Many Religions, One Community: Lessons from Islamic Spain for Today’s World

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Many Religions, One Community: Lessons from Islamic Spain for Today’s World

This interfaith dialogue in Washington, D.C., was conducted with discussion materials using Public Agenda's Choicework method to help citizens understand and weigh the options on community issues and public policy decisions.

More than 70 people turned out in Washington, D.C., to participate in the first event of a community dialogue initiative called “Many Religions, One Community: Lessons from Islamic Spain for Today’s World.”

The initiative is a joint project of Public Agenda and 20,000 Dialogues to help citizens across the country engage in meaningful community dialogues about the past, present and future of interfaith relations.

The debut community dialogue event, held on March 9, 2009, was sponsored by the Middle East Institute, a nonprofit educational organized founded in 1946 to promote knowledge of the Middle East in America and strengthen understanding of the United States by the people and governments of the region.

Held at the Rumi Forum, a center dedicated to fostering interfaith and intercultural dialogue, the event began with a shared meal. Participants then watched Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain, a documentary by Unity Productions Foundation initially broadcast on PBS. The film tells a story of vital importance for our contemporary world about the achievements and ultimate failures of a centuries-long period when Muslims, Christians and Jews coexisted and built a society that lit the Dark Ages.

Following the screening, participants broke into small discussion groups and, with assistance from trained facilitators, engaged in rousing conversations about the current state of and future possibilities for interfaith relations.

Discussion participants used Public Agenda’s signature Choicework methodology for community dialogue to get the conversation rolling. The Choicework discussion guide for this initiative offers three contrasting views of the lessons that can be drawn from this historical period and its implications for religious pluralism today.

To learn more about the “Many Religions, One Community” initiative, or to sign up to host your own community dialogue, visit 20000dialogues.org or contact McKenna Morrigan, Public Engagement Program Manager at Public Agenda, at (212) 686-6610 x52 or mmorrigan@publicagenda.org.

Some thoughts from event participants: