Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution
Encyclopedia
The Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution (CRDC) is an arm of George Mason University
's Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (ICAR). CRDC engages in practice, education, and research concerning peace-building in conflicts where religion and culture play a significant role in a destructive conflict. CRDC specializes in entrepreneurial engagement with partners, students and supporters who share the goal of promoting emerging networks of indigenous and global peacemakers; mobilizing support for them; and forging links between such people, citizen-diplomats, and policymakers.
Kingdom of Jordan
and over 60 American rabbis
on September 21, 2005 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, DC. The event was sponsored by the Embassy of Jordan, and coordinated by the CRDC and Dr. Robert Eisen of George Washington University
.
on religion, tolerance and the state of political relations in the Middle East on May 25, 2005. Conceived by local Syrian activists, the event was sponsored to recognize the divisions facing the Middle East in which religion and politics intersect, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
or the war on terror
ism.
at the Rumi Forum (an emerging group from Turkey
advocating peaceful coexistence globally through a series of schools worldwide). Gopin examines a case study in citizen diplomacy in his book, To Make the Earth Whole: Citizen Diplomacy in the Age of Religious Militancy (Rowman Littlefield, 2009). He describes the challenge of engaging with the Grand Mufti of Syria during a period of high-level opposition.
The CRDC produces video and audio podcasts called "Peace Steps" in which Gopin and Aziz Abu Sarah provide information on positive developments in the Middle East, as well as their analysis of current events.
Dr. Gopin, scholar and practitioner in religious peace-building, author of several seminal works in the field of religion and conflict resolution, was appointed chair and director. Gopin brings years of experience and scholarship in the positive (and negative) roles religion can play in conflict. His vision for the center includes education in positive resources for conflict resolution in the world's religions; empowerment of religious leaders in the resolution of conflicts; and a change in the way policymakers approach religious conflicts.
Staff
George Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
's Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (ICAR). CRDC engages in practice, education, and research concerning peace-building in conflicts where religion and culture play a significant role in a destructive conflict. CRDC specializes in entrepreneurial engagement with partners, students and supporters who share the goal of promoting emerging networks of indigenous and global peacemakers; mobilizing support for them; and forging links between such people, citizen-diplomats, and policymakers.
History
The CRDC began in 2003 with a gift from the Catalyst Fund, which endowed the James H. Laue Chair in World Religions, Diplomacy, and Conflict Resolution, and created CRDC to be directed by the chair. The chair is named for James H. Laue, the inaugural Vernon M. and Minnie I. Lynch Professor of Conflict Resolution at George Mason from 1987 until his death in 1993.Activities
CRDC offers public presentations to governments and nongovernmental organizations; formal training in religion, diplomacy and conflict analysis; consulting for agencies dealing with religion and conflict; recommendations for ongoing conflicts; and support of religious moderates in international disputes.Research
The center is also active in research. It analyzes religious traditions and practices for new areas of creative diplomacy, examines internal struggles within religious communities, and searches for ways in which religious practices may heal conflicts beyond the reach of normal diplomacy and conflict resolution.Work with Jordan
CRDC coordinated a meeting between King Abdullah II of the HashemiteHashemite
Hashemite is the Latinate version of the , transliteration: Hāšimī, and traditionally refers to those belonging to the Banu Hashim, or "clan of Hashim", a clan within the larger Quraish tribe...
Kingdom of Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
and over 60 American rabbis
on September 21, 2005 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, DC. The event was sponsored by the Embassy of Jordan, and coordinated by the CRDC and Dr. Robert Eisen of George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
.
Work in Syria
To promote interfaith dialogue, CRDC co-sponsored a televised debate in SyriaSyria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
on religion, tolerance and the state of political relations in the Middle East on May 25, 2005. Conceived by local Syrian activists, the event was sponsored to recognize the divisions facing the Middle East in which religion and politics intersect, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
or the war on terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
ism.
Rumi Forum
A program on "Citizen Diplomacy and the Future of Peaceful Religion: A Tale of Middle Eastern Peacemaking" was presented in Washington, D.C. by Dr. Marc GopinMarc Gopin
Marc Gopin is director of the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University. He is an expert on the role that religion and culture play in conflicts and conflict resolution. In 2008 he received the Andrew Thomas Peacebuilder Award from the New York State...
at the Rumi Forum (an emerging group from Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
advocating peaceful coexistence globally through a series of schools worldwide). Gopin examines a case study in citizen diplomacy in his book, To Make the Earth Whole: Citizen Diplomacy in the Age of Religious Militancy (Rowman Littlefield, 2009). He describes the challenge of engaging with the Grand Mufti of Syria during a period of high-level opposition.
The CRDC produces video and audio podcasts called "Peace Steps" in which Gopin and Aziz Abu Sarah provide information on positive developments in the Middle East, as well as their analysis of current events.
Faculty and staff
Director- Marc Gopin, Ph.D., James H. Laue Professor of World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution
Dr. Gopin, scholar and practitioner in religious peace-building, author of several seminal works in the field of religion and conflict resolution, was appointed chair and director. Gopin brings years of experience and scholarship in the positive (and negative) roles religion can play in conflict. His vision for the center includes education in positive resources for conflict resolution in the world's religions; empowerment of religious leaders in the resolution of conflicts; and a change in the way policymakers approach religious conflicts.
Staff
- Joseph Montville, Chair of the Board and Senior Fellow
- David Trickett, Ph.D., Senior Fellow
- Neamat Nojumi, Senior Research Associate
- Hind Kabawat, Senior Research Associate
- Katrien Hertog, Research Fellow
- Aziz Abu Sarah, Director of Middle East Projects
- Samuel Rizk, Senior Research Associate
- Sana Saeed, Director of Events Planning
- Scott Cooper, Managing Director
- Mutsuko Sugita, Graduate Research Assistant
- Rebecca Grimm, Communications Director
- James Filipi
- Jake Friedman, Research Assistant