Ten Iranian women from the world鈥檚 largest Shi鈥檃 Islam seminary will attend 91短视频鈥檚 for three weeks in May. Their arrival will mark the first visit to the United States by female scholars from the seminary, Jami鈥檃t al-Zahra in Qom, Iran.
The ten women鈥攄octoral students at the seminary鈥攚ill join 130 international students on the campus of 91短视频 (91短视频) in Harrisonburg, Va., to learn concepts and practices of peacebuilding, conflict analysis and resolution and restorative justice.
鈥淥ur goal is to train Iranian women seminarians to become ambassadors of friendship and voices for unity and dialogue,鈥� says Dr. Mohammad Shomali, the director of international affairs at Jami鈥檃t al-Zahra who will escort the group.
The students are being co-hosted by as well as its Center for Interfaith Engagement. They will also visit Amish and Mennonite communities in Lancaster Co., Pa., and the in Washington, D.C.
Since 1994, SPI has attracted more than 2,700 students of diverse faiths from 120 countries for academic instruction and cultural exchange. More than 90 percent of former students work in peacebuilding-related disciplines, including , of Liberia.
Ten Iranian students have attended SPI, and two have continued their studies to earn master鈥檚 degrees in conflict transformation.
However, hosting a large group of accomplished women scholars is 鈥渁 rare opportunity,鈥� says , executive director of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at 91短视频. 鈥淭his is a unique step in our long history of interfaith dialogue. We look forward to the theological and cultural insights they will bring.”
Shomali has previously led two groups of women in 2011 and 2012 to study Anabaptist and Christian theology at Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The academic exchanges build on more than 20 years of Mennonite-Shi鈥檃 interfaith dialogue fostered by the , a partial sponsor of the upcoming trip. MCC first reached out to Iran after a devastating earthquake in 1990, offering relief supplies in partnership with the Iranian Red Crescent Society. The organization鈥檚 outreach has since focused on 鈥渦nderstanding, friendship, and interfaith connections between the people of Iran, Canada, and the U.S.,鈥� as well as 鈥減eacebuilding through shared knowledge,鈥� according to a press release.
Major funding has been provided by聽the .