On Tuesday,
February 4, 2020, Rumi Forum and its’ key partners, George
Washington University Interfaith Council, United Nations
Association-National Capital Area, and Twelve Gates Foundation,
celebrated the UN World Interfaith Harmony Week with a panel
discussion about “Living Harmoniously in an Interfaith World: A
Muslim Contribution”.
A world
of interfaith harmony will not be achieved by religious
organizations agreeing on theology. Each faith tradition has its
own unique teachings and traditions, and each individual is unique
in their own personal understanding of the truth. A durable peace
among the diverse peoples of the world will be achieved when
individuals become mature in their faith and learn to embrace those
from other traditions as fellows of the human family.
The
purpose of this program, then, was to raise awareness of the
theological and spiritual resources that empower a life of faith in
harmony with a world of diverse beliefs and practices and to
encourage the development and dissemination of these resources
within each faith tradition as a way to elevate the minds, hearts,
and actions of people everywhere. In this program, we invited a
Muslim scholar, Dr. Y. Alp Aslandogan, to present the basis for his
faith`s contribution to the creation of a peaceful world of
interfaith harmony.
Speaker:
Dr. Y.
Alp Aslandogan is the Executive Director of the Alliance for Shared
Values. Prior to his current position, Dr. Aslandogan served as the
board president of the Institute of Interfaith Dialog in Houston,
Texas. In that role, he oversaw the organization of academic as
well as grassroots activities of the Institute around topics such
as shared values of humanity, social cognition and conflicts, the
art of living together, foundations and methodology of interfaith
and intercultural dialogue, and the role of faithful citizens in a
democracy. He recently co-authored a book entitled “The Messenger:
Prophet Muhammad and His Life of Compassion” and co-edited a book
entitled “Muslim Citizens of the Globalized World”.
Dr.
Aslandogan is an author and an editor of the Fountain magazine, and
a board member of the Journal of Interreligious Dialogue. He earned
his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at
Chicago and served as a faculty member at the University of Texas
at Arlington, and Prairie View A&M University.