to
service. In Judaism, the term is
“tikkun olam,” usually translated
as “repairing or healing the
world.” For Hindus, the concept
is “seva” or selfless service. For
Muslims, the concept of service
is called “khidmah,” and it was a
major emphasis at the convention.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if,
instead of stereotyping others
with a negative label, we would
look for those concepts where we
can agree and even work together in a spirit of service? I believe
this is the essence of “loving your
neighbor.”
Email: [email protected]
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