The Two Year Initiative on Islam and Other Religions

Visiting Scholars

Irfan Omar

• March 8, 2012
• 5:00 pm in Lane's Center for Meeting and Learning
• CML TBA
• Free and open to the entire community.

Dialogue of the Heart: Seeing the 'Other' from an Islamic Perspective

Abstract:

Dialogue can take many forms. This presentation will discuss two examples of interreligious engagement that may be characterized as "dialogue of the heart." These examples are that of the 13th century meeting between St. Francis and the Sultan of Egypt, and the 17th century Prince Dara Shikoh's dialogue with the Hindu saint Baba Lal. These were encounters of people from different faiths, ranks, places, and even languages, which resulted in a "dialogue of the heart." In both cases the interlocutors parted with a deeper sense of (transcendent, esoteric) unity, despite the real (imminent, exoteric) differences between the faiths of Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism.

Bio:

Irfan A. Omar graduated with a doctorate in Religious Studies from Temple University in 2001. He specializes in Islamic thought with a special focus on inter-religious connections between Islam and other religions. His secondary areas of interest are Islamic mysticism and South Asian Studies. He has edited/co-edited several volumes including Islam and Other Religions: Pathways to Dialogue (Routledge 2006), A Muslim View of Christianity: Essays on Dialogue by Mahmoud Ayoub (Orbis 2007), and A Christian View of Islam: Essays on Dialogue by Thomas F. Michel, SJ (Orbis 2010). In 2006, he received the US Fulbright Senior Scholar Award for lecturing at the Muhammadiyah University Malang in Indonesia. He currently serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Ecumenical Studies and the online Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Religion. He is also member of the Ethics Section's steering committee of the American Academy of Religion (AAR).