Hartford Seminary to Clear the Allegations by Turkish Media
Today, inaccurate information about our agreement with Dr. Ali Bayram regarding a faculty chair in contemporary Islamic issues has appeared in some Turkish media. This statement is a brief explanation of Hartford Seminary and our commitment to dialogue and interreligious understanding:
Hartford Seminary is an ecumenical, interfaith seminary dedicated to dialogue.
In its mission statement, Hartford Seminary states plainly that it openly explores differences and commonalities among religions. This contrasts with our past of 100 years ago, when the Seminary spoke of the supremacy of the Christian faith and sought to spread the Word through mission work abroad. For more than 50 years, the Seminary has appreciated other religions. We understand the importance of dialogue and interreligious understanding. After all, we are all one under God and we believe in the universality of man.
Hartford Seminary was the first Seminary to appoint a Muslim to its core faculty. This professor, Ibrahim Abu-Rabi, is co-director of the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations. It has published the Muslim World since 1938, a journal dedicated to Christian-Muslim understanding. The book editor of the Muslim World is a Muslim. The Muslim World has published many articles by distinguished Turkish scholars, and also published special issues on Islamic issues and dialogue in Turkey.
On the Seminary's faculty today is Ingrid Mattson, the first female president of the Islamic Society of North America. She is director of the Islamic Chaplaincy Program, the only accredited training program for Muslim chaplains in the United States. Her associate director is Abdullah Antepli, one of many Muslim students at Hartford Seminary. Just recently the Seminary signed a memorandum of understanding with the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore to provide training in interfaith relations to Muslims and Christian in Singapore.
We are proud to host many Turkish students and scholars who have been studying Islam and Christian-Muslim relations at Hartford Seminary. In addition, the Seminary has a partnership with Turkey's Ministry of Religious Affairs. The Minister, Mehmet Aydin, and other ministry officials recently visited Hartford Seminary, and we are finalizing a student exchange through which the ministry will endorse students from Turkey to come to the Seminary to study interfaith dialogue.
In many of our documents we promote dialogue and turn away from mission. For example, in our values statement we say that we are committed to the love of God and love of stranger. We also say that we affirm our historic and continuing commitment to Christian-Muslim dialogue and commit to further dialogue with Judaism and other religious traditions.
Hartford Seminary is in conversation with Dr. Ali Bayram since 1999. We have been in conversation with him on a variety of matters, and have received students from Turkey and welcomed scholars to do research here. This intended chair in contemporary Islamic issues extends our cooperation with Dr. Bayram, who, like us, is committed to understanding and peace. The study of Islam is especially important at this time, and this intended chair will allow us to offer precedent-setting research and teaching on contemporary Islam as it is lived out in the world today.
It is unfortunate that this important initiation of Dr. Ali Bayram is being misunderstood right at the agreement stage. Hartford Seminary and Dr Ali Bayram only signed an agreement at this moment. This agreement is to intend to carry out mentioned academic and scholarly activities if Dr Bayram succeeds in finding sponsors to support the idea. It is not true that Hartford Seminary received any money so far for this intended chair endowment. Any respected journalism should base on true facts.
I will be in Turkey in a few days and pleased to discuss this matter at that time.
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