On Tuesday, June 9th, CAWU staff, interns, and friends were privileged to meet with Professor Paul Heck from Georgetown University. Specializing in theology and Islamic studies, Paul has given decades of his life to promoting a more sympathetic understanding between Christians and Muslims and between the United States and the Middle East. Some of his scholarship is noted here and other initiatives and writing are described here. Beyond serving as my doctoral advisor, I also accompanied Paul to Morocco in 2012 as part of his project, The Study of Religions Across Civilizations (SORAC), where we spent six weeks learning with Moroccan students of Islamic theology. His most recent book, Political Theology and Islam, was published by Notre Dame University Press. 

Our first meeting with Paul featured a wide-ranging conversation on spirituality, political theology, and Christian-Muslim relations. We were pleased that Professor ʿAzza Ramaḍān and Professor ʿAbd al-Bāsiṭ Haykel from al-Azhar University, as well as Sāra ʿAllām Shaltūt (M.A.), an Egyptian doctoral candidate in religion, gender, and Christian-Muslim relations at the University of St. Andrews, were able to join us. 

A bit later, CAWU interns from the Netherlands, the U.K., Germany, and the U.S. joined us for further conversation about what it means to pursue a life in dialogue. What kind of personal resources are required to sustain this approach to the world? Does a life committed to dialogue eventually transform one into a cultural relativist? How can we resist surrendering to the waves of polarization, dehumanization, and disinformation that very often make us feel superior to others? These are questions for people in the West and the Middle East, for progressives as well as conservatives. We are grateful to Professor Heck for his visit and for the opportunity to explore some of these important questions with him.

Matthew Anderson

Executive Editor - Dialogue Across Borders

Director - Center for Arab-West Understanding

CAWU Instagram