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The Parliament of the World’s Religions is honored to announce the participation of Mustafa Abu Sway, Nivedita Bhide, and Brian J. Grim as luminaries of the 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions, coming to Chicago, USA from August 14-18, 2023.

Luminaries Answering the Call to Conscience

The featured luminaries at the 2023 Parliament Convening are a diverse cohort of faith, spiritual, civic, and governmental leaders answering the call to conscience to defend freedom and human rights.

Mustafa Abu Sway

Mustafa Abu Sway is the first holder (2012-2020) of the Integral Chair for the Study of Imam Ghazali’s Work at the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque and at Al-Quds University (HM King Abdullah II Endowment). He was Dean at the College of Islamic Studies, Al-Quds University (2014-2020).

Abu Sway has been a Professor of Philosophy and Islamic Studies at Al-Quds University in Jerusalem, Palestine, since 1996. He taught at the International Islamic University in Malaysia (1993-96) and was a visiting Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence at the Wilkes Honors College at Florida Atlantic University (2003-4), as well as a visiting professor at Bard College, New York (2008-2010).

Prof. Abu Sway is author of three books on Imam Al-Ghazali: “Islamic Epistemology: The Case of Al-Ghazali”, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kuala Lumpur, 1995, and in Malay in 2004; “Fatawa Al-Ghazali” (Arabic) (Al-Ghazali’s Religious Rulings) (ISTAC, Kuala Lumpur, 1996); and “A Treasury of Al-Ghazali” (Kube Publishing, London, 2017).

He contributed to several interfaith publications on prophets Abraham (1999), Moses (2003), Jesus (2007), and Ishmael and Isaac (2019) by PASSIA, Jerusalem, Palestine.

Prof. Abu Sway is a member of Hashemite Fund for the Restoration of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, and the Islamic Waqf Council in Jerusalem.

Nivedita Bhide

Nivedita Raghunath Bhide is a Jeevan Vrati (Life Worker) from Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari, India where since 1977 has the responsibility of All India Vice President. She trains the dedicated full-time workers and teachers of Vivekananda Kendra and serves as the coordinator of Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture, Guwahati. Nivedita is a regular faculty in Yoga and spiritual camps, having participated In the Seminar on Swami Vivekananda at ICCR in 2013 in Melbourne, Australia, and the International Meeting of Educational Experts at Darwin, Australia convened by UNESCO for the Asia-Pacific region in 1999. She has served as a trustee of the Vivekananda International Foundation since its inception and a member of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations since July 2020.

Nivedita has written over 15 Books, presented papers in national and international seminars, and given lectures in IITs and Universities, including Kansas University in the USA. She is the recipient of Padma Shri from the Government of India in 2017 for social service; a degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris Causa) from Desh Bhagat University, Punjab in 2017 in the field of ‘Service to Mankind’ in the faculty of social sciences for contribution in promoting universal brotherhood amongst mankind; a degree of Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) from SNDT Women University, Mumbai in 2019;  and the Award of ‘Shiksha Bhushan’ from Akhil Bharatiya Shaikshik Mahasangh in November 2019.

Brian J. Grim

Brian J. Grim, Ph.D. (Penn State), is the founding president of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation and works with Fortune 500 companies to include religion and belief as part of their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. He is the leading expert on the positive socio-economic impact of freedom of religion and belief for all.

Previously, Brian was chair of the World Economic Forum’s council on the role of faith, a Davos speaker, a TEDx speaker at the Vatican, and director of global religion data research at the highly respected Pew Research Center in Washington DC. He is the author of scores of academic articles and several books. He also was an educator in the former Soviet Union, China, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe from 1982-2002. He lives at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where his wife coordinates study abroad for the Navy. They are co-authors of Grims’ New Fairy Tales of Love Overcoming Evil, and have four grown children and 16 grandkids!

Join Us in Defending Freedom and Human Rights!

Mustafa Abu Sway, Nivedita Bhide, and Brian J. Grim are joining thousands of global attendees committed to answering our call to conscience and taking a stand for freedom, democracy, and human rights. Register. Learn more here→

Chaplains at AZZ

Ken Lavelle, EVP of Operations from AZZ, North America’s largest metal galvanizing company, discussed with Julie A. Wilkes, Global Well-being Senior Manager for Accenture, how providing spiritual care saved the company. Questions discussed during the 4th annual 2023 Dare to Overcome Faith@Work Conference in Washington DC included:

Even among Christians, DEI leaders find themselves isolated and unsupported.

Michelle Loyd-Paige served as the executive associate to the president for diversity and inclusion (emeritus) at Calvin University. Read article.

As part of the World Economic Forum’s Faith in Action initiative, we are conducting a survey about Faith + Business initiatives. This is an opportunity to share about your faith@work and/or ERG initiative.

Selected initiatives will be featured in the rollout of the Faith in Action report to be released at Davos 2024.

The deadline to complete the survey is September 4, so please take 10-15 minutes to share about your initiative. This is a chance to let your light shine!

If you are involved in a Faith and Business project, please reach out to Religious Freedom & Business Foundation President Brian Grim to participate in the World Economic Forum survey where you can share information about the project. See PDF of survey questions.

Milind Makwana, who passed away in July 2023, was the leader of the Hindu faith community within PayPal’s broader Faith Employee Resource Group – . Milind was also the founder of Dharmatoys.com – a website catered towards offering faith-based toys, games & apparels. Milind authored two kids books, his first book is  “A Day in Life of a Hindu Kid” is highly rated and his second book was recently launched on Kickstarter.  Milind held a Bachelors Engineering degree in Electronics & Telecommunications and completed his Advanced Program management course from Stanford.

In a June 16, 2022, interview, Milind answered questions of David Brenner, AI and Faith’s Board Chair, about his work and what drove his leadership within PayPal Believe: Read the interview.

Join us in an enlightening conversation with Brian J. Grim, the leading expert on the vital connection between economic sustainability and freedom of religion or belief. As the founding president of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation and global chairman of Dare to Overcome, Brian’s passion for this topic is unparalleled. Listen (interview starts at 1:30 minute mark).

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Above, watch today’s virtual discussion by top experts from SAP, the EEOC, Vettd and the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation on how faith and belief can contribute powerful ethical tools to navigate the AI revolution. The discussion was cohosted by the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation and the SAP Interfaith Alliance.

Companies are implementing Al in their business processes at a quickening rate. One of the areas for potential concern is Al’s use to facilitate Human Resource decision-making. If such uses are not carefully overseen by real people, the consequences can be destructive.

Question is: Who should have a seat at the table in designing oversight and tracking mechanisms? Who should companies consult as they consider the possible dangers that should be guarded against?

Click here for a summary of the Mentimeter results from the participants collected during the virtual discussion.

On March 28, 2023, more than 1,000 tech executives and Artificial Intelligence (Al) experts published an open letter calling for reflection and a pause before continuing to develop powerful Al systems. More than 33,000 have since signed the letter.

They said, “Powerful Al systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable.”

Companies are implementing Al in their business processes at a quickening rate. One of the areas for potential concern is Al’s use to facilitate Human Resource decision-making. If such uses are not carefully overseen by real people, the consequences can be destructive.

We contend that faith-related perspectives can add a lot of value in this hugely important arena. This year’s Dare to Overcome Conference in Washington DC also included an expert panel discussion (watch) to spotlight the challenges of using Al in HR and illustrate how diverse perspectives of faith and belief can contribute to the needed reflection.

By Kent Johnson

This is a reminder to register and join us MONDAY at 11am EST for a free, informative and interactive online discussion of the intersection of faith, artificial intelligence, and human resources.

On Monday, July 31st at 11:00 EST, we will co-host a virtual discussion by top experts from SAP, the EEOC, Vettd and the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation on how faith and belief contribute powerful ethical tools to navigate the AI revolution.

Companies are implementing Al in their business processes at a quickening rate. One of the areas for potential concern is Al’s use to facilitate Human Resource decision-making. If such uses are not carefully overseen by real people, the consequences can be destructive.

Question is: Who should have a seat at the table in designing oversight and tracking mechanisms? Who should companies consult as they consider the possible dangers that should be guarded against?

I hope to see you on Monday for this timely and informative discussion!

By John Huân Vũ, PayPal Product Manager and Global Interfaith Prayer Chair @ PayPal Belief

On Wednesday, July 19, 2023, I woke up to the news that my dear coworker (and friend), Milind Makwana, unexpectedly passed away. His final message to me was 12 hours beforehand.

Milind made a huge impact within PayPal and outside of PayPal embodying a full life that was gone too soon. For me, knowing Milind personally, professionally, and spiritually has elevated my love for him and I will always be thankful for those memories.

Since Milind was our PayPal Believe Hindu faith chapter leader, I envisioned that several employees will need resources to process, grieve, and heal. That morning, I called for an emergency meeting of the PayPal Believe interfaith employee resource group steering committee. As each of us processed our shock and sadness, we had to turn our thoughts and prayers into action.

We know the faith of Milind was so important that that he even wrote a book called “A day in the life of a Hindu Kid” to help children learn about their faith and to ensure all profits would be donated to a non-profit organization benefiting local communities. Milind even represented PayPal at the 2022 “Dare to Overcome” Faith@Work conference hosted by the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation touching the lives of every person he met regardless of their faith and background.

In my role as the PayPal Believe Global Interfaith Prayer Chair, I was invited to prepare and host two Interfaith Prayer Services at our company. Alongside PayPal Believe Global Co-Chairs, Becky Pomerleau and Neetu Dhaliwal, MBA, Archana Nindra and I led the service in our respective prayers before opening up to employees to share stories and find comfort with each other. We had over 200 employees attending and it was only successful thanks to the support of Sri Shivananda (CTO, EVP, Believe Executive Co-Sponsor), our employee advocacy partner, Jamie Black, and our corporate communications partners, Madeline Bielski and Lenore Feder.

Lastly, I was beyond humbled to be invited to attend my first Hindu funeral (Antya Sanskara). As I prayed and witnessed the beautiful testimony and traditions, my emotions came into fruition as I witnessed the finale and cremation of Milind. I can’t imagine the anguish and tears from his wife and two children (ages 8 and 14).

To conclude my post, here was my interfaith prayer that I prepared for my colleague, my friend, and my brother Milind:
✾ Let us remember our brother, MILIND, who was committed to his Hindu faith.
✾ In Hinduism, Om (or Aum) ॐ is a sacred sound, mantra, and invocation.
✾ When we hear Om ॐ, may we remember MILIND as a Believe ERG leader among our Hindu siblings bringing all of us to prayer.
✾ When we hear Om ॐ, may we remember MILIND as the program manager whose sense of humor and hard work drove our initiatives and features for PayPal.
✾ When we hear Om ॐ, may we remember MILIND as a major figure in our Rise ERG bringing constant joy to elevate our Pan Asian community.
✾ When we hear Om ॐ, may we remember MILIND as a voice against injustice, inequality, and hate that exists within our local community.
✾ When we hear Om ॐ, may we remember the friends and family of MILIND including his beloved wife and two children, ages 8 and 14.
✾ When we hear Om ॐ, may we remember MILIND yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
✾ When we hear Om ॐ, may we remember MILIND, our colleague, our friend, and our brother.
✾ When we hear Om ॐ, may we remember the heart and soul of MILIND.
✾ Om ॐ

Original LinkedIn Post

You can see Milind participate in the joint Hindu-Sikh at 2022 Dare to Overcome below.