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The Boniuk Institute
6100 Main Street MS 350
Houston, Texas 77005-1827

713-348-4536



Mailing Address:
PO Box 1892
Houston, Texas 77251-1892
tolerance@rice.edu

 Sacred Sites Quest

Sacred Sites Quest 2011

Participating Students' Voices


Participating Students' Voices - 1

"In all the sacred spaces I have felt my spirituality grow stronger… I have been overwhelmed with the beauty of certain buildings, sculptures, sites. I love this program. It is very interesting and I have learned alot. I would love to do this as often as I can. I love learning about new cultures and new religions."

"I learn more and more things every time I meet up with the SSQ crew. It changes the way I think as I see more religious traditions."

“The best way to help people get along is just educating them. My experiences in the Sacred Sites Quest prove that. Before I joined, I had no non-Jewish friends. People from other backgrounds were foreign and therefore intimidating. Never
interacting with different kinds of kids made it seem daunting, and it was easier to just stick inside my comfort zone. After joining the Quest and meeting all the kids along with it, I have become more outgoing and love them all. Just being around
these people in a setting dedicated to learning about each other was enough to break down the walls, and really gain an appreciation of differences. If more people were educated about tolerance in this laid back manner, there would be a
lot less conflicts in the world. Religious tolerance goes past accepting religions, and spreads more into just accepting other humans for what they are.”

"After visiting the[se] holy sites...I feel more connected to my fellow man/woman now that I know more about their beliefs and faith."

"Thus far, the quest has been amazing. Despite not being a part of any of the religions we have dealt with thus far, I feel at peace at each sacred site. I feel interconnected with people of all faiths and have actually noticed more similarities
than differences. Every religion places value in light--illumination--and in the earthly elements."

"At my church, my Pastor speaks for two and a half hours to nail down our purpose. At these sites I just have to walk in and look around and I feel more than what my Pastor has ever made me feel with words."

“At all the sacred sites we have visited so far I have learned many new things. Each visit had a different experience to go along with the questions. Each place had a distinct characteristic as well as a uniqueness. Each place felt sacred in its
own way.”

Participating Students' Voices - 2

Spotlights

Best Public Art Project
The Boniuk Center for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance turned to the Museum of Cultural Arts Houston (a past Houston Press MasterMinds Award winner) to add a visual arts aspect to the 2011 Sacred Sites Quests program. »

 

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Webcasts

An Intrafaith Panel on Islam
Moderated by Mike Ghouse, Religious and Cultural Pluralism Commentator,President of the Foundation for Pluralism & America Together Foundation.

Panel Participants:
Imam Azhar Haneef
Vice President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of the US, Silver Spring, Maryland.

Imam Wazir Ali
Masjid Warithud-Deen Mohammed and Masjid Al-Qur'an,Houston, Texas

Imam Moustafa al-Qazwini
Founding Director of the Islamic Education Center of Orange County, California

Imam Zia Shaikh
Islamic Center of Irving, Texas
 »

 

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Radio Podcasts

Peaceful Coexistence Radio 90.1 KPFT
Peaceful Coexistence Radio 90.1 KPFT
These podcasts are from the Peaceful Coexistence Radio program which is no longer airing as of 2009. 
 »

 

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