The Rumi Forum presented “Qur’anic Ethics of Reconciliation and Dialogue in a Pluralist World” with Dr. Asma Afsaruddin Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Notre Dame.
In the context of ensuring respect for pluralism and fostering dialogue among various faith traditions, three concepts derived from the Qur’an are particularly relevant: 1) mutual knowledge; 2) the commonality of human beings based on righteousness; and 3) reconciliation of hearts. These concepts are critical for the creation of a religious paradigm of reconciliation and a theology of forgiveness within the Islamic milieu, creating a shared idiom with other faith traditions and thus paving the way to better inter-religious understanding.
Asma Afsaruddin is associate professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Notre Dame and previously taught at Harvard University. She is the author of/ Excellence and Precedence: Medieval Islamic Discourse on Legitimate Leadership/ (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2002) and /The First Muslims: History/ /and Memory/ (Oxford: OneWorld Publications, 2008). Professor Afsaruddin lectures extensively in this country and abroad and consults with governmental and private organizations on contemporary Islamic movements and thought, inter-faith and gender issues. Her research has won funding from the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York, among others.
Moderator:
Hazami Barmada, is an independent consultant and contractor in Public and Cultural Diplomacy and Interreligious Relations. She maintains expertise on a broad range of issues revolving around U.S. relations with the Muslim/Arab worlds, international communications, community development, civic engagement, cultural relations and leadership development.
Ms. Barmada plays a visible and active role in grassroots and community organizing promoting collaborations within interfaith and intercultural communities. She is the Founding President and Director of the Progressive Muslim Network (PMN), an apolitical organization that hosts an array of social, educational and volunteer initiatives that aims to promote intra/interfaith understanding and dialogue in the DC vicinity. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Council for the Advancement of Muslim Professionals (Executive Vice President), the 9/11 Unity Walk (2008 Executive Director and Chairperson of Organizational Development), and is an active member of Muslim Women in the Arts and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, where she served as an intern to the President’s office in 2004. Barmada is an International Advisory Board member and Arab/Muslim world Liaison for the High Cloud Foundation.
Barmada earned degrees from Rhodes College in Anthropology and Sociology with a concentration in intercultural relations and identity formation. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Public and Social Policy from Georgetown University.