The Interfaith Center
for Racial Justice (ICRJ)
began the Interfaith
Breakfast Seminar to
provide an opportunity
each fall for clergy,
intellectuals,
activists, and college
students to engage
around important topics.
With the growth in size
of ICRJ’s annual MLK
Holiday Celebration to
over one thousand
participants it was felt
that this event no
longer offered a forum
for reflective dialogue.
ICRJ, therefore,
developed the Interfaith
Breakfast Seminar to
fill this void.
Partnering with the
Islamic Organization of
North America (IONA) the
ICRJ brought in Dr.
Robert Shedinger, author
of the provocative book
Was Jesus a Muslim?, as
the keynote speaker for
their inaugural
interfaith seminar in
October 2009. Also, Dr.
Ahmed Afzaal assisted as
the moderator of last
fall’s breakfast seminar
at DeCarlo’s in Warren.
Following the morning
seminar, both Dr.
Shedinger and Dr. Afzaal
made a second
presentation in the
evening at IONA. Last
year’s speakers: Dr.
Michael Nagler, Ms.
Stephanie Van Hook, and
Dr. Ahmed Afzaal
followed suit—speaking
at IONA in the evening
after presenting at the
morning seminar. Their
presentations were on
the “Nonviolence of
Martin Luther King Jr.”
and “nonviolence as a
strategy for social
change.” In addition,
Dr. Nagler and Ms. Van
Hook offered a
meditation workshop
between their morning
and evening
presentations, providing
participants with a rich
experience.
If you have a suggested
topic or speaker to
recommend for a future
interfaith breakfast
seminar please call or
email Rev. Michail Curro,
ICRJ’s Executive
Director at
or at (586) 463-3675.
