Upcoming trainings in religion and conflict more info...
Dr. Bernard Sabella speaks on "Current Challenges to Monotheistic
Religions in the Middle East" full story...
CRDC co-sponsors historic interfaith dialogue in Syria full story...
"A Culture of Peace in Syria" full story...
September Meeting Between King Abdullah of Jordan and US Rabbis leads to further dialogue More...
CRDC is pleased to present its 2005 Annual Report, available as a pdf here.
The Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution (CRDC) announces a new training in May, entitled "Interworldview Dialogue: An Introduction to the Construction of Multiple Identities, Interests, and Power Dynamics." This workshop will help participants learn how to dialogue between the religious/secular divide as well as go beyond it through the discovery of how identities function within human contexts that always include interests and power dynamics. More...
CRDC Coordinates Historic Meeting between His Majesty
King Abdullah II of Jordan and American Rabbis
King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan had an unprecedented meeting
with over 60 rabbis, in an event held September 21, 2005 at the Ritz-Carlton
Hotel in Washington DC. The event was initiated by King Abdullah, sponsored by the Embassy of Jordan, and coordinated by the CRDC and Dr. Robert Eisen of George Washington University. King Abdullah gave a speech entitled "Judaism and
Islam: Beyond Tolerance," which is available as a pdf document here. A full report with more photos can be found here.
The September meeting with King Abdullah led Rabbi Dr. Barry Dov Schwartz to organize a series of discussions on Judaism and Islam for his synagogue in New York. More...
"Realities and Challenges: Worldly and Religious With Discussion of the Palestinian-Israeli Case."Dr. Bernard Sabella, Professor of Sociology at Bethlehem University and Director of Services for Palestinian Refugees for the Middle East Council of Churches, spoke at CRDC on September 1, 2005. More...
CRDC co-sponsored a televised debate in Syria on religion, tolerance, and the state of political relations in the Middle East on May 25, 2005. Conceived by local Syrian activists, the event was sponsored as a debate in order to recognize the difficult divisions facing the Middle East in which religion and politics intersect, such as the Palestinian/Israeli conflict or the war on terrorism.
The debate was covered by all the major newspapers in Syria and attended by numerous ambassadors and citizens. As with the CRDC-sponsored event six months before in Damascus, the floor was opened to questions from the audience and lively debate ensued. These were both unprecedented events in terms of audience participation.
A full report of Dr. Gopin's May 2005 trip to Syria is available here.
In May 2005 the Center held its first training on religion, diplomacy and conflict resolution. Participants came from a broad spectrum of sectors, and included government and non-profit workers, academics, cultural specialists, former diplomats, and religious leaders. If you are interested in future trainings, let us know.
In a presentation cosponsored by the Syrian Public Relatons Association, on April 14, 2005 Syrian peacebuilder Hind Kabawat spoke at the Center on issues relating to religious tolerance and tradition in Syria. The talk was followed by a fruitful and often intense discussion, moderated by CRDC Director Marc Gopin.
March 18, 2005 CRDC hosted a discussion at the Center with religious leaders from Uzbekistan, who were in the U.S. as part of an IREX exchange program. ICAR Faculty Member Karyna Korostelina and CRDC staff facilitated the discussion.
In a lunchtime seminar on February 16, 2005, Saudi poet Nimah Ismail Nawwab discussed "Women, the Arts, and Islam" and shared some of her poetry.
The CRDC hosted a brown bag lunch meeting
of the
Washington D.C. chapter of the Council
on Faith and International Affairs on February 15, 2005. Marc Gopin spoke on the
topic of "Reconciliation in Abrahamic Perspective: Lessons
from the Middle East." Marc shared some of of the lessens
learned on his recent trip to Israel and Syria.
Center Director Marc Gopin speaks on lessons in back-channel diplomacy learned from his recent trip to the Middle East
The CRDC hosted a brown bag lunch meeting of the
Washington D.C. chapter of the Council
on Faith and International Affairs on January 27, 2005. Dr. Tom Farr spoke on
the topic of "Religious Freedom and the State Department:
Problems & Promises" Dr Farr was the first Director of
the State Department's Office of
International Religious Freedom, and served there from 1999 to
2005.
Dr. Farr, former Director of the Office
of International Religious In a public dialogue in Damascus, Syria, Hind Kabawat, a Christian religious peace activist and resident of Damascus and Toronto, spoke on 'A Culture of Peace' in the Assad National library in Damascus with over three hundred people in attendance. CRDC Director Marc Gopin responded, followed by a stimulating question and answer session with the audience. The event received national publicity with interviews on National television and radio. More about the dialogue and Dr. Gopin's January trip to Syria can be found here: Winds of Change in Syria: An In-depth Report.
In December 2004, the CRDC and the United States Institute for Peace co-sponsored a day of dialogue between six Saudi Islamic scholars and a group of Jewish scholars as part of a week-long encounter between the Saudi group and others in Washington. The purpose of the day of meetings was the creation of linkages and friendships leading to a reduction of stereotypes that have plagued the Jewish-Islamic encounter, and to lay the groundwork for shared discussion on legal reform, religious tolerance and new definitions of Jewish-Islamic relations.
This forum, held November 1, 2004, was a stimulating discussion of local and international perspectives on elections and democracy. Speakers were The Hon. Peter R. Chaveas, Senior Research Professor at the School of Public Policy, George Mason University, and former U.S. ambassador to Sierra Leone; The Hon. Peter Tomsen, Ambassador in Residence at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and former U.S. Special Envoy and Ambassador on Afghanistan; Dr. Marina S. Ottaway, Senior Associate in Democracy and Rule of Law at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and Ms. Sima Wali, President of Refugee Women in Development.
The Hon. Peter Tomsen, former U.S. Special
Envoy
and Ambassador on Afghanistan, speaking on the elections
in Afghanistan
With Initiatives of Change, in August 2004 CRDC co-sponsored a conference in Caux, Switzerland entitled ‘Agenda for Reconciliation,’ which brings together numerous groups from several regions of conflict. For seven days in August 2004, signatories of the Geneva Accord, as well as a number of Israeli and Palestinian civil society activists met with CRDC board members Zainab al-Suwaij, Patrice Brodeur, Robert Eisen, Libby Hoffman, and Joseph Montville, as well as ICAR faculty member Kevin Avruch and ICAR student Adina Friedman. The conference was on the future of the Geneva Accord, and relations between Palestine and Israel with particular reference to religion.
CRDC board members Abdul Azziz Sachedina, Krister Stendahl, and Marc Gopin were scholars in residence at the National Cathedral's College of Preachers for two weeks in June 2004. This event, bringing together clerics from the Abrahamic faiths, was conceived and developed by CRDC senior fellow Joseph Montville. A full report is available here.
In June 2004 CRDC cosponsored a unique event in Morocco together with Initiatives of Change and The Center for Islam and Democracy. Board members Patrice Brodeur and Robert Eisen, as well as CRDC's Senior Fellow Joseph Montville, and Director Marc Dr. Gopin engaged in an intensive conference engaging members of the three Abrahamic traditions and senior representatives of Morocco, the Arab League, USAID, and several other organizations. The relationships created in Fez were extraordinary, and several initiatives are emerging from that event.
CRDC Research Associate Dr. Peter Weinberger gave a presentation March 23, 2004 on the benefits of incorporating religion into policy regarding intractable conflicts, specifically in the Middle East. Dr. Weinberger's paper, "Incorporating Religion into Israeli-Palestinian Peacemaking: Recommendations for Policymakers," can be found on our Resources section.
For more information about CRDC events and activities, contact CRDC at 703-993-9402 or email us at crdc@gmu.edu.