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MPR broadcasts Institute conversation with Irshad Manji

Portrait of Irshad Manji
Irshad Manji

Minnesota Public Radio will air the St. Olaf College Institute for Freedom and Community’s recent conversation with Moral Courage College founder Irshad Manji.

The “MPR News Presents” program will broadcast the discussion on air Wednesday, March 3, at noon and 9 p.m. and has featured it on the broadcast web page.

The conversation, which was hosted by Morrison Family Director of the Institute for Freedom and Community Edmund Santurri, is part of the Institute’s spring 2021 series Diversity, Freedom, and Community.

Manji founded the Moral Courage College, which teaches people how to engage on polarizing issues without shaming or “cancelling” each other. A professor of leadership at New York University for many years, she now lectures with Oxford University’s Initiative for Global Ethics and Human Rights. Oprah has given Manji the Chutzpah Award for boldness. Manji’s latest book, Don’t Label Me: An Incredible Conversation for Divided Times, reimagines diversity to include diversity of viewpoint.

During the Institute conversation she talked about ways to effectively engage people of differing views and says we need to “stop shaming and start listening.”

“In our deeply polarized time, standing for what is right is not enough to make progress,” Manji says. “We must want to engage those with whom we disagree. Labeling is easy. But listening is a form of moral courage.”

In our deeply polarized time, standing for what is right is not enough to make progress. We must want to engage those with whom we disagree. Labeling is easy. But listening is a form of moral courage.Irshad Manji

Established at St. Olaf in 2014, the Institute for Freedom and Community encourages free inquiry and meaningful debate of important political and social issues. Through its range of programming for students, faculty, and the general public, the Institute offers a distinctive opportunity to cultivate civil discourse within the context of the liberal arts.

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