Interfaith celebration

Monash University held an Interfaith Dinner on Monday, 23 July 2012.  About 80 guests attended the celebration, which aimed to promote the importance of social inclusion and inter-religious dialogue.

Guests included religious leaders, ambassadors, high commissioners, diplomats, trusts and foundations, Monash staff, Monash Council members, and students.

Professor Stephanie Fahey, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement), hosted the event and spoke about the importance of the day across a number of faiths.

“Today is a significant day for the Sikh faith and Rastafari faith. It is also a significant period for Muslims – the month of Ramadan. Ramadan is a time where communities come together and an appropriate time to hold this Interfaith Dinner to celebrate interfaith dialogue, interreligious studies and social cohesion,” said Professor Fahey.

A panel of three Monash PhD students spoke about their experience of studying in Australia, comparing this to studying in their countries of origin. They shared positive experiences as well as challenges they faced, and received many thought-provoking questions from the audience. There was a very lively dialogue between the students and the audience.

Panellist Danny Ong is completing a PhD on the experience of international students in Australia.

“I want to make a difference. In order to facilitate better policies, the only option is to convince policy makers through research and a PhD is the way to go,” said Danny.

Using his experiences, Danny wrote The International Students’ Handbook – Living and Studying in Australia.

Khalid Alshahrani is undertaking a PhD examining the implementation of eLearning in higher education. He holds a position of university lecturer in Saudi Arabia and he will return to this position after finishing his PhD. Khalid spoke of the challenge of the media-reflected image of Muslims and Arabs.  His experiences have helped him to appreciate other cultures and to see the world from different perspectives.

Azita Sobhani is pursuing her PhD in the Department of Social Work’s Gender Leadership and Social Sustainability (GLASS) unit. Azita spoke about how she would not have been able to study had she remained in Iran.

“I was in high school in a private international boarding school when the country experienced a revolution.  I could never go back and did not see my family for 20 years.  I could never have entered a university for higher education had I stayed.  This is due to my belief in the Bahá’í faith,” said Azita.

Azita said that the highlight of studying in Australia is: “The utterly inviting and open embrace for all.” 

The panel discussion was moderated by Dr Hass Dellal OAM, Executive Director of the Australian Multicultural Foundation.

Professor Rae Frances, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, spoke about the University’s interfaith and interreligious education and research activities, and of the aim to create holistic graduates. 

“Monash University has a strong vision to produce graduates who not only have excellent technical skills and professional knowledge but also have a very strong commitment to social justice, peace and an ethos of giving back to society,” said Professor Frances.

“From our multitude of language and culture programs to our institutes and centres … Monash reflects our community and the world.”