Interfaith Dialogue Dinner
The Islam and Dialogue Student Association joined with the Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue Club from UNC and the Divan Cultural Center in Cary, for an interfaith dialogue dinner that hosted more than 100 people Tuesday night at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel.
The purpose of the event was to promote interfaith dialogue between different belief systems and improve mutual understanding by bringing members and leaders of different communities together. People from all faiths were invited, and there were three speakers from Muslim, Christian and Jewish faiths.
"One important thing is that [the dialogue] will help people see that people in other religious communities are people just like anybody else, they are people you can talk to and be friends with," Ediz Batmaz, president of the Islam and Dialogue Student Association, said.
The dinner began with a short video highlighting the significance and purpose of interfaith dialogue and focusing on Fethullah Gülen, an advocate of interfaith dialogue and cooperation among cultures and religions, who initiated the movement of education for peace.
Throughout the dinner, attendees were invited to talk about their different religions and beliefs.
"I find that, on campus, religion is very popular," Allen Proctor, N.C. State Presbyterian campus minister, said. "Religion offers some hope that there is a way to love -- a way to be."
Batmaz believes that interfaith dialogues will help build a bridge between faiths, stating that he thinks members of different faiths are not communicating enough with each other. Then when something happens between the faiths, he said, we fear each other.
The first speaker was Carl Ernst, professor of religious studies at UNC-Chapel Hill and a scholar of Islam. Ernst's speech focused on inter-religious dialogue and ethics.
"Dialogue does not ordinarily mean saying, 'I'm right and you're wrong,'" Ernst said. "It implies both speaking and listening, which suggests that the other person has something to say. Dialogue implies that there is more than one position and that there is not a single authoritative viewpoint that will silence others."
To understand interreligous dialogue in relation to ethics, Ernst said one of the major tests was the way we respond to the sufferings of others. He also felt that in recent years, human beings have been better at coping with disasters inflicted by nature in comparison with the catastrophes that human beings inflict upon each other.
Ernst closed with a quotation from the Quran. "For everyone we have established a law and a way, if God had wished he would have made you a single community, but this was so that he might test you regarding what he sent you, so try to be first in doing what is best," he said.
Following Ernst was Jimmy Harper, formerly on the National Conference for Community and Justice, who spends his time primarily with the Istanbul Cultural Center in Atlanta.
Harper established human relations programs for high school students, in which groups of 55-60 students from different religions and backgrounds would join together and try to establish a community with the students. His speech was, among other things, about stereotypes.
"Violence is not owned by one religion, violence is not owned by one faith -- it is ridiculous for us to make the assumption that somehow Islam is a violent religion," Harper said.
Harper said that there is a need to look beyond the stereotypes of people and to make sure that a "circle of democracy" is drawn large enough so that everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, culture or gender, has an opportunity to flourish and take advantage of the opportunities this country offers.
The final speaker was Yaakov Ariel, professor in the department of religious studies at UNC-CH, whose research includes Evangelicals and Jews. Ariel focused on the history of interfaith dialogue, stating the first interfaith dialogue was in the nineteenth century.
"The organizers, all of them white, Protestant males, decided to amuse themselves by organizing a world parliament of religions," Ariel said. "It was the first time that [the different religions] had the chance and opportunity to present their case, to present their faith and to take pride in their heritage."
Ariel also talked about the need to fight bigotry and stereotypes, to affirm the right of religious groups to practice their faith proudly and openly, and to educate the public that those are good people who contribute to society and culture the way everybody else does.
"Instead of struggling with each other over our differences, instead of exaggerating and deepening them, we should emphasize our common points. Dialogue will help people from different faiths to find areas of common ground and focus on these areas," Batmaz said. "When religious leaders from different faith communities have dialogue, this is going to reflect to members of the communities." (Emily Kiser)
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