Join us for a screening of the award-winning documentary, Same God, and a discussion about embodied solidarity with Dr. Larycia Hawkins, Assistant Professor at University of Virginia, and Ailya Vajid, Associate Chaplain for Muslim Life at Macalester College.
Same God explores the aftermath of a December 10, 2015, Facebook post, where Dr. Hawkins declared her intention to don a hijab in embodied solidarity with Muslim sisters throughout the Christian season of Advent. The post initiated a national and international conversation about the nature of God and the possibilities for multi-faith solidarity in a time when Islamaphobia, xenophobia, religiously-motivated hate crimes and racism are more prolific than any time in history.
“I don’t love my Muslim neighbor because s/he is American. I love my Muslim neighbor because s/he deserves love by virtue of her/his human dignity. I stand in human solidarity with my Muslim neighbor because we are formed of the same primordial clay…
I stand in religious solidarity with Muslims because they, like me, a Christian, are people of the book. And as Pope Francis stated last week, we worship the same God.
…theoretical solidarity is not solidarity at all.”
– Dr. Larycia Hawkins
About the Speakers:
Dr. Larycia Hawkins
Dr. Hawkins is a scholar, a political science professor and an activist. She teaches and researches at the University of Virginia, where she is jointly appointed as assistant professor in the departments of Politics and Religious Studies, serves as a faculty fellow at the university’s Institute of Advanced Studies in Culture, is a contributor to the Project on Lived Theology and co-convenes the Henry Luce Foundation project, Religion and Its Publics.
Ailya Vajid
Ailya Vajid serves the Macalester community as the Associate Chaplain for Muslim Life. In her work, she seeks to promote open, honest dialogue and interaction, and she encourages communities to draw on the strength and richness of diversity as tools for learning, creative engagement, and positive change. Ailya is also committed to issues of mental health and counseling. Ailya holds a BA in Religion and Islamic Studies from Swarthmore College and an MA in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School.
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to join in on an intimate conversation between Dr. Hawkins and Ailya Vajid!