New Mexico in Focus; Jonathan Laurence, Tajiks, Jesse Tyler Ferguson

KNME-TV (Television station : Albuquerque, N.M.) · October 25, 2013

This week on New Mexico in Focus, NMiF correspondent Furhana Afrid sits down with Jonathan Laurence, associate professor of political science at Boston College. His book, The Emancipation of Europe's Muslims, traces how governments across Western Europe have responded to the growing presence of Muslim immigrants in their countries over the past fifty years. Laurence was here to participate in Albuquerque International Association’s fall lecture series, focusing on political Islam. Then NMiF Producer Megan Kamerick interviews two members of a delegation from Tajikistan, here on a professional exchange visit through the Open World program, the mission of which is to enhance cooperation between the United States and the countries of Eurasia. A member of the Albuquerque Council for International Visitors, which coordinated the delegation’s visit to Albuquerque, joins the conversation. As this is the week the New Mexico Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments about the legality of same-sex marriage, we are featuring an interview with TV’s “Modern Family” star Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Ferguson, who was raised in Albuquerque, was here last month in support of Why Marriage Matters New Mexico, the ACLU of New Mexico’s public education campaign to build support for the freedom to marry in the state. NMiF host Gene Grant talks with the four-time Emmy nominee about growing up as a gay teen, “making it” on Broadway and TV, and his Tie The Knot Foundation – a project he and his husband started to advocate on behalf of marriage freedom through art and fashion bow ties. Host: Gene Grant. Correspondents: Furhana Afrid, NMiF Correspondent; Megan Kamerick, NMiF Producer. Guests: Jonathan Laurence, Author, The Emancipation of Europe's Muslims: The State's Role in Minority Integration; Kamil Areshov, Delegate, Open World Leadership Center; Farangiz Mamadiyeva, Open World Leadership Center; Karen Schafer, Member, Albuquerque Council for International Visitors.