"How does your belief system, or lack thereof, affect your life?" This was one question posed to five panelists, each representing a major religious outlook, during UF's first Interfaith Forum on Tuesday evening in front of about 250 people. Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism and non-theism were represented. "Our goal was to spark religious dialogue, and I think we accomplished that," said David Yakobovitch, who was credited with initiating the forum's creation.
Anusha Kota, campus liaison for the Hindu Student Council, sees her faith as her reflective time, she said. In the four stages of life as a Hindu, Kota is in the first, or student, stage and still learning. Allen Williams, a UF graduate who works with Campus Crusade for Christ at UF, lives every aspect of his life for his faith, he said. "I feel like this isn't about my story, it's about God's story," he said. Chris Mueller, president of the largely non-theist UF group Gator Freethought, believes atheism and agnosticism require constant consideration.
"Every moral decision is a new experience," he said.
Dr. Saeed R. Khan, a professor of pathology at UF and a practicing Muslim, believes that much of the morality he learned came from his faith and his family. "The part that is there that makes me do things is personal responsibility," he said. Dave Baum, a former UF student who is graduating from rabbinical school this year, feels that the strict dietary laws and other rules of Judaism have a heavy influence on his life. "It teaches you a lot about self-control," he said. The forum started with a 50-minute introduction, each panelist having 10 minutes to discuss their beliefs, followed by a round of questions asked by the moderator, and then, the audience. One audience member asked Khan about how the statement that men and women are equal in Islam appears to conflict with the use of veils. Khan passed the question to a Muslim woman in the crowd who was wearing a head scarf.
"You don't judge her based on her looks, you get to know her personality first," said Razan Al-Nahhas, a UF biology student. "It doesn't bring the woman down, it elevates her."
Huddled for warmth on the steps of Reitz Union's open air amphitheater, Upuli Dissanayake, a UF biochemistry and philosophy freshman, and her boyfriend Mike Fortunati, a mechanical agriculture major, watched the forum down below.
Dissanyake considers herself "spiritual" but was raised as a Buddhist, her father was Hindu and all of her siblings were raise Muslim. Fortunati was raised a Christian, but now considers himself non-thiest.
"I know that the faiths can work together if society will let them," Dissanyake said.
