The Rumi Forum held a conference titled “Inter-Religious and Intercultural Discourse Christians and Muslims in Dialogue” at the Catholic University of America with the cooperation of the University’s Semitics Department and Institute for Inter-Religious Study and Dialogue. The participants reviewed the idea and the implementation interfaith dialogue and pointed out successes and challenges.
The event took place in the Life Cycle Institute Auditorium at CUA and started with welcoming remarks of Dr. Sidney Griffith (CUA) and Dr. H. Ali Yurtsever (Rumi Forum) and opening Invocation by His Eminence Theodore Edgar Cardinal McCarrick. Archbishop Emeritus of Washington McCarrick praised the commitment of CUA and Rumi Forum to dialogue work.
In his keynote speech Dr. David Smock, Vice President, USIP’s Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution, talked about the Muslims and Christians engaging peace efforts in the zones of religious conflicts. He said the post-September 11 world was seized with the dangers of religious extremism and conflict between religious communities, particularly between two or more of the Abrahamic faiths: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism; and in the popular mind, to discuss religion in the context of international affairs automatically raised the specter of religious-based conflict. Yet, he said, the many other dimensions and impacts of religion tended to be downplayed or even neglected entirely; the contribution that religion can make to peacemaking–as the flip side of religious conflict—was only beginning to be explored and explicated.
Dr. Smock said that all three of the Abrahamic faiths contain strong warrants for peacemaking. He presented exemplary past cases of mediation and peacemaking by religious leaders and institutions around the world but said that the field of religious peacemaking was also maturing and, with more sophisticated reflections of its growing experience, a body of knowledge was developing. Dr. Smock summarized the attributes that religious leaders and institutions can offer in promoting peace and reconciliation as follow:
* credibility as a trusted institution;
* a respected set of values;
* moral warrants for opposing injustice on the part of governments;
* unique leverage for promoting reconciliation among conflicting parties, including an ability to rehumanize situations that have become dehumanized over the course of protracted conflict;
* a capability to mobilize community, nation, and international support for a peace process;
* an ability to follow through locally in the wake of a political settlement; and
* a sense of calling that often inspires perseverance in the face of major, otherwise debilitating, obstacles.
He said religious leaders are particularly effective in working together for peace when they are from different faith communities and when the faiths explore and practice common values, such as justice and compassion, in public life, religious leaders can be an inspiration to others. Dr. Smock gave examples from the USIP work in religious peacemaking in Kashmir, Israel/Palestine, Iraq, Nigeria, Sudan, and Macedonia.
Dr. Sidney Griffith of CUA, in his presentation titled “Abraham in the ‘Abrahamic’ Religions: Theologies in Counterpoint” said that it is often repeated by everyone that “Dialogue is a must because we must understand that we are all children of Abraham.” Dr. Griffith reviewed the Prophet Abraham’s place in all scriptures and mentioned the work of Louis Massignon’s work in this area. He said this French scholar of Islam who lived from 1883 to 1962 was perhaps the most influential Western scholar of Islam in this century and his far-reaching impact can be seen everywhere. Dr. Griffith mentioned that Massignon experienced a dramatic conversion from atheism to Catholicism at age 24 after he tried to understand Islam from within especially after studying the sources for his magnum opus on Al-Hallaj, the Muslim mystic. In 1919 Massignon was appointed to the Chair of Muslim Sociology and Sociography at the Collège de France in Paris; he conducted research on various subjects related to Islam, such as the lives of the 10th century mystic, al-Hallaj, Muhammad’s companion Salman Pak and the significance of Abraham for the three Abrahamic religions. In 1931, Massignon became a Franciscan tertiary and took the name of “Ibrahim”. After World War II while still remaining active as a scholar, his focus of attention shifted to political action to help Muslims and Arab Christians. He committed himself especially for the Arabs living in Palestine that were displaced by the foundation of the state of Israel in 1948). He said he believed in peaceful coexistence of Jews, Muslims, and Christians in Palestine.
Dr. Griffith said that dialogue was very important for him. While firmly rooted in Catholic faith, Massignon was inspired by Islamic theology and practice as well, which made him a very independent thinker in religious matters. His strong belief in peaceful coexistence among different ethnicities made him speak out for extensive dialogue among the people of different faith traditions. Father Griffith concluded saying that “Islam was born already in dialogue with Jews and Christians,” and given their common origin in Abraham, Christians and Muslims should always approach each other as brothers in Abraham “united by the same spirit of faith and sacrifice.”
Answering a question on the impact of differences of importance given as the first-born of Abraham to Ishmael and Isaac by Muslims and Jews, respectively, Father Griffith said should also be treated as a point of inclusion not exclusion since both traditions claim heritance of the sons of the same father.
Dr. Zeki Saritoprak of John Carroll University talked about “Muslims and Christians: Interfaith Relations in Confronting Cultural Conflict.” Saritoprak holds a Ph.D. in Islamic Theology and is the founder and former president of the Rumi Forum for Interfaith Dialogue in Washington, D.C. Currently he is the Bediuzzaman Said Nursi Chair in Islamic Studies at John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio.
Dr. Saritoprak mentioned that despite all the efforts of dialogue on the religious organizations level or in academia, the media still cannot approach the terrorism issue without making references to Islam. This he said is resulting in intensifying the prejudices on the part of lay Muslim people. Prof. Saritoprak spoke about Quranic approaches to dialogue and stressed that when Jews, Christians and Muslims read each other’s texts, they find enrichment. Again, the Koran encourages Muslims, Jews and Christians to compete with each other to do good. He gave examples from Quran how the religion approached to Jews and Christians as the “people of the book.” He said Muslims has additional duties to work for interfaith dialogue as a preventive measure against the predictions of clash of civilizations. He said Muslims before anyone else should be confident that knowing other people should benefit all because the Holly Quran says that people are created as different nations to know each other. Dr. Saritoprak gave examples from the writings of Turkish Muslim scholars Bediuzzaman Said Nursi and Fethullah Gulen about the importance they pay to the interfaith dialogue.
Dr. Leo Lefebure, the Matteo Ricci Professor of Theology at Georgetown University and a member of the Center for Religious Understanding, Acceptance, and Tolerance presented a paper on “Muslim-Christian Encounters in the United States”.
Dr. Lefebure spoke about the history of religious tolerance in the United States and gave extensive examples about its development. Drawing upon his own rich experience in interreligious dialogue, mostly in the New York area, where he was on the theology faculty at Fordham University and the Chicago area previously where he was on the faculty of Mundelein Seminary in the Archdiocese of Chicago, Fr. Lefebure said that over the past fifteen years he has been involved in Buddhist-Christian, Jewish-Christian, and Muslim-Christian dialogues, and each has shaped and challenged him in different ways. Despite the profound differences in worldviews of different traditions he always discovered repeated similarities in the values taught by the different traditions. He said in recent years he has been increasingly involved in Muslim-Christian dialogue as well. He said since the attacks on September 11, 2001, these discussions have taken on added urgency and increasing number of conversations have focused on violence in the two traditions. He said he acknowledged the atrocities committed by Catholics against Jews and Muslims, and he had explained to his Muslim interlocutors Pope John Paul II’s call for a purification of memory for the crimes done by Catholics through the centuries, who often invoked the name of God as justification for violence. Dr. Lefebure said that at the Midwest Regional Muslim-Catholic dialogue, Irfan Khan, a scholar from India, responded warmly to his presentation, asserting that Muslims themselves need to go through a similar purification of memory. He went further and called for a purification of message in the Muslim community as well, since he believed many Muslims misunderstand the teachings of the Qur’an. As a conlusion he said that in a world marred by repeated violence, often done in the name of religion, interreligious encounters offer hope of a more peaceful future.
Dr. Norbert Hintersteiner of Catholic University of America presented his paper on “World Religions, Intercultural (Un)Translatability, and the Comparative Theology Project.” Dr. Hintersteiner joined CUA faculty in 2004. He teaches and does research in cross-cultural systematic theology, comparative theology and the study of religions. His previous research focused on tradition and translatability. More recently, he has focused on comparative theology, especially on concepts of God and their translatability across religious traditions, aiming towards a book titled “Translating God(s): Models and Methods in Comparative Theology.“ In collaboration with more than 20 European theological schools, he has organized a series of international conference seminars in Europe, of which a first volume is forthcoming as Naming and Thinking God in Europe Today: Theology in Global Dialogue. In his presentation Dr. Hintersteiner provided different approaches to comparative theology and issues relating to possibility or impossibility of translating traditions. Pointing out that comparative theology is located in cross-cultural translation processes and inter-traditional developments of faiths, in order to explain how and why Muslim and Christian thinkers interact as they do he needed to account rationality of traditions and how they interact. He said his future work will explore some of the rules for authentic Muslim and Christian tradition-constituted enquiry, especially as they pertain to the possibility that a convergent relationship exists between Christianity and Islam. Dr. Hintersteiner said that the rationalities of traditions are competing but he finds them compatible.
Dr. S. Ayse Kadayifci-Orellana of the School of International Service, American University talked about the “Muslim Peace Building: Actors and Challenges”. Born and raised in Turkey, Dr. Kadayifci-Orellana received her Ph.D. at the American University in Washington D.C. in the field of International Peace and Conflict Resolution and previously she did a research on the reasons behind the rise of extremist interpretations in the West Bank and Gaza. She is one of the founding members of Salam Institute for Peace and Justice, a non-profit organization that works on issues of conflict resolution, nonviolence, development and interfaith dialogue especially in the Muslim world.
Dr. Kadayifci spoke about the Salam Institutes extensive experience on identifying the religious leaders who are actively involved in peace-making activities in the conflict areas. She said in partnership with Fuller Theological Seminary, the Salam Institute has sought to engage the full spectrum of views and opinions held by American Muslims on dialogue with Evangelicals by reaching out to different members of the community living in the United States. Toward this aim, the Salam Institute has entered into a collaborative partnership with the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the Graduate School of Islamic Social Sciences (GSISS), and the Mohamed Said Farsi Chair of Islamic Peace at American University. She said the Salam Institute is currently working on compiling a comprehensive database of actors and organizations in the United States and around the world who are actively engaged in Islamic approaches and methods of peacebuilding, development, nonviolence, peaceful inter-religious and intra-religious coexistence, and conflict resolution and transformation. This database is intended to become a resource for scholarship and activists in the field, for networking and support, and for providing and making known alternative approaches and activities related to the many complex challenges confronting civil societies and communities around the world today
Dr. Zahid Bukhari of Georgetown University presented his paper on “American Muslims‘ Response to Inter-Religious Discourse.” Dr. Zahid Bukhari is currently working as Director Pew Project: Muslims in American Public Square, and Fellow, Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, Washington, DC. The Project MAPS is based at the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (CMCU), Georgetown University, Washington, DC. The center was founded by John L. Esposito is Professor of Religion and International Affairs, in 1993 to foster a civilizational dialogue between the Muslim world and the West, Islam and Christianity. He said Georgetown University’s rich international mix generates a cross-cultural view of the world and furthers the Center’s mission of dispelling discrimination and prejudice.
Dr. Bukhari said his research interests have focused on religion and politics in the United States. Drawing upon his vast experience in all aspects of survey research he participated, from 1993-1995, in a national study of the Islamic centers/mosques across North America conducted by the Islamic Resource Institute, Los Angeles, CA.
Dr. Bukhari said all the American Muslim leaders and organizations have condemned 9/11 attacks unequivocally and in a post 9/11 era, the American Muslims are facing severe challenges and also tremendous opportunities. He said the profiling and discrimination against Muslims, and government crackdown on some of the Muslim relief organizations are responsible for the survival challenge; and the derogatory remarks against Islam by some of the religious leaders and continuous propaganda by some of the media outlets have also created an atmosphere of Islamophobia. He said this situation, in turn, has also expanded the demand of knowledge on Islam among the American masses, and the Muslims have great opportunities of outreaching to the American public by their words and actions. Dr. Bukhari said that in recent years, the Muslim community had witnessed a great demand for the copies of Quran and other Islamic literature among the American society. People would like to know more about the teaching of Islam. Every year more students are registering in the courses on Arabic language and introduction to Islam. The Islamic websites are also getting millions of hits every month. Dr. Bukhari said that the American Muslim community is responding to the challenges it faces positively and maturing like all other religious communities did it his country before it. He said he thinks that the process is much faster compared to other communities because of the challenges presented by international terrorism. He said he is observing that the Muslim community does not only responding favorably to the calls of dialogue from others but it is starting to initiate its own calls for dialogue at the grass roots level.
At the conclusion of the conference all the presenters came together for a brief panel discussion and responded to the questions of the audience.