Munir Jiwa

Participants for the Center for Jewish Studies' and Center for Islamic Studies' annual Madrasa-Midrasha Day of Learning gathered at Easton Hall o

At a September 17 event, GTU President James Donahue and CIS Director Munir Jiwa spoke against the violence perpetuated in Libya and Egypt, actions which spawned protests around the world, following the circulation of a 14-minute movie trailer maligning the Prophet Muhammad. They addressed a full-house alongside of Hatem Bazian, UC Berkeley and Zaytuna College; Zaid Shakir, Zaytuna College; and Hamza Yusuf Hanson, Zaytuna College. Hanson is also a doctoral student at the GTU. The panel was moderated by journalist Sandy Tolan.

With few counterparts, the Center for Islamic Studies (CIS) offers graduate students and scholars, Muslim and those of other faith traditions, the opportunity to pursue the academic study of Islam, within the multireligious context of the GTU, where pluralism, dialogue and interreligious understanding are the basis of scholarship and service. It also provides a community for Muslim students throughout the consortium regardless of academic interests.

Literary critics and theologians often talk about "interpretive communities" and "capable readers." Who has the ability--and even the right--to interpret a text, especially a sacred text that bears authority in a particular religious tradition?

Last month I participated in a weeklong interreligious Theology Conference at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem along with Naomi Seidman (Director, Center for Jewish Studies), Munir Jiwa (Director, Center for Islamic Studies), and Nargis Virani (visiting faculty, Center for Islamic Studies). The theme of the conference was “What makes a good person?” Small groups involving participants from all three traditions studied key sacred texts together, working both in the original languages and in English translation.

June 7, 2010 - In the framework of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) Intellectual Watch series, Dr. Munir Jiwa, the founding Director and Assistant Professor at the Center for Islamic Studies at the Graduate Theological Union, presents his latest research and engages in a discussion on Muslim cultural producers — comedians, performers, musicians, visual artists... — who put into question the divide between the secular and the religious.