Media Iftar Dinner 2022

On the 28th of April 2022, the AIS along with the Melbourne Press Club co-hosted the 3rd Media Iftar dinner.

Highlight of the evening was a captivating discussion covering the topic of “Conflating religion & nationalism in autocratic rule” moderated by Journalist Ali Moore, with speakers Mahmood Fazal (ABC), Tony Walker (Former AFR International Editor) and Fotis Kapetopoulos (Neos Kosmos).

Fotis spoke about the Orthodox Church’s experience resulting from the war in Ukraine where the Russian Orthodox Church had severed ties with the Greek Orthodox Church. A case of the moral authority acceding to a political authority to support their political decision that impacts the masses. Mahmood dissected The Taliban and its effective way to coalesce religion and Pashtoon nationalism in their endeavour to be a legitimate political entity. Tony presented a case in the western world where former President Trump presented himself to the conservative electorate as a leader to deliver God’s work in the USA, which in turn served their patriotic interests. The topic is existential with so many intersectionalities with the polis that can be explored many times over.

The evening concluded with floor reflections from Melbourne icon Farther Bob Maguire, who shared his thoughts and reminded us the importance of communicating with one another and not leaving anyone behind. Dr Teresa de Fazio also reminded us to remain diligent in our person to person relations as it helps us to know first hand about each other, which will minimise assumptions being projected and prevent stereotyping. For more photos please visit our Facebook page