Remarks at the President's Iftaar Dinner

Remarks by President John J. DeGioia
President’s Iftaar Dinner
Riggs Library
Georgetown University
September 4, 2008

Good evening, and to all the members of the Georgetown Muslim community here tonight, “Ramadan Mubarak.”

It is a pleasure to join with you during this month of Ramadan, when Islamic teaching tells us that God first revealed his word in the Qur’an to the Prophet Muhammad…

…And having the privilege of hosting this special evening, I’m reminded that Ramadan is not only a meaningful time of prayer and fasting…of concern for others…of gathering with family—but of hospitality.

In that spirit, I welcome all of you tonight—including our alumni—to this Iftaar dinner…and I am honored to be here for this celebration of faith and community—values that certainly resonate deeply with us at Georgetown.

I especially want to recognize the following individuals:

• Dr. John Borelli, Special Assistant to the President for Interreligious Initiatives;
• Dr. Zahid Bukhari, Director, American Muslims Study Program;
• Dr. Ahmed Dallal, Chair, Arab and Islamic Studies;
• Iman Yahya Hendi, Muslim Chaplain;
• Fr. Kevin O’Brien, Executive Director, Campus Ministry;
• Dr. Todd Olson, Vice-President for Student Affairs;
• Dr. Dan Porterfield, Vice-President for Public Affairs and Strategic Development;
• Mr. Wasim Rahman, Muslim Chaplain in Residence;
• And Rabbi Harold White, Senior Jewish Chaplain.

I know that promoting understanding—between cultures and faiths—is also inherent in the spirit of Iftaar dinners. It’s so very fitting that we hold this event—here—in Riggs Library. Not only one of the most beautiful spaces on campus, this was the University’s first dedicated library—a place devoted to the sharing and dissemination of knowledge. Knowledge is the foundation on which we build understanding.

After dinner, I want to briefly speak to the importance of promoting understanding—the importance of building bridges between individuals…ideas…cultures…and faiths, and how this has always been among our guiding principles here at Georgetown.

But now I would like to begin our evening by introducing Farah El-Sharif, President of the Georgetown University Muslim Students’ Association. A senior in the School of Foreign Service from Amman, Jordan, Farah is a member of our Resident Life staff. Off campus, she is also a “Fairfax Rising Scholar” at the International Institute for Islamic Thought. Farah will provide our blessing this evening.

***

I hope that you all enjoyed your dinner. Evenings such as this one help remind us of many things:

…Of the extraordinary contributions that Islam has made to the world by proclaiming God’s greatness and his goodness…

…Of the extraordinary contributions that countless generations of Muslim faithful have made to scholarship—to science, literature, philosophy, law, technology, and the arts…

…And of the extraordinary contributions—and difference—that Muslim faculty, staff, and students have made here on the Hilltop.

Evenings such as this one also reinforce what we all share as people of faith—common ideals, values, and even heritage—for we know that Abraham is the common ancestor for Muslims, Christians, and Jews.

And evenings such as this help recall the importance of building bridges of understanding.

This ideal has been a guiding principle of Georgetown since our founding more than two centuries ago. The principle is inscribed on the Georgetown shield. Taken from St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, “Utraque Unum,” or “Both into One,” captures the joining of faith and reason in the pursuit of justice…the gathering of both arts and sciences. At one time in our University history, it captured the reunion of the “blue and the gray”—the North and the South after the U.S. Civil War.

But it also—very much—captures within it a spirit of inclusiveness. It
speaks to the ability and capacity to manage differences…to synthesize competing and sometimes conflicting concepts…and to build those bridges of understanding between ideas…cultures…customs…faiths…and nations.

Georgetown has always been a place that seeks to provide the members of its community with the opportunity to develop the necessary skills and abilities to build these bridges—and never has this been more important than it is at this moment in time.

Our world is growing smaller. Nations are more interdependent, individuals more interconnected, and humanity less divided by narrow domestic walls. Unfortunately, as our world has grown closer, we’ve also seen it become increasingly polarized and prone to conflict.

In such an environment, understanding others’ experience—their perspective—is imperative….

…In such an environment, we deny or ignore others with values, customs, faiths, and religions that are different from our own at our peril. As the Qur’an tells us, “We created you from a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes that you may know and honor each other…” [Chapter 49, Verse 13]…

…And in such an environment, we must listen to the landmark statement released by many of the world’s most senior Muslim leaders last fall. As many of you know, the document—A Common Word Between Us and You—cites the Qur’an’s message to reach out to Christians and Jews. It invites dialogue on the basis of the two scriptural principles of love of God and love of neighbor…and it calls us to “come to a common word.” [Chapter 3, Verse 64] With participation by some of you, Georgetown has already held one conference on this important Muslim initiative, and we plan a second next spring.

There is no doubt that we must all work to build bridges between communities of faith and religious traditions…and to foster interreligious understanding and interfaith dialogue.

Of course, we must start by building these bridges on our own campus…or in our own community. Evenings such as this can help remind us of that imperative…and can help remind us that the global community desperately needs us to be agents of reconciliation and understanding—to work in the spirit of Utraque Unum.

I know that this is a view shared by our Muslim Chaplain, Imam Yahya Hendi. As many of you know, Imam Hendi is also the Imam of the Islamic Society of Frederick, and the Muslim Chaplain at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. Additionally, he serves as the spokesperson for the Islamic Jurisprudence Council of North America, and as an adjunct faculty member at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland.

A sought after international speaker, Imam Hendi often visits and lectures at churches and synagogues hoping to create a positive relationship between followers of the three Abrahamic religions. He has appeared on numerous national and international television and radio shows, and he has met with the President of the United States many times since the September 11th tragedy.

Imam Hendi holds a Masters degree in Comparative Religions from Hartford Seminary, and has written on numerous topics, including women in Islam, and religion and Islam in the United States.

It is now my pleasure to introduce Imam Yahya Hendi…

***

Thank you Imam Hendi for your thoughts and insights…and for helping to make this a truly special evening. I also want to thank all of you, again, for joining us for this dinner…for this celebration of faith and community…and for this opportunity to honor Islam and its immeasurable contributions. On behalf of the entire Georgetown community, “Ramadan Kareem.” Goodnight.