SEICHO-NO-IE SPECIAL CONFERENCE FOR WORLD PEACE IN NEW YORK
Vice President Stresses the Similarities between Islam and Seicho-No-Ie
On August 4 to 5 at the Edith Macy Conference Center in the outskirts of New York City, the Seicho-No-Ie U.S. 2007 Special Conference for World Peace guided by the Vice President of Seicho-No-Ie, Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, was held. This was the third time that a Special Conference was held in the United States, the most recent was held in 2004.
The theme of the Conference was Islam. The Vice President delivered the closing lecture on the 5th and Mrs. Junko Taniguchi, Vice President of the White Dove Association, spoke on the 4th. There were also presentations by five Ordained Ministers on Islam’s diversity and all-embracing nature and other themes. Moreover, for a deeper understanding of Islam, the program began with a keynote lecture and question and answer period by Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl, a distinguished Islamic thinker, and professor at UCLA. Dr. Abou El Fadl had been invited to the Conference.
One hundred eighty-two participants gathered from nine countries. By country there were 80 from the United States, 78 from Brazil, 7 from Canada, 6 from Japan, 4 from England, 3 from Panama, 2 from Peru, 1 from Colombia and 1 from Germany. The Conference was held in English with Portuguese and Spanish simultaneous interpretation.