Amir Akrami Archives - �� News

Week of multi-faith events sparks interfaith dialogue and intercultural awareness

Kara Lofton — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 13:50:18 +0000

“Religious Life” is the kind of topic one would expect �� to pick as its 2014 theme for International Education Week. It may surprise some, though, that this Christian university used the words “religious life” to refer to more faith perspectives than Christianity exclusively.

Then, again, this is a Christian university that says it is “like no other.”

The week was intended to encourage both interfaith dialogue and intercultural awareness, said , ��’s director of and .

Events included a lecture on Muslim prayer practices, a ��á’í devotional, worship services conducted in the Orthodox, Mennonite, and Methodist traditions, a lecture on Jewish faith practices on death and dying, an interactive faith talkback, and an international food festival.

The week opened Friday, Sept. 12, with the Islam-themed talk, sponsored by . “Religions are the most important part of our cultures,” said , at the beginning of his hour-long lecture about the history of Islam, basic Islamic beliefs, and what the ritual Islamic prayer practice (Salat) looks and sounds like.

Lectures, prayers, incense, music

Monday morning, a mostly different group of �� community members gathered into a tight circle in the �� Discipleship Center. The facilitator, senior Julie Huffer, welcomed the group and briefly explained how the ��á’í devotional would run. Several participants were given yellow strips of paper containing portions of a single scriptural passage. Like Akrami, Huffer took time to explain the basic history and beliefs of ��á’ís before moving into the main part of her program, which included hearing the words on the yellow strips, experiencing silence and prayer, and listening to music from a ��á’í artist, before breaking for refreshments.

Rabbi Joe Blair’s explanation of Jewish practices on death and dying was both interesting and educational on Monday afternoon. “I learned that the Jewish tradition has a specific process of honoring the souls that have passed and honoring the family that has lost them,” said Huffer. “It was interesting because I didn’t know that in Judaism they have such a specific process.”

Held in Martin Chapel, both the Mennonite and Methodist worship services – Tuesday and Thursday, respectively – were sponsored by the , which is accredited by both denominations. They both included hymns, a short message on church history, and what a typical service looks like.

The thurible emitted a faint waft of incense as the priest swung it back and forth in front of the makeshift altar he was blessing in Lehman Auditorium on Wednesday. Although he later explained that his church, , was affiliated with a “simple” branch of Orthodox Christianity, the beautiful icons, heavy, ornately embroidered priest-robes, and formal blessing ceremony seemed mysterious and involved to eyes used to “plain” Mennonite worship practices.

Eye-opening for students

“It was eye-opening and refreshing to participate and experience another faith tradition,” said senior Philip Yoder, raised Mennonite. “I never realized they codified their faith tradition in the 10th century, and they have been worshiping the same way ever since. Even though the practices were old, they infused the service with heartfelt prayers for the students and professors at ��, and that was pretty cool.”

On Thursday evening, around 50 people gathered in to view the Faces of �� Exhibit and participate in an “interactive faith talk-back.” The evening included playing get-acquainted games, circulating through the exhibit, chatting, writing impressions on a large sheet of newsprint, and watching a short movie about the two largest minority groups on campus, Hindus and Muslims (from the series on the YouTube channel SoulPancake).

Senior Jordan Luther said “it was neat” to move beyond the Christian majority on campus and have his eyes opened to the religious minorities in the �� community.

Popular food festival

By far, the most-attended event of the week was Friday’s International Food Fest and Games. This is perhaps to be expected since the time of the event did not conflict with classes or most work-study schedules, and the email reminder sent out by Lepley encouraged people to “bring your taste buds” to partake of enticingly described international foods.

Over 30 vendors prepared food that represented cultures in Saudi Arabia, Korea, Nepal, Kenya and Italy, among others. Students, faculty, staff and other community members intermingled together over what could be described as “a diverse fellowship of believers” or “interfaith communion.” With the Food Fest, the organizers of International Education Week showcased the different faith traditions present at �� in a common space where everyone could laugh, break bread and celebrate their diversity.

The week was organized in conjunction with ��’s International Student Organization, led by junior of Somali origin and senior Sun Ju Lee of South Korea; the , led by Carmen Witmer; the , represented by ; Cross Cultural Programs, represented by , and , led by

Scholars of religion and theology debate purpose and outcomes of interfaith dialogue

Steve Shenk — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 20:11:37 +0000

When the at �� brings people of different religions together to talk, what’s the point? Should everyone water down their beliefs in order to find as much agreement as possible? Or, at the opposite extreme, should they be trying to convert each other?

At a March 27, 2014, forum in Martin Chapel, two professors of religion at �� debated approaches to interfaith engagement that lie somewhere in the middle. Amir Akrami, a visiting Muslim scholar from Iran, argued for “pluralism” as the best approach, while , professor of at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, promoted what he calls “particularism.”

The forum was led by CIE director .

Every person adheres to a “particular” belief system and wants others to join him or her in those beliefs, said Nation. At the same time, that doesn’t mean exposure to other beliefs has no value, he added. “I can believe that someone of another faith is profoundly wrong but still learn from them,” he said.

Nation, who did not grow up Christian, expressed concern that many Christians in general – and Mennonites in particular – are too willing to allow specific, “textured” Christian beliefs to be displaced by more vague, pluralistic ways of thinking.

He was drawn to the Mennonite faith through theologian John Howard Yoder’s seminal work, The Politics of Jesus, and he is particularly concerned that Mennonites not water down their stance on peace. “Many young people especially don’t want any clear convictions and are gravitating towards pluralism,” he said.

Pluralism, though, is exactly what Akrami wants to see. Too many people think their religion is superior to all others and that they have nothing to learn from other faiths, he said. “We must hold our particular beliefs but acknowledge that others hold particular beliefs as well,” he added.

To Akrami, pluralism means people must accept that other religions contain truth. “Pluralism is not a new religion or an attempt to reduce our religions to the least common denominator,” he said. “Pluralism is not wishy-washy relativism.”

Akrami, who has been involved in many interfaith dialogues over the years, argued that religious interaction often leads to pluralism. “I have learned that I do not possess the whole truth,” he said. “I want to be enriched by the truth in other religions while at the same time we challenge each other.”

A visiting scholar at �� from 2012 through August 2014, Akrami has taught several courses on Islam. This semester he is co-teaching a class on comparative monotheisms with a visiting Jewish scholar and a Mennonite professor.

In Iran, Akrami was a researcher and lecturer at the Iranian Institute of Philosophy. Before that he was a visiting research fellow at the Centre for Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations at the University of Birmingham in England. He earned a doctorate in the philosophy of religion at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

Nation has taught at for 11 years. Before joining the faculty, he was founding director of an ecumenical peace and justice organization, pastor in several denominations and director of London Mennonite Centre in England. His doctorate is in theological ethics from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif.

CIE, founded in 2009 and funded by grants and private donations, promotes interaction between people of different faiths, especially the three world religions that worship one God and claim Abraham as one of their forebearers – Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Muslim scholars from Iran offer profound insights, understandings, to Center for Interfaith Engagement

Steve Shenk — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 20:04:49 +0000

The has been hosting two outstanding Muslim scholars from Iran, who are also a married couple. Their unusual journey, from a country with no diplomatic relations with the United States to the welcoming atmosphere of ��, reflects their devotion to interfaith engagement and optimistic persistence in working towards their scholarly goals.

Here are their scholarly bios, beginning with the most recent arrival, Sedigheh (Sheida) Shakouri Rad, who joined her husband, Amir Akrami, at �� at the end of 2012.

Sedigheh (Sheida) Shakouri Rad

Sheida arrived at �� after her reformist political leanings led to her termination as a professor at the University of Tehran. She is hopeful for her country, though, after the election of a more progressive president of Iran in June 2013.

She joined her husband, Amir Akrami, who had been a visiting scholar at ��’s Center for Interfaith Engagement since September 2012. In the fall of 2013 she was appointed a visiting scholar as well.

The visiting scholar program is funded for three years by the of New York City.

Sheida is teaching courses at �� on “Women and Islam” and “Elementary Farsi,” the language of her country. In addition to teaching, Sheida and her husband are leading a series of informal coffeehouse programs on campus about Iranian life and culture.

For 15 years Sheida was a professor at the University of Tehran, first in the department of Islamic theology and knowledge, where she had been a student herself, and then in the new Center of Women Studies. Her main areas of expertise are women in the Quran, women in Islamic law, women in Iran and Islamic feminism. During her time there, she received a scholarship from her university and the government to pursue a doctorate.

Sheida earned an MA in the history and civilization of Islamic nations from the University of Tehran and a PhD in Islamic studies at the University of Birmingham in England. The title of her doctoral dissertation was “The Status of Women in Iranian Modern Shi’i Thought (1906-2004).”

She and her future husband both graduated from the University of Tehran in 1987 with a BA in Islamic theology and sciences, but they did not know each other at the time. They were introduced later through common friends.

Sheida and Amir have a son in university in Montreal, Canada, and a daughter who just graduated in clinical psychology at the University of Tehran.

Her first jobs as a young university graduate were to conduct research on “Iranian women’s problems” for the Office of the Prime Minister and to teach Iranian history at an elite high school for talented students.

As a faculty member at the University of Tehran, Sheida mainly worked in Cultural Studies and Social Planning Institute under the auspices of the government’s Ministry of Sciences, Research and Technology. She served as a researcher, research supervisor and evaluator of research projects. In 2000 she helped establish a women’s studies program at the institute and served as its first chair for three years.

Earlier, Sheida conducted research on the textbooks on religion that should be used in Iran’s elementary schools. This led to a national conference on religious training in schools.

Currently she is one of three researchers who are working on a “Gender in the Quran” project for a non-governmental organization called the Institute for Women Studies. “It is an effort to present a new interpretation of the Quranic verses on women,” she says.

In 2010, Sheida presented an academic paper on “The Quran and Domestic Violence” at the Peace and Islam Conference in Sweden.

Sheida is the editor of three books on women’s issues. She also co-authored What is Islam? which was first published in her country and then translated into English and French.

Amir Akrami

Amir, firmly rooted in his home country, pursued part of his education in the West and travels the world as an expert in interfaith dialogue.

He missed the opening of ��’s fall 2012 semester, however, because of travel difficulties between Iran and the United States, whose governments have been enemies for 35 years. The two countries do not have diplomatic relations.

When Amir arrived on campus a few weeks after the semester started, he was the first participant in the visiting scholar program of ��’s Center for Interfaith Engagement.

Amir has taught three different courses at �� – “Introduction to Islam,” “Issues in Islam” and “Rumi’s Thought.” During the spring 2014 semester, he is teaching Islamic spirituality as well as a course in comparative monotheistic religions with a Jewish scholar and Christian scholar.

Amir came to �� after three years as a researcher and lecturer at the Iranian Institute of Philosophy. Before that he was a visiting research fellow for five years at the Centre for Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations at the University of Birmingham in England. While there he also taught Islamic studies at Al-Mahdi Institute.

Earlier, Amir taught for five years in the Islamic theology department at the University of Tehran, which he had attended as a student. While there, in Iran’s capital city, he was active in three related organizations – International Center for Dialogue among Civilizations, Institute for Inter-Religious Dialogue, and Inter-Religious Dialogue in Islamic Culture and Relations Organization.

A 1987 graduate of the University of Tehran, majoring in Islamic theology and sciences, Amir went on to earn a master’s degree in religions and mysticism. He earned a PhD in the philosophy of religion at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He finished his doctoral dissertation at the Iranian Institute of Philosophy.

For much of his career, Amir has traveled the world to interact with scholars of other religions, often presenting formal academic papers. Among the events were: Conference on Faith Communities in a Civil Society, held in England; Conference on Islam and Peace, in Sweden; Conference on Dialogue between Religions, in Iran; International Conference on Dialogue among Cultures, in Spain; and International Consultation on Christians and Muslims in Dialogue, in Switzerland.

Perhaps most significant was an annual Christian-Muslim dialogue series organized after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001. Called Building Bridges Seminars, they were organized by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who heads the worldwide Anglican churches (known in the United States as Episcopalians). Responsibility for the seminars was later transferred to the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs at Georgetown University.

Amir attended the first seminar in 2002 at the archbishop’s palace in London, England. He also attended the seminars in Bosnia (2005), Washington (2006), Singapore (2007), Rome (2008) and Qatar (2011). Each seminar features three days of intensive study by Christian and Muslim scholars on texts from the Bible and Quran.

��’s Center for Interfaith Engagement promotes friendship and understanding among those who believe differently

Steve Shenk — Fri, 14 Feb 2014 13:46:51 +0000

Why would an explicitly Christian university go out of its way to bring Muslim and Jewish scholars to its campus to teach entire courses and interact every day with students?

That’s what is happening at ��.

“Interacting with people of other faiths builds friendship and understanding – something we sorely need in this world,” says , PhD, director of , “and interfaith dialogue strengthens our own faith.”

This semester a Muslim professor from Iran is teaching “Islamic Spirituality” and a Jewish rabbi from New York City is teaching “Spiritual Writers and Spiritual Writings.” Both of them join an instructor from to lead a class on “Comparative Monotheisms: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.”

Ed Martin, PhD, director of the Center for Interfaith Engagement

Focusing on the three Abrahamic religions

�� is focusing on the three world religions that worship one God – Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Over the centuries Christians, Muslims and Jews have fought each other savagely. Millions have died in the name of their God. But the three religions share a common birthplace − the Middle East − and a common ancestor, Abraham. And they have enjoyed periods of peaceful co-existence.

CIE’s logo features Abraham’s tent, which the center ‘s website describes as “open to the four winds, a safe place of hospitality towards strangers and engagement with them.”

“In today’s world and in a pluralistic society like ours, it is important that our students learn to know people of other faiths,” says Martin. “Our students will be going to places − both in the United States and abroad − where they will encounter people of other faiths.”

Martin says the historic differences between the three religions are exacerbated today by the Israel-Palestine conflict, the rise of Muslim extremism, and the United States’ counter-attacks after the terrorist attack on New York City in 2001. He decries the prevalence of “Islamophobia” in the United States.

Course co-taught by Muslim, Jewish and Christian scholars

CIE, which is funded entirely by foundation grants and private donations, offers several courses each semester by visiting scholars. The team-taught “Comparative Monotheisms” course this semester draws two dozen undergraduates, graduate students, seminarians and members of the community.

“Students ask all sorts of questions, from theology to history, ancient or contemporary,” says the Muslim scholar, Amir Akrami, PhD. “However, the focus of our work is on prayer, scripture, reasoning, politics and action.”

Akrami, who has taught at �� since September 2012, is from the in Tehran. He was a regular participant in the internationally respected Building Bridges Seminars around the world.

Akrami’s wife, Sheida Shakouri Rad, PhD, joined him at �� a year ago. She is teaching Farsi, the language of Iran, this semester. Last semester she taught “Women in Islam.” She is on leave from the University of Tehran, where she has been a professor for 15 years.

The two other professors for the comparative-monotheism course are Niles Goldstein, an award-winning author and ordained Reform Jewish rabbi, and Reuben Shank, an �� adjunct faculty member who is Mennonite and studying for a doctorate in religion at the University of Virginia.

Films, interfaith peace camp, lessons from disaster work

The fifth CIE course this semester is “The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in Film,” taught by Bob Bersson, PhD, a retired professor of art and art history at James Madison University in Harrisonburg and founder of the local .

In addition to bringing scholars to campus, CIE offers an each summer, which includes trips to the local mosque and synagogue. Other events have been a Wednesday film series and Thursday forums.

CIE’s director likes the way that interfaith engagement sometimes emerges from work on the ground at disaster sites, both at home and abroad. “People of different faiths find themselves working together,” says Martin, “and they get to know each other.”

Children at the annual Interfaith Peace Camp (Photo by Bradley Striebig)

One result of Martin’s interest is an upcoming speech at �� on how “disasters blow down fences and make good neighbors” by a federal government official, who is a former Mennonite pastor. He is David Myers, and he will speak on March 20. He is a senior advisor at the in Washington D.C. and works in faith-based and neighborhood partnerships for both the White House and the .

Martin experienced the connection between disaster relief and interfaith engagement first hand when a major earthquake hit Iran in 1990, killing more than 35,000 people. He worked at the time as program director for central and southern Asia for , a North American relief, development, and peacebuilding agency that works in about 60 countries.

MCC exchange welcomed in Iran

MCC wanted to respond to a country considered a U.S. enemy, “to demonstrate that we would respond to human need wherever it occurred, irrespective of the religion and politics of the country,” Martin says. But the United States and Iran had no diplomatic relations (and still don’t), making travel to Iran difficult, and MCC wondered whether the hardline Muslim government would welcome an overtly Christian aid agency.

“It turned out, however, that Iran was more comfortable with an explicitly Christian organization than with secular agencies,” says Martin. “They understand the motivation that comes from religious faith.” So MCC was able to establish a long-term relationship with the Iranian Red Crescent Society on disaster relief and reconstruction as well as assistance to refugees.

The post-earthquake work then led to interfaith dialogue in the form of student exchanges and Muslim-Christian conferences every two to three years. The sixth conference will be held this May in Qom, an Iranian city known for being a center of Islamic scholarship. Martin will attend, along with some �� students.

Under the direction of Dr. Ed Martin

Martin was a program director with MCC from 1989 to 2007, based at its headquarters in Akron, Pa. After that he went to the , an international Quaker organization, in Philadelphia. He helped build connections between Iranian institutions and the United States and advocated for better relations between the two countries.

He started his career as an MCC volunteer in Nepal, where he met his future wife, Kathy Yoder. Later he worked at the in Sri Lanka. A graduate of Stanford University, Martin earned graduate degrees at Cornell University – a master’s in public administration and a doctorate in agricultural economics.

The vision for interfaith engagement at �� grew out of conversations among faculty, resulting in a formal proposal to the Board of Trustees, which it approved in 2009. The center opened later that year in the seminary building, with seminary professor Gerald Shenk, PhD, as part-time director. Martin was appointed director in 2010, serving part time and commuting from Pennsylvania.

Near and far support

CIE’s largest donor to date is the of New York City, which has given $355,000 over three years.

A major local supporter is John Fairfield, PhD, co-founder of the Rosetta Stone language-software company and professor emeritus of computer science at James Madison University. “I enjoy getting inside the head of someone who thinks very differently than I do,” he says. “It’s like travel to a foreign country − makes you notice things in your own country you’d taken for granted.”

He adds: “CIE is where we Mennonites meet other kinds of Christians, Muslims, Jews, atheists, liberals, conservatives and all kinds of people who challenge our understanding, because we value their critique and insights. And of course we think we’ve got something to offer, and we challenge them pretty deeply too. They seem to appreciate it. We need each other.”

And that’s why �� goes out of its way to bring people of different faiths together.

Visiting Islamic scholars from Iran begin first full year teaching at ��

Andrew Jenner — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 19:48:44 +0000

The first visiting scholars at ��’s will teach several courses on Islam and contemporary issues in Iran during the coming academic year, their first full one at ��.

A husband-and-wife team from Tehran, Iran, Amir Akrami and Sheida Shakouri Rad are splitting a faculty position at the CIE, supported by a grant from the . Akrami, who holds a PhD in the philosophy of religion, will teach an “introduction to Islam” course this fall. Shakouri Rad will teach a course this fall on “women and Islam,” the topic of her doctoral dissertation.

Next spring, Akrami will teach a course called “Islamic spirituality” and co-teach a “comparative monotheisms” course, while Shakouri Rad will teach Farsi and a course on “women, politics and Islam in Iran.” The classes are open to both undergraduate and graduate students at ��, as well as members of the public who want to audit a course.

“They are both tremendous resources for our center and the university,” says CIE Director Ed Martin, who spent years working in the Middle East with , first meeting Akrami about a decade ago.

In 2010, when Akrami came to Indiana for a conference at Notre Dame University, Martin helped arrange several events for him on the East Coast, including a program at ��. Several years later, after the CIE had secured funding to hire a visiting scholar, Akrami was one of more than a dozen Islamic scholars to apply for the job. He arrived in Harrisonburg last fall and was joined by Shakouri Rad in December. (During the hiring process, Martin wasn’t aware that she was also an academic of religion, making the whole affair a surprise two-for-one deal of sorts).

Coffeehouse-style conversations on Iranian culture

In addition to their teaching, Akrami and Shakouri Rad will lead a series of monthly, informal coffeehouse-style programs on campus about Iranian life and culture, topics unfamiliar to most Americans. The first one, about the recent presidential elections in Iran, will be held at at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 12.

The couple has a son in college in Montreal and a daughter studying clinical psychology at the University of Tehran, where Akrami and Shakouri Rad both earned their undergraduate and master’s degrees. Shakouri Rad says the transition from Tehran, a city with more than 8 million residents, to Harrisonburg has had it ups – plenty of peace and quiet – and downs – sort of isolated-seeming.

Since their arrival, both have enjoyed getting to know new colleagues and neighbors at ��, as well as getting firsthand experience with Mennonite culture and faith.

Values in Valley feel similar to heart of Islam

Shakouri Rad said the commitment to simplicity, open-heartedness and compassion she’s seen since coming to Harrisonburg feels very similar to the values that lie at the heart of her Islamic faith, despite different theological and cultural expressions they’re given.

Akrami agrees, noting that the two of them have been struck by the warm welcome they’ve received at and around ��. Exploring and understanding the core similarities between different faiths, when external ritual and tradition are pared away (e.g., how profound belief in and worship of God is reflected in daily life), Akrami says, is one of the valuable aspects of interfaith exchange.

“The specific way in which I worship God may not occur within a Christian church,” says Akrami, who has led and participated in interreligious dialogue in Iran and elsewhere for years. “But those differences don’t mean that the other traditions are deviant or out-of-line.”

He and his wife hope they are the first in a long line of visiting scholars at the Center for Interfaith Engagement.

This is just the beginning

“I hope this doesn’t end here. There should always be people from other religions here, teaching and engaging with the community,” says Shakouri Rad.

According to Martin, that is precisely the plan. The CIE is now searching for a Jewish scholar to join the faculty, and intends to keep bringing academics from different religious backgrounds to teach classes at the university.

“It’s important these days to have knowledge, understanding and be comfortable interacting with people of other faiths,” says Martin.

Visiting Scholar From Iran at ��

Steve Shenk — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 20:34:40 +0000

A Muslim scholar from Iran is teaching at �� this academic year as part of a new three-year visiting scholar series.

Amir Akrami, from the Iranian Institute of Philosophy in Tehran, is teaching two courses during the spring semester 2013 – “Introduction to Islam” and “Issues in Islam.” During the fall semester he taught a non-credit mini-course on Islam that attracted over 20 regular students. During the year he is also invited frequently to guest-lecture in other classes, and he spoke at ��’s first Interfaith Forum of the 2012-13 school year.

The visiting scholar series, initiated by ��’s three-year-old Center for Interfaith Engagement, is funded by a $355,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. The center focuses on the three monotheistic religions that started in the Middle East and which honor Abraham. The three are Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

“We decided to start the visiting scholar program with a Muslim professor,” said Ed Martin, PhD, director of the Center for Interfaith Engagement, “especially in this time of an expanding Muslim population in the U.S. and a great deal of Islamophobia.

“It’s important that our [majority Christian] students learn about other faiths, such as Islam, and be comfortable relating to people of other faiths, particularly Muslims,” he added.

�� selected Akrami from an application pool of 16 Muslim scholars. He was a regular participant in the internationally respected Building Bridges Seminars in London, Bosnia, Washington, Singapore and Rome. The seminars are based at Georgetown University in Washington.

Akrami holds a master’s degree in religions and mysticism from Tehran University in Iran and a PhD in the philosophy of religion from McGill University in Montreal. He finished his doctoral thesis at the Iranian Institute of Philosophy. Adrami also was a visiting scholar at the University of Birmingham in England and taught at the Al-Mahdi Institute in Birmingham.

What are Americans’ most common questions about Islam? “After the 9/11 attacks, they wondered whether Islam is an inherently violent religion,” said Akram. “The answer is ‘no.’” Other questions have to do with the status of Jesus in Islam and – especially from Catholics – the place of Mary.

On the reason for misunderstanding, even hatred, between Christians, Jews and Muslims, Akrami observed: “People are afraid of the dark – what they don’t know. But when you shed light on the dark areas, often through education, attitudes change.”

Another way to reduce hostility, Akrami said, is for people in the three religions to simply get to know each other.

One of Akrami’s students during the fall semester, assistant professor Linda Gnagey, was impressed with the diversity of the class – �� students and faculty, community members, those with and without personal experience with Muslims.

“Dr. Akrami differentiated between Islam the historical religion and Islam as a code of conduct,” she said. “This helped me to recognize the many beliefs, behaviors and attitudes that Christians and Muslims share.”

Akrami was joined in December by his wife, who is also a Muslim scholar. He has a 22-year-old daughter in Iran and an 18-year-old son in Canada.

�� Hosts Interfaith Forum, Professor from Iran

Gretchen Maust — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 04:00:00 +0000

Abraham’s Tent: A Center for Interfaith Engagement at ��, hosted Dr. Rasoul Rasoulipour, a philosophy of religion professor in Tehran, Iran, for a day-long campus visit, May 25, 2010.

The highly engaging Drs. Akrami, Rasoulipour and Mousavian emphasized the eager willingness of many Iranians to promote interfaith dialogue among ‘people of the book’ who share a common heritage as Children of Abraham. Their visit to the �� campus was jointly sponsored by Abraham’s Tent and Mennonite Central Committee. (Photo by Jim Bishop)

Jointly sponsored by Abraham’s Tent and Mennonite Central Committee, the visit included meetings with top school administrators, personnel from the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding and an afternoon forum on the topic, “Why Faith-based Peacebuilding is Important.”

Importance of interfaith dialogue

An active proponent of interfaith dialog, Dr. Rasoulipour works closely with the Center for Interreligious Dialogue in Tehran where he formerly served as director. In recent years he has been instrumental in arranging MCC learning tours to Iran.

Two Iranian colleagues, Dr. Seyed Mousavian and Dr. Amir Akrami, both professors of philosophy and religion in Iran, were able to join Dr. Rasoulipour for the �� meetings.

The late afternoon forum drew an unexpectedly large group of about 100 persons.

East Coast learning tour

Ed Martin, formerly of MCC, helped to organize an East Coast tour for the three interfaith dialogue proponents. Their visit included meetings in Charlottesville, Washington, DC., and Cambridge, Mass.

Dr. Rasoulipour has spent the past year as a visiting professor at Notre Dame University in South Bend, Ind., and returned to his teaching post in Tehran on June 5.

Prior to the forum, Dr. Rasoulipour talks with Robert Lee, retired Mennonite Mission Network missionary who worked with his wife, Nancy, for many years in Japan. (Photo by Jim Bishop)

“We feel highly honored by Dr. Rasoulipour’s visit and his willingness to not only lecture on this important topic but to share his personal commitment to interfaith dialogue,” said Gretchen H. Maust, associate director of Abraham’s Tent.

“It’s important for us to know that the Iranian people long to build relationships and welcome opportunities to debate our differences so we can grow in respectful understanding of each other,” she added.

Amir Akrami Archives - ���������� News