Reconciling the Dark Side of Religion Imam Wazir Ali and Father Tom Doyle Thursday, April 6, 2006 at 7:30 pm

How can individuals who have a strong, deep faith cope with the problem of a church that has acted against their personal morality? How can someone with a moderate belief of the church’s teaching cope with a growing reputation of extremist beliefs in the same religion, particularly when personal freedoms are challenged? Imam Wazir Ali and Father Tom Doyle will address the issue of how people can reconcile their faith when the Church has done something they cannot condone. Imam Wazir Ali Imam Wazir Ali is the Chairperson of the Mercy Community Center Project Task Force and the Resident Imam of the Houston Masjid of Al-Islam. He has been active in the Houston Islamic community for the last 14 years during which he served as the assistant to Imam Qasim Ahmed at the Islamic Learning Institute where he co-translated the book Selected Khutbah Introductions with Imam Qasim Ahmed.

Imam Ali presents workshops on Qur'anic Arabic, Seerah (the life history of Muhammad the Prophet), the Qur'an, Nutrition and Wellness, the Qur'an and Breastfeeding, Leadership Taining and Development, Qur'anic Guidance for Business development as well as other areas. Imam Ali is a registered and licensed dietitian and founded Community Nutrition Outreach Services (CNOS) in 1998. Based in Houston, CNOS provides a wide range of nutrition consulting services including: individual counseling, group counseling, institutional consulting services, workshops and seminars. Imam Ali is pursuing a Master's degree in kinesiology and he holds a Bachelor's degree in nutrition and in psychology.

Father Tom Doyle Father Tom Doyle is a Dominican priest who served in the Air Force for close to twenty years as both a chaplain and an alcohol and drug counselor. In late 1984 he became involved with the issue of sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy while serving at the Vatican Embassy. Since that time he has developed an expertise in the canonical and pastoral dimensions of this problem. He has worked with victims of abuse and their families, priests accused of abuse, bishops and superiors of religious institutes on this issue. He has developed policies and procedures for dealing with cases of sexual abuse by the clergy for dioceses and religious orders in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In the capacity as an expert in this area, he has delivered lectures and seminars for clergy and lay groups throughout the U.S. He has spoken to the State legislatures of Pennsylvania and Maryland on child protective legislation. He has also served and continues to serve as a consultant/court expert in cases of alleged sexual abuse by the clergy throughout the United States, Canada, Ireland, Israel and the United Kingdom. He has served as a consultant and expert witness to grand juries in several jurisdictions in the U.S. He has been a consultant to State and Federal legislative officials concerning changes in the law that would benefit victims of sexual abuse. In recognition of his advocacy work for the victims of Catholic clergy sexual abuse Father Doyle received the Cavallo Award for Moral Courage in 1992, the Priest of Integrity Award from Voice of the Faithful in 2002 and the Isaac Hecker Award from the Paulist Fathers in 2003. In June of 2003 he was issued an official commendation from the Dominican Fathers for his “prophetic work in drawing attention to clergy sexual abuse and for advocating the rights of victims and abusers.” In July 2005 he was awarded the “Community Champion Award” by the Civil Justice Foundation of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.