Saturdays, beginning December 3, 2022 at 10:00 a.m.
Limit: 20 participants

Rev. Craig Moro to Offer Online Class for UUCS Starting December 3, 2022

We have all heard about August’s horrific attack on Salman Rushdie. He was severely injured and may lose an eye. Although Rushdie’s attacker was born long after his novel The Satanic Verses was published and subsequently condemned, he was raised in a time when it is common to claim that speech we disagree with actually does us “harm.” As Rushdie himself put it just last year, “The kinds of people who stood up for me in the bad years might not do so now. The idea that being offended is a valid critique has gained a lot of traction.”  
 
For five weeks beginning December 3, 2022, Rev. Craig Moro will help us explore Rushdie’s most famous/infamous novel, the reaction to which anticipated so much of what’s going on today in discussions of free expression. Along the way, participants will have a look at the core literature of Islam, the religious and linguistic diversity of India, and the precarious condition of free speech today.
 
Rev. Moro is a graduate of the University of Chicago and Starr King School for the Ministry. He has lived and studied in India, Singapore, Thailand, the Netherlands, and Japan, and has served churches in California, Illinois, and the Pacific Northwest and is a founding member of the Tri-Cities Interfaith Alliance in Washington’s Tri-Cities area. He now lives in Portland where he has recently retired after serving the Wy’east UU Congregation for six years.
 
His sermons are often informed by readings in the original languages of religious texts (including Arabic, Hebrew, and Tamil) and are known for blending scholarship with plain speech and a sense of humor.

For the best experience, participants should acquire a print or electronic copy of The Satanic Verses and read the first two sections (The Angel Gibreel and Mahound) before the first class.

To register, please contact Rev. Moro at revcmorogiggleandbeep@gmail.com.