The meeting was concentrated and full, and also the first opportunity to welcome Rachel de Boor, our the newest IAF steering committee member. Dr. Frederek Musall, who will continue supporting IAF as a consultant, joined the group in Heppenheim as well.
The meeting was held in the prestigious Martin Buber House, headquarters of the ICCJ. The upcoming 2020 ICCJ conference in Bratislava was part of the agenda, and the IAF honed its preparation for a plenary and a workshop focused on the question of whether one can truly consider Abraham to be the “father” of the three major monotheistic traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam (stay tuned!).
On the afternoon of January 20, the group left for the University of Frankfurt to attend a lecture offered by IAF steering committee chair, Prof. Reuven Firestone, entitled “Born into a Violent World: The Birth-pangs of Religion and their Impact on Religious Relations”. This lecture was part of the Martin Buber Ringvorlesung series on Religion & Violence at Goethe University in Frankfurt.
Tuesday January 21 was dedicated entirely to planning and further brainstorming about the next project for which the IAF was commissioned (and that will soon be announced). For that reflection, the steering committee was privileged to receive the valuable support and consultancy of Prof. Ilona Nord from the Institute of Evangelical Theology and Pedagogy of Religion at the University of Würzburg.
