Dialoguing with Jews, Muslims, and Evangelicals in a Polarized Political Environment: Risks, Rewards, and Methods.

Time: 

Friday, August 5, 2016, 7:30 pm

Location: 

Home of Elizabeth and Mark England
1194 S. 500 E., SLC, UT

Please come in the back door if you arrive late. 

Details of the discussion:

Shon has served as president of the University of Texas Interfaith Council and currently serves as Associate Chair of BYU’s Council of Interreligious Outreach, primarily focused on interfaith efforts with Jews and Muslims. He has recently begun and helps lead a bi-annual dialogue between Muslim and Jewish scholars. For many years he has also participated as part of the Mormon-Evangelical dialogue led by Robert Millet and Richard Mouw. He will share experiences he has had and insights he has gleaned during his years of interfaith engagement. Questions that will be discussed include: What are some of the goals of interfaith dialogue (and what are they not), particularly in the current, political climate of fear? Considering the polarized, political environment, what are some of the pitfalls and danger spots of dialoguing with Jews? with Muslims? with Evangelicals? What are fruitful topics of discussion with these groups? How can one become engaged in interfaith dialogue?

About Shon:

Shon Hopkin received his B.A. and M.A. degrees in Ancient Near Eastern Studies from Brigham Young University, and his Ph.D. in Hebrew Studies from the University of Texas at Austin, focusing on medieval Hebrew, Arabic, and Spanish literature. While in Austin he served as president of the University Interfaith Council, and currently serves as Associate Chair of the Council of Interreligious Outreach at Brigham Young University, where he is an Assistant Professor in Religious Education. He is faculty advisor for the Muslim Student Association as well as Students of the Ancient Near East. He has travelled extensively in the Middle East, including extended stays in Syria, Israel/Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey. In January 2016 he traveled to Singapore to give the keynote address as the Christian representative at an interfaith dialogue. In addition to his interfaith interests, Shon teaches courses at BYU on the Old Testament, Isaiah, the New Testament, the Pearl of Great Price, the Book of Mormon, and Ritual Theory. His research focuses on medieval Judaism, the impact of religious beliefs and practices, biblical studies, and ritual theory. He has written over thirty books and articles, and is currently working on a project assessing the impact of Western universities on Muslim students from the Middle East, comparing that impact between BYU, Oxford, and other universities.

Read, listen, watch:

Almost anything from the current presidential campaigns seems to fit! I’ve attached an article on Muslims at BYU, if any are interested in reading it.

2015.byu studies.muslims and mormons