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November 22, 2009

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Workshop on Islam and nonviolence set to kick off today in Las Vegas

By Timothy Pratt (contact)

Friday, Aug. 5, 2005 | 11 a.m.

A three-day workshop on Islam and nonviolence, which organizers believe is the first of its kind in the nation, is scheduled to begin today in Las Vegas.

The workshop, set to begin at 6 p.m. at the Jamia Masjid mosque at 4730 E. Desert Inn Road, is designed to help people in and out of the Muslim faith answer such questions as, "Is the present-day violence in our world justified from a divine perspective?" according to Aslam Abdullah, leader of the event.

Abdullah, who directs the local Islamic Society, said the workshop will look at violence over time in religion, culture, politics and society; how the world's major religions view violence and nonviolence; and the theological basis for nonviolence in Islam.

He will draw on the Quran, the Muslim holy book and other texts.

Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations -- a Washington-based civil rights group -- said he hadn't heard of a similar event, and "any effort that encourages people of any faith to adopt nonviolent solutions to conflict is welcome."

Hooper said the event was timely in the wake of recent violence worldwide -- "some of it by people who claim to be acting in the name of Muslim."

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