Event Details

Please join the GTU's Madrasa-Midrasha Program as we honor the messages of Ramadan and Passover. This year, we are delighted to include perspectives from the Christian and Hindu traditions and the Baha’i Faith in understanding how our sacred holidays and rituals provide resilience and hope. A light lunch will be provided for those who attend in-person.

Farzin Aghdasi, Affiliate of the Wilmette Institute and Senior Software Manager for Deep Learning at NVIDIA
Dr. Farzin Aghdasi is the elected executive secretary of the Regional Baha'i Council of California, serving Baha'i communities in over 200 localities. He holds a PhD in Engineering and an MBA and has published his research widely. His work focusses on the intersections of science and religion, and humanitarian and ethical systems impacted by AI applications.

Deena Aranoff, Dir. of the Richard S. Dinner Ctr. for Jewish Studies, Sr. Lecturer in Medieval Jewish Studies
Deena Aranoff is Faculty Director of the Richard S. Dinner Center for Jewish Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA. She teaches rabbinic literature, medieval patterns of Jewish thought, and the broader question of continuity and change in Jewish history. Her recent publications engage with the subject of childcare, maternity and the making of Jewish culture.

Eduardo Fernández, Professor of Pastoral Theology and Ministry 
Eduardo Fernández received the STD and STL from Gregorian Pontifical University, the MA from the University of Texas, Austin. and the MDiv from Jesuit School of Theology. He specializes in Hispanic/Latinx theology, Mexican and U.S. History of the Southwest, social justice, inculturation, and the celebration of sacraments in intercultural contexts.

Ahmed Khater, Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies
Dr. Khater graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a B.A. in legal studies, and attained a second B.A. from Al-Azhar University in Islamic sciences and Arabic language. He received an M.A. from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley with a specialization in Islamic law and legal theory, and a Ph.D. from the Graduate Theological Union.

Rita Sherma, Director of the Center for Dharma Studies, Associate Professor of Dharma Studies
Rita D. Sherma is founding Director and Associate Professor at the Center for Dharma Studies; Core Doctoral Faculty; Department Chair of Theology & Ethics; and Co-Chair of Sustainability 360 Initiative at GTU, Berkeley, CA. She holds an MA in Women’s Studies in Religion, and a PhD in Theology & Ethics from Claremont Graduate University, CA. 

Moderated by: Mahjabeen Dhala, Director of Madrasa-Midrasha Program; Asst Professor of Islamic Studies

For more details, see our event webpage.