The Inaugural Al-Alwani Lecture

"Washington as a Site for Muslim-Christian Encounter"
Dr. Richard J. Jones

"Two Generations of Islamic Scholarship for Interreligious Understanding"
Dr. Zainab Alwani

Friends:

I must confess to being a bit nervous as I was preparing for the initial lecture to be given by Dr. Richard Jones, holder of the Al-Alwani Chair for the Consortium on Thursday evening March 11th. I was wondering--who would come, would the Alwani family be pleased with the outcome, would Dr. Jones put the finishing touches on well?....

My worries were groundless.

The Alwani family, along with other dinner guests, came early to the Virginia Theological Seminary. We had a chance to meet and talk and get to know each other a bit better--of course we were disappointed that Professor Alwani could not come from Egypt, his current home, to be with us. But we did have a good time. Shortly before seven-thirty,we went to the auditorium.

A number of distinguished Muslim and Christian leaders were awaiting us as we appeared as were faculty members from VTS and students interested in Muslim-Christian relations.

Dr. Jones' Inaugural lecture, complete with a map of our region was very well received. Our former Board Chair, Mr. James Lowe, later remarked how on how personal and engaging--as well as informative--his whole talk was.

Dr. Zainab Alwani, daughter of Sheik Alwani, spoke for the family--and gave a wonderful overview of how her father came to his scholarly and legal views.

Both presentations can be found on the Consortium Website, http://www.washtheocon.org/.

It turned out to be a most satisfying evening--the beginning of a special contribution to mutual understanding by the Consortium.

Peace,
John