“Minefields and Miracles: Why God and Allah Need to Talk”--A riveting memoir and colorful overview of the interfaith movement, endorsed by H.H. the Dalai Lama, Marianne Williamson, Eboo Patel, and more than 30 religious leaders around the world. The book received two top honors, placing first in the "religious non-fiction" category of the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and first place in the "social change" category of the 2013 International Book Awards.Seeking a way to promote mutual respect among people of widely divergent beliefs, Ruth Broyde Sharone embraces grass-roots interfaith engagement as her personal and global mission. First a journalist, then a documentary filmmaker, Ruth travels in Europe and later spends 10 years making films in Israel, where she encounters the ongoing Israeli/Palestinian conflict, a conflict that continues to haunt her even when she returns to the States.In the early 90s in Los Angeles Ruth joins forces with a Black female minister to organize annual interfaith pilgrimages to the Holy Land. Ten years later, following 9/11, she is invited to screen her award-winning film, God and Allah Need to Talk, at the 2004 Parliament of the World's Religions gathering in Barcelona, Spain. In Barcelona she experiences her first taste of "interfaith paradise," which inspires her to intensify her interfaith activities around the globe. Brimming with photographs of her journeys--from California to Argentina, from Africa to India, from Italy to Green Bay, the book also includes historical photos of the remarkable individuals from around the world who participated in the first Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago in 1893. Through Ruth, a master storyteller, we begin to understand the inner life of the peacemakers and "boundary-crossers" who walk among us--many recruited by Ruth as she travels and speaks extensively in churches, mosques, synagogues and universities. Yes, there are minefields along the way--and Broyde Sharone describes them clearly and candidly, seeking to learn the causes. She describes the miracles, too, as when 250 people representing 13 religious communities gather in 2011 in Los Angeles to celebrate a Festival of Freedom Seder, honoring the promise of the Arab Spring. A cutting-edge look at the contemporary interfaith scene, from the trenches--not to be missed!" . . . She epitomizes what people mean when they ask us to become the change we want to see in the world. Read her book." -Rev.Paul Chaffee, Editor, "The Interfaith Observer"( A set of questions for discussion is included at the end of the book.)
Known as the "Interfaith Pilates Coach," Ruth Broyde Sharone empowers people to take on a "global stretch for peace." A self-appointed peacemaker since she was a young girl in Chicago, Ruth is convinced that people--not governments--will ultimately bring about the long-awaited and eagerly hoped for era of global peace. Her combined talents as a journalist, filmmaker, community organizer, inspirational speaker, and peace activist all converged in the spring of 1991 when she orchestrated her first interfaith Passover Seder in Los Angeles, California. She brought together 95 people of diverse faiths to celebrate the universal theme of freedom which later evolved into the Festival of Freedom, an interfaith pilgrimage to Egypt and Israel. Ruth has not looked back, except to marvel at the variety of places her mission has taken her beyond the US: the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. In 2003 as a response to 9/11 Ruth produced and directed the award-winning film, "God and Allah Need to Talk" to promote healing and reconciliation among religiously diverse communities. A former staff member for the global Parliament of the World's Religions, Ruth lives in Los Angeles and serves as Co-Chair of the Southern California Committee for the Parliament (SCCPWR.org). Ruth also serves on the board of STAR Afterschool Education Programs and the Advisory Board of SARAH, an interfaith women's group. She is also a regular correspondent for "The Interfaith Observer," a new on-line interfaith magazine.
Wherever she goes, Ruth uses her energy, passion, and charisma to initiate, champion, orchestrate, and inspire interfaith events: in churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, universities, government embassies, and living rooms. Her motto: Be Interfaithful and Multiply!
