Community discusses historical link between faiths

The second annual Encounters Among Faiths symposium, held in Gilman Hall on Friday, examined the relationships between Muslims, Jews and Christians in the Medieval Mediterranean.

The symposium, attended by several dozen, was organized by people involved in the Program in Islamic Studies and was sponsored by Morris W. Offit, the Chairman of Offit Capital, Class of 1957.

Assistant Professor of Sociology and Islamic Studies Ryan Calder said that it has been a vision of both Offit and the Program in Islamic Studies to understand Islam and the history of Islamic societies in cross-cultural contexts.

“Dean [of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences] Beverly Wendland mentioned that Mr. Offit feels that understanding relationships among people of different religions in the past is a way in part to shed light on relations today,” Calder said.

The program featured two panels and several speakers, including professors from Cornell, Yale and the University of Wisconsin, and specialists from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Walters Museum. The speakers were broken up by readings of the Quran, Torah and New Testament of the Bible.

The program ended with a Keynote Address by Dimitri Gutas of Yale University about the reception of Aristotelian Science in early Islam between the eighth and 10th centuries C.E. Gutas criticized the current view of the works of Greek scholars like Aristotle and Pythagoras as purely philosophical when in reality they were the first works of critical science ever created.

Gutas outlined how Christian theologians in modern day Syria and Muslim scholars were able to preserve some of the most important works of science and philosophy from antiquity because of their practical need to learn critical information about medicine and astronomy.

Later, as Islam spread to Spain and Christians and Muslims began to live side by side, those ancient texts were translated into Latin, creating the initial spark for the Renaissance and the consolidation of the scientific method in Europe. If not for those Muslim scholars, many seminal texts would have been lost and scientific development would have been hindered.

“A group of us tried to find some of the best people doing really groundbreaking research on the cultural, intellectual and political exchange among Muslims, Jews and Christians in the medieval period,” Calder said. “We were looking for people all over North America who fit into our mandate.”

Corie Hoffberger, gift officer for the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, said the event was open to students, faculty and community members who are affiliated with different synagogues, churches and mosques. She believes attendees got a deeper understanding of the meaning of medieval time and hopes that the event spurred further interest.

“A lot of our speakers are so passionate and curious about these specific subject matters,” Hoffberger said. “I hope our students realize they can have a career in this field and study these subject matters really passionately.”

Freshman Samantha Gomes attended event, specifically to support Tamer El-Leithy, an assistant professor of history, who spoke on a panel about power and polemics.

“We learned a lot about Islamic, Judaic and Christian architecture and cross-cultural references between artwork,” Gomes said. “The event broadcasted a lot of stories that aren’t necessarily told as well as alternate views of the period. It was fascinating.”

Though senior Charles Jie attended the event for extra credit for a class, he found the speakers engaging and heard many ideas he wouldn’t have otherwise been exposed to.

“This was a really rewarding experience,” Jie said. “It was also really fascinating to see such a large group of historians and scholars in their natural environment.”

Calder said he was thrilled by turnout for the event, which hosted more than one hundred attendees.

“Most of all I hope that they understand the complexity and nuance of relations among Muslims, Jews and Christians in the medieval Mediterranean — that there was sometimes mutual respect and sometimes not, that there was extensive cultural and intellectual exchange,” Calder said. “As scholars, it is our responsibility to understand such exchanges as faithfully as possible and constantly challenge existing ways of thinking about those connections.”