The Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution (CRDC) is an arm of
George Mason University
George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...
's
. 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
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...
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
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.
[http://www.washingtondiplomat.com/04-12/a1_12_04.html .]
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
Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein ( ar, عبدالله الثاني بن الحسين , translit=ʿAbd Allāh aṯ-ṯānī ibn al-Ḥusayn; born 30 January 1962) is King of Jordan, having ascended the throne on 7 February 1999. He is a member of t ...
of the
Hashemite
The Hashemites ( ar, الهاشميون, al-Hāshimīyūn), also House of Hashim, are the royal family of Jordan, which they have ruled since 1921, and were the royal family of the kingdoms of Hejaz (1916–1925), Syria (1920), and Iraq (1921 ...
Kingdom of
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
and over 60 American rabbis
on September 21, 2005 at the
Ritz-Carlton Hotel
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addit ...
in
Washington, DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
. The event was sponsored by the Embassy of Jordan, and coordinated by the CRDC and Dr. Robert Eisen of
George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
. Since 2016, CRDC has also conducted overseas seminars in Jordan for graduate and undergraduate students that offer the opportunity to conduct fieldwork with Syrian refugees. These seminars were previously hosted in Turkey from 2013 to 2015.
Work in Syria
To promote interfaith dialogue, CRDC co-sponsored a televised debate in
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
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
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is one of the world's most enduring conflicts, beginning in the mid-20th century. Various attempts have been made to resolve the conflict as part of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, alongside other ef ...
or the
war on terror
The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international Counterterrorism, counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campa ...
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 Gopin
Marc Gopin, scholar and practitioner, is the director of the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution (CRDC), and James H. Laue Professor at the School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University Arlington ...
at the
Rumi Forum The Alliance for Shared Values (AfSV) is a New York City, New York-based 501(c)(3), 501(c)(3) nonprofit umbrella organization and major part of the Gülen movement, or ''Hizmet''.
Goals and organization
Having been inspired by Turkish preacher Fe ...
(an emerging group from
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
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
Aziz Abu Sarah (, he, עזיז אבו סארה; b. 1980) is a Palestinian peace activist, journalist, social entrepreneur and politician.
After watching his brother die of internal injuries subsequent to being released from an Israeli jail foll ...
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
:Hind Kabawat, Director of Interfaith Peacebuilding
:Michelle D. Everson, Associate Director
:David Trickett, Ph.D., Senior Fellow
:
Safi Kaskas, Senior Researcher in Islam and Multifaith Reconciliation
:Katrien Hertog, Research Fellow
:Samuel Rizk, Senior Research Associate
External links
Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution
References
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George Mason University
Organizations established in 2003
2003 establishments in Virginia