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Religions of the World Unite at Villanova
Edward Pachell ‘04
 Understanding
the religious beliefs of opposing religions often is troublesome subject
when attending a primarily Catholic University. For this reason on Sept.
23-24, a plethora of campus organizations sponsored a “World Religion
Days Fair n’ Forum.”
On Sept. the 23, several tables filled the inside of the Connolly Center
for the fair. Behind each table sat representatives from many of the world’s
largest religious communities.
The goal of the fair was to gather Villanova students and not only make
them aware of the presence of other religious groups on campus, but also
to inform them false stereotypes commonly associated with each religion.
Such topics which were discussed amongst the tables involved the common
association between Islam and terrorism, and how some religions can falsely
be labeled as cults.
On Wednesday the 24th, the forum which took place in the Connolly Center’s
Villanova room brought World Religion Days to a close.
Hundreds of students were present at the event which was opened by University
President, the Rev. Edmund Dobbin who brought everyone in attendance together
and spoke of religion as a whole in society.
“Many conflicts are over religion,” Dobbin said. “So
many people falsely assume religions are bad. There is no religion which
does not participate in a culture, and often cultures find themselves
being stereotyped by religions.”
Following the words of Dobbin, presenters from several major religions
began giving presentations intended to inform the audience of their beliefs.
Representing Hindu was Ritika Mahajan, Biology major from the class 2005
and Dr. Kishor Thanawala, a Professor of Economics.
Representing Islam was Jamal Al-Khaduri ’03, a graduate student
in Nursing, and Dr. Mustafa Ahmed from the Foundation for Islamic Education.
The Buddhist faith was Alice Jung ’06, a Psychology and Honors major,
and Sue Wagner M.S., who is the Coordinator of the Shambhala Meditation
Group in Media, PA.
The Jewish community was represented by Ashley Cook ’04, a Human
Services major and the President of Hillel, and Marina Furman who was
imprisoned by the KGB in Russia with her nine-month-old daughter. Furman
is also the Regional Director of the Jewish National Fund.
Finally, Christians were represented by Jeanine Johnson ’03, a graduate
student in Counseling and Human Relations, and Dr. Maghan Keita, a Professor
of History.
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