DICID in cooperation with the Embassy of the United States of America, and Katara Public Diplomacy organized a symposium entitled “Role of Interfaith Dialogue in Building-TrustAmong Intercultural Communities

05 Apr DICID in cooperation with the Embassy of the United States of America, and Katara Public Diplomacy organized a symposium entitled “Role of Interfaith Dialogue in Building-TrustAmong Intercultural Communities

On the occasion of 50 years of diplomatic relations between the State of Qatar and the United States of America and among intellectual and cultural activities conducted by Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue for promoting the notion of coexistence and creating awareness among people, and as part of maintaining theeffective cultural role Katara isknown for, for being Qatari pivot to present its cultural, civilizational and intellectual heritageof the state of Qatar, as well as aiming to achieve the common objectives of the organizing parties; Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue, in cooperation with the Embassy of the United States of America, and Katara Public Diplomacy organized a symposium entitled “Role of Interfaith Dialogue in Building-Trust Among Intercultural Communities.

Great figures and famous personalities of academics, researchers, and intellectuals attended the event, including Prof. Aisha Al-Mannai, vice-chairperson of Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue and the Director of the Muhammad Bin Hamad Al Thani Center for Muslim Contribution to Civilization (CMCC) in College of Islamic Studies (CIS) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s (HBKU), H.E Mr. Michael Schreuder, the acting deputy chief of Mission, at the embassy of the United States of America – Qatar.

Prof. Aisha Al-Mannai opened the event with a foreword she delivered. It contained a word of thanks tothe audience, speakers, and the organizing bodies collectively: Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue, the Embassy of the United States of America, and the Cultural Village Foundation – Katara. She stressed the significance of the cooperative efforts that bring together the embassy of the USA in Qatar, Katara Public Diplomacy, and DICID, touching upon various forms of synergy among these institutions. She then shed the light on the interfaith dialogue as not only a necessary demand of the contemporary world but also as a very useful fruit of modernity in the research centers and among writers, due to its proven presence in cultivating people about the various relevant issues to coexistence and pluralism. She also added: “We all see and witness the great determinations DICID is doing towards realizing and achieving its objectives, it works hard to spread awareness on interfaith Dialogue among religious traditions with all possible means, instilling the culture of pluralism, and promoting acceptance of the others”.

Prof. Aisha also stated: “in this distinct event that commemorates 50 years of diplomatic relations between the State of Qatar and the United States of America, and at this special moment, it is important to put emphasis on in this short forward that DICID along with the cooperative bodies (the USA in Qatar, Katara Public Diplomacy) that work to organize the event; they have selected the symposium title, speakers and topics to be delivered with all care due to the importance of the event. She concluded by saying “trust-building is the backbone of coexistence and mutual respect, and it is a result of effecting and observing the moral code in all religious traditions in regards to ethics and dealing with others”.

Followed by the foreword speech given by H.E Mr. Michael Schreuder the Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Embassy of the United States of America in Qatar delivered opening remarks of the United States of America in Qatar. He extended a word of thanks to Prof. AishaAl-Mannai, the moderator Ms. Marjon E Kamrani, the speakers, the audience, and all those who participated in making this event take place. He expressed that continuingto discussrelevant and various issues and topics of interfaith dialogue leads to many positive outcomes, including trust-building. He conveyed an important message that in interfaith dialogue communities are compelled to communicate and make their language understandable and acceptable.He stated: “Our goal in interreligious dialogue is not to construct one religion for the whole world but to share and learn from one another in celebration of our diversity and sharing the values we hold dear”.

He also pointed out that interfaith dialogue should be characterized by clarity, trust, transparency, kindness, patience, generosity, and prudence. He thenmentioned in this regardthat in the United States of America, religious freedom lies at the heart of peoples’ identity. He said: “The United States recognizes religious freedom as an inalienable right and it is therefore committed to its preservation and advancement for all”. And he emphasized at the end of his remarks after he expressed special thanks to Prof. Ibrahim Al-Naimi for the great efforts he is doing, he emphasized the readiness of the embassy of the United States in Doha to proudly work and cooperate with Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue, to promote a culture of coexistence and tolerance.

Moreover, the event moderator Ms. Marjon E Kamrani, a political officer at the USA Embassy in Qatar highlighted the uniqueness and distinction of the event for many factors: the importance of the topic chosen for the symposium, the diversity of the themes to be discussed, as well as the academic variety among the distinguished speakers and the different background that should enrich the discussion.
Then she called upon Dr. Clyde Wilcox, Interim Dean, School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Qatar to deliver his paper entitled role of interfaith dialogue in contemporary relations. He commenced by saying: “This is my first interaction with the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue, and I am honored to be a part of the panel”. In his presentation, he highlighted the means of how individuals and societies should observe and maintainto enforce interfaith dialogue. Many personal experiences were provided to prove the validityof the points and to support the related ideas. He stated: “We know that friendly relationships – even friendships – across religious lines reduces religious prejudice and hostility, and builds trust and tolerance”.

He was followed by the second paper presenter Dr. Eid Ahmad Mohamed, Assistant Professor inComparative Literature Program at Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, who talked about Interfaith dialogue and awareness as tools to counter violent extremism. He expressed the importance of evoking the unity of the origin of mankind in facilitating communication, mutual respect, and then trust-building. “Bearing in mind human noble values that we all share paves ways to encounter prejudice, racism, and superiority claims. Commonalities and global ethics we all believe should be brought to promote tolerance, love, equality, mutual respect and coexistence”. He supported the highlighted points he touched on by providing personal experiences as an Egyptian who lived, studied, and graduated from American universities and Canada.

Dr. Zachary Valentine Wright, Associate Professor at Northwestern University in Qatar was then invited to address Peace and reconciliation through interfaith dialogue. He stressed the importance of self-controlling and the so-called purification of one’s soul in Islamic heritage (TAZKIYAH) in promoting interfaith dialogue and focusing on respecting the other and building trust in dealing with him/her. “Purification is a very useful tool in Islamic theology and thought for self-controlling. It also leads to perfection “IHSAN” and all will result in acceptance of the other”. Many Qur’anic verses, Prophetic traditions, and Muslim Scholars’ statements were quoted to support the discussion.

Before closing the event, the moderator Ms. Marjon then opened the Q & A session that enriched the discussion. Then she thanked the audience, speakers, all those who contributed by asking questions or giving comments and sent a special thanks to the three organizing bodies; Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue, the Embassy of the United States of America, and the Katara Public Diplomacy. She said: “After a long time of shifting this kind of event to virtual instead of physical because of the COVID 19 pandemic; I can see everywhere in the hall, before, after, and during the presentations smiles and happiness caused by physical interaction and meeting.”I hope you have a good and safe drive home.