This is the first webinar series focused on Islam and Pluralism that is co-sponsored by Mediators Beyond Borders International (MBBI) and the Millennium Alliance of Humanity and the Biosphere (Stanford University). It is led by Ashok Panikkar of MetaCulture. Islam and Pluralism: This course comes out of MetaCulture’s insights working with Muslim community leaders since 2007. What are Liberalism, Pluralism, and Secularism? Do all religious groups respond similarly to them? Is the Muslim world at odds with liberal democracies or just with Western imperialism? How can Muslims survive and thrive in non-Muslim societies?

It is a 12-part Conflict, Culture & Democracy Course. It will be held weekly on Saturdays at 10 AM ET (-4 UTC). Each session will be 90 minutes long. The first session is scheduled for Saturday, March 13, 2021, at 10 AM EST and the twelfth session is scheduled for Saturday, May 29, 2021, at 10 AM EST.

If the last few years have taught us anything, it is that intelligence, wisdom and humaneness cannot be taken for granted anymore. Established in 2005, MetaCulture’s founder, Ashok Panikkar, has a background in teaching people how to think, communicate and manage conflicts.     

DEMOSAPIENS, MetaCulture’s educational division, is committed to developing thoughtful citizens who can sustain free and open societies. Our programs are designed to cultivate: 

1. CRITICAL THINKING – Thinking objectively, without personal or social biases.
2. PERSONAL & CIVIC DISPOSITIONS – Engaging generously with other people in our community.
3. REAL KNOWLEDGE– Understanding REALITY- beyond personal perceptions and ‘lived’ experience. 

A lifetime of working with groups and communities to strengthen their collaboration, communication and conflict management processes has taught us that the health of a community is dependent upon the character, competence and dispositions of the people involved. This has serious implications for democracy itself. Recent events have demonstrated that, in addition to free elections, rule of law and institutions, a liberal democracy needs wise citizens, not just subjects, spectators, bystanders or consumers. 

Each session will seek to develop a discourse around democracy, politics, and culture that can be well-informed, thoughtful, and mature- rather than reactive, angry, wistful, or riddled with assumptions.

Please note that the pricing for the Demo Sapiens Webinar Series is different than MBBI’s monthly webinars. Participants are paying for a 12-part series co-sponsored by MBBI, Meta-Culture, and the Millennium Alliance of Humanity and the Biosphere.

Register here for the Webinar Series starting on Saturday, March 13, 2021, at 10 AM ET