Dr. Reuven Firestone Interviewed by Muslim Turkish Movement “Hizmet”


Date posted: May 30, 2014

 

Rabbi Reuven Firestone, Ph.D., Professor of Medieval Judaism and Islam at the Jack H. Skirball Campus of HUC-JIR in Los Angeles, was interviewed by a Muslim Turkish Movement called Hizmet, which means “service.” Hizmet is active in interfaith dialogue in Turkey and many other countries, and has built private and charter schools in many countries, including the US.

Dr. Firestone has worked with Hizmet chapters in Los Angeles, Denver, Houston, Cleveland, Atlanta, Berlin, and Turkey for about 15 years, and has endorsed their work which is very much in accordance with our Jewish view of tikkun olam. The Movement is inspired by the writings of Fethullah Gülen, who is a living Muslim religious leader profoundly influenced by Islamic notions of universal understanding and respect for all of God’s creations.

 

Rabbi Reuven Firestone, Ph.D., has served on the faculty of HUC-JIR since 1993. Dr. Firestone founded the Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement (CMJE), a joint program of HUC-JIR, the Omar Ibn Al-Khattab Foundation, and the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California.

Dr. Firestone was born in Northern California and educated at Antioch College; Hebrew University in Jerusalem; HUC-JIR, where he received his M.A. in Hebrew Literature in 1980 and rabbinical ordination in 1982; and New York University where he received his Ph.D. in Arabic and Islamic Studies in 1988. From 1987 to 1992, Dr. Firestone taught Hebrew Literature and directed the Hebrew and Arabic Language programs at Boston University. In 1992, he was awarded the Yad Hanadiv Research Fellowship at the Hebrew University to conduct research on holy war in Islamic tradition.  In 2000, he was awarded the fellowship for independent research from the National Endowment for the Humanities for his research on holy war in Judaism. Chosen to be a fellow of the Institute for Advanced Jewish Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.  In 2002, Dr. Firestone received the Fulbright CASA III Fellowship for study and research at the American University in Cairo in 2006. In 2012-2013, he was appointed DAAD Visiting Professor in Jewish and Islamic Studies at Universität Potsdam/Geiger Kolleg in Berlin-Brandenburg.

Dr. Firestone serves on numerous committees and commissions on interfaith relations, serves on the editorial boards of numerous scholarly publications and is vice-president of the Association of Jewish Studies. Professor Firestone has lived in Israel, Egypt, and Germany, and regularly lectures in universities throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. His publications have been translated into German, French, Hebrew, Turkish, Arabic, Albanian, Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Indonesian, and Urdu.


Founded in 1875, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is North America’s first institution of higher Jewish education and the academic, spiritual, and professional leadership development center of Reform Judaism. HUC-JIR educates men and women for service to North American and world Jewry as rabbis, cantors, educators, and nonprofit management professionals, and offers graduate programs to scholars and clergy of all faiths. With centers of learning in Cincinnati, Jerusalem, Los Angeles, and New York, HUC-JIR’s scholarly resources comprise the renowned Klau Library, the American Jewish Archives, research institutes and centers, and academic publications. In partnership with the Union for Reform Judaism and the Central Conference of American Rabbis, HUC-JIR sustains the Reform Movement’s congregations and professional and lay leaders. HUC-JIR’s campuses invite the community to cultural and educational programs illuminating Jewish heritage and fostering interfaith and multiethnic understanding. www.huc.edu

Source: huc.edu , May 28, 2014


Related News

Humanity prepares its own end, says Assyrian Catholic Church leader Sag

“Dialogue is not an option,” Yesil said, “it is an obligatory way through which we all have to go.” “We both need and have to understand and know each other, love each other and live together.”

Gülen endorses reform package, appealing for ‘yes’ on Sept. 12 referendum

Well-respected Turkish intellectual and scholar Fethullah Gülen has said the constitutional reform package to be voted on Sept. 12 contains crucial amendments. Underlining that everyone, including Turkish citizens living abroad, should say “yes” in the referendum, Gülen said, “I wish we had a chance to raise the dead ones from their graves and urge them to cast ‘yes’ votes in the referendum,” as he highlighted the importance of voting in favor of the changes.

Fethullah Gulen’s response to ‘coup’ accusations

This is how Fethullah Gulen has responded to ‘the coup’ accusations.

Islamic scholar Gülen’s poems turned into songs for international album

Artists from twelve different countries composed music for poems written by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who is known for his global message of peace and inter-faith tolerance, for an album titled “Colors of Peace-Rise Up” to promote peace and tolerance. The poems were translated into English, and each artist selected one poem to interpret […]

Please do not insult the intelligence of the people

The government’s defensive position could have been understandable had it not removed the police chiefs who did the investigation from their positions, almost as a punishment.

Hizmet in Context: Societal Islam Versus Political Islam

The Hizmet movement is according to Ebaugh (2010) a civic movement rooted in Islam that is independent from the state. Others see it simply as a faith- based movement (Esposito and Yilmaz 2010). Agai (2004) describes it as an education network and Hendrick (2009) as a global pressure group to promote Turkish interests.

Latest News

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Child of purged victim in Turkey says: I was 14 months old when my dad jailed

The philosophical and intellectual contest “Know Thyself” held in Bishkek

Hate speech and respect for the sacred

Zephyrs from the Presence, the latest book by Ahmet Kurucan…

Father says wife, 11-month-old son under arrest despite medical problems

Historic ijma meeting in İstanbul

Erdogan’s crackdown – Woman detained while showing newborn baby to jailed husband

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News