The panel discussion was the part in the series which specifically intended to “bring Christians and Muslims together for an open panel discussion about compromise, filtered through the lens of the Saint and the Sultan.” It intended to do so by understanding history and discussing how it might serve today’s society given all the current problems still found in Christian and Muslim relations.
For the event, attendees were invited to sit on chairs located right on the stage in front of the panel. It was slightly unexpected and unusual because as an attendee one would expect to sit out in the audience’s seating area. …show more content…
It was up close and personal, and it gave off a sense of invasion into a different space. It was almost as if the event was breaking boundaries and merging two separate parts even before it began.
Though in retrospect, the event was run like any other ordinary discussion panel. It followed the same course of action, so the seating was most likely done simply because the event’s attendance was expected to be an intimate fraction of the Auditorium’s 1300 seating capacity.
Jean Fecara, poet, journalist and 27-year veteran of public talk radio moderated the event. She was serious in tone and introduced herself before introducing the panel.
The Panel consisted of Paul Moses, author of the Saint and the Sultan, and Daniel Tutt, filmmaker and philosopher who was an associate producer for the film The Sultan and the Saint. The panel also consisted of Amer Haleem, a respected member of the local Muslim community who writes and speaks on Islam and Muslims’ American