From Religions for Peace USA
RELIGIONS FOR PEACE USA WEBINAR - December 17th, 3:00PM (Eastern Time)
Religions for Peace USA is happy to announce that its next webinar will cover the important and timely topic of Islam, Religious Diversity, and Peacemaking in Iran on December 17th at 3:00 PM Eastern Time. Register here!
A New Day in Iran
Iran has been in the news a lot lately, and this time it looks like diplomatic efforts are making significant headway. In a nation that has been a theocracy for the last 34 years, the question remains: How do Iranian politics deal with religious difference? The new negotiations seem different. As columnist Roger Cohen recently noted, “The era of traumatized alienation is over.
“The United States and Iran have embarked on a new phase in their relationship. It is marked by bilateral negotiations, handshakes, smiles, side-by-side flags and significant compromise, including United States acquiescence to a ‘mutually defined enrichment program’ for Iran in any long-term agreement and an Iranian commitment that ‘under no circumstances’ will it ‘ever seek or develop any nuclear weapons.’” Behind all of this new progress is the question of how Islamic theocracy deals with difference, with peacemaking.
Dr. Seyed Amir Akrami, a leading Iranian interfaith specialist, will be featured in this webinar. Dr. Akrami is a visiting scholar at Eastern Mennonite University’s (EMU) Center for Interfaith Engagement. Until recently, he was a lecturer at the Al-Mahdi Institute in Birmingham, England. He is a member of the academic board of the Institute for Interreligious Dialogue, a non-governmental organization based in Iran, and has served as Secretary for Inter-Religious Dialogue at the Organization for Islamic Culture and Communication in Tehran.
Dr. Seyed Amir Akrami
For the last year and a half, Dr. Akrami has been lecturing and teaching at EMU, focusing on questions regarding Islam and religious diversity, Iranian politics and religion, and the topics of peace and violence in relation to Islam.
But for our focus, Dr. Akrami will focus specifically on his own personal story, answering questions such as, “What was it like to be formed as a religious scholar in a theocratic nation? As an Iranian who has studiedin the West, how do you work with people of other faith in the face of deep divisions culturally and religiously?” For many of the Religions for Peace USA family, these are important, culturally sensitive issues.
We look forward to seeing you on December 17th at 3:00 PM for our webinar on Islam, Religious Diversity and Peacemaking with Dr. Amir Akrami!
RFPUSA’s Earlier Webinars Now Available
In case you haven’t noticed, we updated our website to include access to all of our past webinars! In the last six months, we’ve featured leaders such as Rev. Paul Raushenbush of the Huffington Post, Dr. Heidi Hadsell of Hartford Seminary, Jen Symers of Church World Service, and Remziya Sulleyman of American Center for Outreach. For full access to any of these, check them out here.