Local Jewish and Islamic community members will have the opportunity to discuss their own experiences as members of non-majority religions from 7-9 p.m. Thursday, March 30, in the Bennett Tower Gold Room, located on WVU ’s Evansdale campus.

The event,Anti-Semitism to Islamaphobia: A Dialogue on Common Concerns,is being sponsored by the Nova Institute in West Virginia University’s Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. It is a joint effort of the Tree of Life Synagogue and the Islamic Center of Morgantown.

Rabbi David Fader and Mr. Abdullah Ibrahim, representatives of the synagogue and mosque respectively, encourage members of their own communitiesas well as members of the general WVU and Morgantown communitiesto join them for the event.

The goal of the evening is to encourage communities to interact with one another and work together on issues of mutual concern. The event will serve as a kick-off to what is expected to be a sustained dialogue in the weeks and months to come.

Topics to be discussed include the recent European controversy around negative depictions of the prophet Mohammed; anti-semitism in Europe; how Jews and Muslims are portrayed in general; how these communities are portrayed in Morgantown ; and other common issues shared between the two communities.

The Nova Institute is a center of research and training housed in the Division of Social Work within the School of Applied Social Sciences in the Eberly College . The Institute incorporates existing education, training and research capacities in nonprofit organizations and voluntary action (NOVA), and combines them with the development of capacities in the related areas of student-based and citizen-based deliberation and dialogue and service learning opportunities.

For more information, contact Dolly Ford, NOVA Institute Project Director, at 304-293-3501, ext. 3102, or at Dolly.Ford@mail.wvu.edu