Date: Apr 01, 2010

Hofstra fetes co-recipients of 2010 Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize

Gala dinner and award presentation at Garden City Hotel

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY - Hofstra University will honor Rabbi Arthur Schneier, president of the Appeal for Conscience Foundation, and Religions for Peace, a worldwide multi-religious coalition, as co-recipients of the 2010 Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize at an awards presentation and gala dinner on Monday, April 12, 2010 at 7 p.m. at the Garden City Hotel, Garden City, N.Y.

The $50,000 prize, which is bestowed every two years, recognizes significant work to increase interfaith understanding. Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz, who announced the winners in November 2009, will preside over the formal award presentation. The first Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize was awarded in 2008 to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso. Among the guests at the dinner will be the Honorable Tarlochan Singh, a member of the Parliament of India. Attendance at the dinner is by invitation only.

"Rabbi Schneier and Religions for Peace have shown an unflagging commitment to bringing together people of all faiths to work towards common humanitarian goals," Rabinowitz said. "As a center for learning, Hofstra University is pleased to recognize their efforts to nurture curiosity and understanding throughout the world."

The Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize was established in 2006 by Mr. Ishar Bindra and family to recognize outstanding achievements in the promotion of interfaith harmony. It is named for the founder of the Sikh religion and is meant to encourage understanding of various religions and encourage cooperation between faith communities. Guru Nanak believed that all humans are born equal, regardless of color, ethnicity, nationality or gender.

Rabbi Schneier and Religions for Peace were chosen by a selection committee comprised of members from various faith traditions. More than sixty individuals and groups were nominated. The honorees were announced at a press conference today at Hofstra University.

A Holocaust survivor, Rabbi Schneier has devoted his life to promoting religious tolerance and freedom. He is spiritual leader of the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan, and founder and president of the Appeal for Conscience Foundation. He has led interfaith delegations to Cuba, China and the former Soviet Union, and was the first rabbi to get the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second-highest civilian award in the United States.

"This high recognition by Hofstra University will be an added incentive to continue my life's work on behalf of religious freedom, human rights and interfaith cooperation," Schneier said, "and hopefully will inspire many others."

Religions for Peace is the largest multi-faith coalition for peace in the world, with 70 inter-religious councils across the globe. The organization brings together leaders from different religions to promote human rights, reduce poverty and end sectarian violence. Its most recent world assembly, in 2006, drew more than 800 religious leaders from nearly 100 countries.

"It is especially meaningful for Religions for Peace to receive an award in the namesake of the first of the ten great Gurus of Sikhism," said Religions for Peace Secretary General William F. Vendley. "Guru Nanak Dev Ji gave shape to the notion of a ‘universal brotherhood', which is genuinely respectful of diverse religious identities. The Bindra family, the Sikh community, and Hofstra University receive our heartfelt appreciation for honoring the many thousands of religious leaders and believers - including the heads of women of faith and youth organizations - around the world who cooperate through Religions for Peace."

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students can choose from more than 150 undergraduate and 160 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business, communication, education and allied health services and honor studies, as well as a School of Law.
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