TEANECK, NEW JERSEY, February 15, 2002: A Hindu swami known as an activist for the poor and as a critic of religious fundamentalism will address the annual Interfaith Brotherhood/sisterhood breakfast on Monday at the Marriott Glenpointe hotel in Teaneck. Swami Agnivesh, chairman of a United Nations trust fund on slavery, will speak about “Interfaith Cooperation as a Means to Social Justice” at the Presidents’ Day breakfast. A former member of the Legislature and minister of education in Haryana, India, the swami is also critical of development that brings consumerism and allows Western world market forces to draw profits from developing countries. He has also opposed the caste system and championed the rights of women to participate in economic and political life in India. The interfaith breakfast, on Presidents’ Day each year, has become a major gathering place for those interested in improving relations between religious groups.
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