Muslim-Christian Dialogue in a Post 9-11 World


The Fuller Peace and Justice Advocates (PJA) will host a discussion with Jihad Turk, Religious Director at the Islamic Center of Southern California, on Wednesday, March 2, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Garth. The conversation will focus on Muslim-Christian dialogue in a post 9-11 world.

Jihad Turk has been serving as the Religious Director at the Islamic Center of Southern California since 2005.  In addition to serving the religious needs of his community, Turk focuses much of his attention on interfaith work.  He has organized many interfaith events including an annual interfaith 9-11 memorial held at the Islamic Center.  He is currently serving as president of the Wilshire Center Interfaith Council, which sponsors, among other events, an annual interfaith trip to the Holy Land.  Together with an Episcopal Priest, Jihad founded and currently sits as co-chair of the Christian-Muslim Consultative Group.  He is a religious director at the University of Southern California, serving the needs of the Muslim students on campus. Jihad also sits on the board of a Muslim-Jewish peace organization, the Salaam Shalom Educational Foundation, which is developing a model for education that nurtures understanding and peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians.

Having been born to a Muslim-Palestinian father and a Christian-American mother in Phoenix Arizona, Jihad spent his college years traveling the Muslim world and exploring his roots and the Islamic tradition.  He spent time in both the Islamic University of Medina where he studied Arabic and Islamic Studies and in Iran where he studied Farsi at the University of Tehran and in Qum. He earned his BA in History and Arabic from UC Berkeley, and an MA in Arabic and Islamic law and jurisprudence from University of Texas, Austin. He currently teaches courses on Islamic Law at Southwestern Law School and is working to complete his PhD at UCLA in Islamic Studies.

This event is one in a series of discussion hosted by Fuller's Peace and Justice Advocates. PJA meets weekly on Wednesdays in the Garth to discuss topics of faith, justice, peace, and reconciliation.