IRD Activities

• Imams to Auschwitz

  A few of the most influential Imams and Muslim leaders in the U.S. and in the Middle East made historic trips to concentration camps in Germany and Poland. The main aim is to get Muslims who are leaders all over the world, particularly in the Middle East, to acknowledge the reality of what happened here and to be able to teach it to the people that they lead

• Religious Law

  This program is divided into: 1) Sharia/Halacha Conference: Muslim-Jewish dialogue is in its early stage, and the need to understand and use foundational texts to improve relations is fundamental. And urgent: with the rise of Islamophobia and proposals to ban Sharia in at least 20 states, legislated religious phobia is only a vote away. Understanding the commonality and differences in our texts will go far in explaining why attacks on Sharia are also attacks on religious law and religious freedom. 2) CIU & KARAMAH: With the Muslim community under attack from many quarters, and Muslims being treated as “outsiders,” it was no accident that the concept of “the Other” was the first topic of this winter’s “Muslim-Jewish Roundtable,” hosted in Washington D.C., by Karamah, Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights. The second panel centered on family law. The Roundtable was the continuation of the discussion begun by the Center for Interreligious Understanding in New York last year, “Law and Ethics in Judaism and Islam – a conversation.” 3) Between Past and Future - Law and Ethics in Judaism and Islam: Treatment of women in both Judaism and Islam has changed over the millennia, but in somewhat opposite ways, according to both Rabbi Judith Hauptman and Prof. Azizah al-Hibri, who spoke at the CIU’s conference. The discussion was held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York in March

• Sacred Spaces

  Theologians, anthropologists, historians, lawyers, clergy and more gathered from almost a dozen countries — including US, Iran, Israel, Ukraine, Turkey, UK, Italy — for this 2-day intensive conference to discuss a range of topics: From what is sacred and the theological meaning of sacred space to different religions, to negotiating conflicts at sacred sites, with analysis of real world successes and failures

• The Menorah Project

  Through its historic Menorah Project, the Centre for Interreligious Understanding is placing Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance) Menorahs in Christian institutions throughout the United States and around the world with the goal of highlighting the extraordinary improvements in interreligious relations in the past few decades. The Menorah dedications bring together Christians, Jews and community members to share words of remembrance and to light the six candles of the Menorah that represent the six million Jews killed during the Holocaust.

Main Focus Countries of Activities

Germany - Poland - New York, NY, USA - Washington, DC, USA - Rome, Italy - Miami, FL, USA - Baltimore, MD, USA - Palm Beach, FL, USA - Dallas, TX, USA - Boston, MA, USA - Washington, DC, USA - New York, NY, USA - Vatican City, Holy See - Jerusalem, Israel