Never Again? The Return of Antisemitism
Never Again? The Return of Antisemitism

Date: May 21-23, 2024

Place: Palermo, Italy

The horrors of the war in Gaza have triggered a global explosion of antisemitism, the like of which the world has not known since World War II. Concomitantly, heightened tensions around the war intensified Islamophobia. Both antisemitism and Islamophobia seem to issue from racist populist nationalism, which universally attacks the norms of civic discourse and religious life that made pluralism, coexistence, and dialogue possible. The religious zealot, hostile to other religions, may feed antisemitism and Islamophobia, but, at least as typically, the European antisemite is anti-Christian and an Islamophobe – a secular xenophobe. The secular xenophobe is unwilling to extend the hospitality and compassion that Christianity, Islam, and Judaism have traditionally shown each other when they were at their best.

 

The International Network for Interreligious Research and Education (INIRE), a collaborative global project of universities and institutions over four continents, has been organizing an annual summer school and conference to support interreligious dialogue and promote scholarly and public understanding of the major challenges facing religion. The recent conference at Duke University has generated unprecedented dialogue with African and South Asian theologians and historians and addressed also the war in Ukraine. https://jewishstudies.duke.edu/inire-2023-name-god-voice-war-call-peaceINIRE has been collaborating with the Fondazione per le Scienze Religiose Giovanni XXIII (FSCIRE) in the framework of the European Academy of Religion (EUARE) to promote their shared goals.

 

ANTISEMITISM will be the focus  of INIRE’s 2024 annual conference and summer school, as part of  EAURE in Palermo, May 19-24. The INIRE conference will take place on May 21-23. We hope to host  about 30 faculty and 25 students, from the Europe, the US, Chile, Israel, and several African and Asian countries. Our program will underscore the global intersections of antisemitism, islamophobia, and anti-Christian hate, highlighting their secular and religious manifestations, and current developments in antisemitism. We will seek ways for interreligious dialogue to advance a joint platform to combat antisemitism, Islamophobia, and the diversity of secular and religious xenophobia.

 

The conference is multidisciplinary and interreligious. Among the topics:

  • New scholarly and theological explanations and contextualizations of antisemitism
  • Historical roots and contexts of antisemitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Christianity
  • Christiam theology, anti-Judaism and antisemitism
  • Islamophobia and Muslim rejection of the West
  • Jewish hostility to Christianity, Islam, and other religions
  • Secularization, antisemitism, and Islamophobia
  • Religious strategies to combat antisemitism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia.
In the Name of God: A Voice for War, a Call for Peace
In the Name of God: A Voice for War, a Call for Peace

Date:  July 4-6, 2023

Location: Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States.

An interdisciplinary workshop, exploring the role of religion in political and social disputes over war and peace. Workshop is organized by INIRE – the International Network for Interreligious Research and Education: https://sites.duke.edu/inire/

Many think of religion as a major cause of global conflicts while others see religion as promoting harmony. Holy texts provide support for both war and peace. In recent decades especially, religion has been viewed as contributing to global strife. The war between Russia and Ukraine has become also a battle between Ukraine’s claim for spiritual independence and Russia’s vision of salvation for ethnic Russians.  In fragile states, such as Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sri Lanka, religious divisions exacerbate strife. Yet, religion has also played a major role in peace-making and conflict resolution.

Our conference will look at the question of religion and conflict. We are cognizant of the gravity of the moment: Religious voices compete in supporting peace and war. Religion is at the heart of political decision.

The conference is multidisciplinary and interreligious. Among the topics:

  • Why and how do religious activists deploy belief to harm and heal?
  • Why do so many perpetrators think their actions are just and holy?
  • How should religious communities remember their violent past or confront their violent present?
  • What, if anything, separates scholars of religious violence from perpetrators?
  • Is secularism the solution to religious violence or part of the problem?
  • How can religious extremism best be met – religious critique or secular argument?
  • Is a commitment to religious pluralism a requirement for a peaceful interpretation of religion?
  • How might believers be equipped to respond to religious violence harder?

Possible panels:

  • Texts of violence/peace
  • Causes of religious violence/religious rescue or pacification
  • Holiness and justice in the minds of perpetrators/pacifiers
  • Teaching about religion and violence/peace in the classroom
  • Critiquing one’s own tradition/voice of pluralism in religious traditions
  • Characteristics of religious peacemakers

 

This conference is being cosponsored by Bar-Ilan University (and especially the Judaism and Society Chair), Duke University (the Duke Center for Jewish Studies, Duke Islamic Studies Center, Franklin Humanities Institute, Duke Divinity School, and Religions and Public Life at the Kenan Institute for Ethics).