AN INTERIM REPORT

Prepared by the staff of
The Kahlil Gibran Chair for Values and Peace Project
On the activities of the Director of the Kahlil Gibran Chair for Values and Peace Project, Professor Suheil Bushrui of The Center for Heritage Resource Studies, Senior Scholar (of Peace Studies) at The Center for International Development and Conflict Management, and Senior
Scholar at The Academy of Leadership.

***

Would that I could be the peacemaker in your soul, that
I might turn the discord and the rivalry of your
elements into oneness and melody.
But how shall I, unless you yourselves be also the peace-
makers, nay, the lovers of all your elements?

-- from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

Contents

G-8 Summit Meeting, Heiligendamm, Germany

The G8 members are Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, the United States of America, Canada (since 1976) and Russia (since 1998). The European Commission is also represented at all the meetings. The annual summits are the most visible element of the G8 process. "Growth and responsibility" are the central themes of Germany's G8 presidency. Shaping globalization and helping Africa to develop will be key focuses of the meeting in Heiligendamm. Consequently the key issues raised at the Heiligendamm meeting of the G8, between June 6th and 8th of this year, were: shaping globalization and helping Africa to develop.

In 2006, Professor Suheil Bushrui was invited with a group of eminent ethical and spiritual leaders to participate in “The Power of Dignity,” a project run by one of Europe’s most distinguished organizations, Germany’s Congress of Protestant Churches. As part of the project, which aims to draw attention to, and initiate discussions on many of the ignored aspects of globalization, each member of the group was invited to contribute a chapter to a special book entitled The Power of Dignity – Redrawing the Global Design, which was submitted to the G-8 Summit Meeting, at Heiligendamm, Germany between 6 and 8 June 2007. Professor Bushrui’s contribution to the book is entitled “The Spiritual Foundation of a Global Ethic: A Bahá’í Perspective.”

Some of the other contributors included: HH the Dalai Lama, Mikhail Gorbachev, HRH Prince Hassan, and the Nobel Laureate Professor Mohamed Younes. Some of the other contributors to this very prestigious and important project are the following: H.H. The XIV Dalai Lama of Tibet; Former President Michail Gorbatschow of the USSR, President Earth Charta Foundation; H.R.H. Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, President Club of Rome; Dr. Muhammad Younes of Bangladesh, Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize; Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches; Dr. Benito Ferrero-Waldner, Member of the European Commission in charge of external relations; Dr. Erhard Eppler, Former Federal Minister; Dr. Amartya Sen, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics; Dr. Franz Josef Radermacher, Global Marshall Plan Initiative; Dr. Ashok Gangadean, World Commission on Planetary Consciousness; Dr. Klaus Töpfer, Former Director UN Environment Programme; Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize; Dr. Riane Eisler, Women’s Rights Activist.

Washington, DC: InterFaith Bridge Builder Award

On June 6, 2007 Professor Bushrui was awarded the InterFaith Bridge Builder Award by the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington. There were over 300 people representing the diverse religious communities of Washington, DC, and the audience included religious leaders, Ambassadors and members of the House of Representatives. The event took place at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, DC. Prior to the presentation of the awards, a private dialogue was organized with Dr. Robert Edgar, Dr. Tara Brach, and the Most Rev. Donald Wuerl. This dialogue centered on the importance of interfaith solidarity and the question of how best can faith be presented in the public place. The award was made in recognition of Professor Bushrui’s leadership in the interfaith activities locally and nationally… as well as in his accomplishments in the Bahá’í community.

Istanbul, Turkey: Young President’s Organization Family University 2007

More than 11,000 young global business leaders in more than 90 nations rely on one exclusive peer network that connects them to exchange ideas, pursue learning and share strategies to achieve personal and professional growth and success.
With thousands of unique local, regional and international education opportunities annually, Young Presidents’ Organization compels dialogue among members and creates unparalleled access to the world’s foremost experts, heads of state and thought leaders to explore diverse issues.
Nobel Laureate Nelson Mandela, U.S. Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, His Royal Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan and Revolutionary Leader Fidel Castro are examples of world leaders who have carved time from their schedules to meet YPOers and share lessons in what it means to be a global leader…
For five decades, YPO has transcended geographic, language and cultural barriers to set the standard for lifelong learning, collaboration across borders and innovation to address the challenges young leaders face every day.
From July 7-12, 2007 Professor Bushrui participated in the YPO Family University in Istanbul, Turkey. As a featured speaker, he lectured on the topics of peace and tolerance, conflict resolution, interreligious and intercultural reconciliation as well as presentations on The Enduring Legacy Kahlil Gibran.

The Istanbul Family University education program this summer took advantage of the history and geography of a dynamic region where East meets West, ancient meets modern, religious meets secular. The objective of the Istanbul experience have been to impart 30 centuries of ideas and examine their impact on modern thought and civilization; to use this information to improve the understanding of the young leaders of today and tomorrow’s worlds; and to grasp continuities and contrasts, both in the culture at large and in the personal lives of participants, to reach a higher level of knowledge and enrichment.

The YPO administration invited leading experts in a variety of disciplines to contribute to the Educational Programme which included Business/Geopolitics; Arts; History/Human Achievement; Personal Development/Family; and Religion/Literature/Philosophy. The last category included the following: Karen Armstrong, religion commentator and author of, among others, A History of God, Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths and The Battle for God; Suheil Badi Bushrui, Kahlil Gibran chair for values and Peace Project, University of Maryland; Talat Halman, professor and chairman of the department of Turkish literature and first minister of culture of the Turkish Republic; Yildiz Kenter, prominent stage actress, established Turkey’s leading independent theater; David O’Connor, associate professor of philosophy and classics at Notre Dame; Chris Rainier, a National Geographic Society photographer, who ranks as one of American Photo magazine’s 100 most influential photographers working today; Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader to 300 million Orthodox Christians world-wide, who has worked for reconciliation of Christian churches and supported Orthodox countries emerging from religious persecution behind the Iron Curtain.

The Family University of Istanbul was attended by more then seven hundred fifty participants representing several generations both old and young. The University Administration paid Professor Bushrui special honor by selecting two of his books The Wisdom of the Arabs and The Essential Gibran to be a special gift from the University Administration to each of the families participating in this event.

Limassol, Cyprus: International Arts Conference 2007

From June 23-29, 2007 Professor Bushrui lectured at the Cyprus International Arts Conference which was attended by four hundred and fifty participants representing forty five different countries. As the main speaker he delivered daily lectures on a number of topics including two special presentations: “An Evening with Rumi,” and “The Enduring Legacy of Kahlil Gibran.”

Private Roundtable Discussion with His Excellency, Girma Wolde-Giorgis, President of Ethiopia

On March 13, 2007, Professor Bushrui was invited to a private roundtable discussion with His Excellency, Girma Wolde-Giorgis, President of Ethiopia. The event was hosted by the Institute on Religion and Public Policy in coordination with the United States Institute of Peace and the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding.

College Park, MD: The Second Arab-American History Conference

On December 7 to 9, 2007 the Arab American History Conference will hold its second annual conference at the Inn and Conference Center, University College, University Maryland. The Arab American Historical Foundation, under whose auspices the conference is being held, has invited Professor Suheil Bushrui to organize and chair the Conference at Maryland. The Conference program will include a variety of panels addressing the importance of collecting, preserving, disseminating and perpetuating Arab-American history, with a specific emphasis on the cultural and literary contribution to that history. The Arab-American Historical Foundation was established in 1978 in Los Angeles by Joseph R. Haiek. It is a non-profit organization dedicated to promote conservation and dissemination of Arab-American history. It also publishes a quarterly journal under the title The Arab American Historian.

Columbus, Ohio: Annual Conference of The Interfaith Association of Central Ohio

The keynote address of the conference was delivered by Professor Suheil Bushrui under the title “Our Spiritual Heritage.” More than three hundred participants attended the event representing members of Ohio’s religious communities, including Bahá’ís, Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, Jains, Jews, and Sikhs. A special citation of recognition was issued by the Mayor of the city of Columbus, Ohio, which included the following statement: “…whereas, the Association’s Main Even luncheon will be held on August 26, 2007 at the Confluence Park Restaurant with Dr. Suheil Bushrui, Founder and Director of the University of Maryland’s Kahlil Gibran Chair for Values and Peace Project speaking on the topic of ‘Our Spiritual Heritage;’ and now therefore, I, Michael B. Coleman, Mayor of the City of Columbus, Ohio, do hereby issue this citation of Recognition as: Interfaith Understanding Day and urge all members of our community to join in recognition of this significant occasion and the achievement above mentioned.”

Essays on the Alliance of Civilizations
General Editors Suheil Bushrui and David Cadman

In July 2005, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced a new initiative called the “Alliance of Civilizations.” Initially co-sponsored by the prime ministers of Spain and Turkey, the Alliance of Civilizations has a mandate “to bridge divides and overcome prejudice, misconceptions, misperceptions, and polarization which potentially threaten world peace.”

The founders of the Alliance have expressed particular concern about the apparently widening breach between Western and Islamic societies. They have, therefore, emphasized the need for a countervailing movement based on respect for all religions and recognition of humanity’s fundamental interdependence. On a practical level, the Alliance of Civilizations has formed a secretariat and has empanelled a High-Level Group to provide guidance on a series of inter-civilizational and intercultural initiatives. The secretariat of the Alliance of Civilizations has a mandate to establish partnerships with educational and civil society programs that are working to advance the cause of inter-cultural dialogue.

In support of the Alliance of Civilizations, Professor Suheil Bushrui (University of Maryland) and Professor David Cadman (The Temenos Academy) will serve as general editors of a series of papers to be published under the auspices of the Center for Heritage Resource Studies at the University of Maryland.

The editors have inaugurated the series—Essays on the Alliance of Civilizations—with a paper by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales entitled “Religion: The Ties That Bind,” which has been published with his gracious permission. Subsequent essays will be released annually.

College Park, Maryland: Landmark Award for Distinguished International Service

Professor Bushrui was selected to receive the 2007 University of Maryland Landmark Award for distinguished international service. The award will be at a special ceremony on November 15, 2007.

International Association for the Study of the Life and Works of Kahlil Gibran

The International Association for the Study of the Life and Works of Kahlil Gibran was established on the 10th of April 2006 – the seventy-fifth anniversary of the passing of Kahlil Gibran, with Professor Suheil Bushrui as the Founder-President.

A legally constituted Steering Committee, whose main function is to prepare for the First Annual General Meeting sometime in the near future, will soon be formed. The Poet Henri Zoghaib, Director of the Center for Lebanese Heritage, has been invited to act as Co-Coordinator with special responsibilities for Lebanon and the Arab world.

The announcement of this initiative received worldwide international attention and support.

Publications

This list does not include the long list of publications of books and articles in Arabic and English. What follows are the most recent publications to date.

Selected Speeches and Articles of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. Edited by Suheil Bushrui and David Cadman. The University of Maryland: Center for Heritage Resource Studies, 2006.
An Arabic translation of this book will be published in 2008 by al-Saqi Books (Beirut, Lebanon).

Gibran on Love. Compiled and Edited by Suheil Bushrui. Oxford: Oneworld, 2007.

The Essential Gibran. Compiled and Edited by Suheil Bushrui. Oxford: Oneworld, 2007.

Dinullahi Wahid (One Common Faith). Translated into Arabic by Suheil Bushrui. Beirut: al-Saqi, 2007.

Forthcoming:

The Spiritual Heritage of the Human Race: An Introduction to Interfaith Studies and Interreligious Dialogue by Suheil Bushrui and Mehrdad Massoudi in collaboration with Michael Dravis, James Madaio, and Michael Russo. Oxford: Oneworld, 2008. This textbook, and its accompanying University of Maryland Honors course taught under the auspices of the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace, was the recipient of the first Temple of Understanding Interfaith Education Award for outstanding work in the field of interfaith education.

The World’s Favorite Love Poems. Compiled and Edited by Suheil Bushrui. Oxford: Oneworld, 2008.

Encyclopedia Entries:

Article by Suheil Bushrui entitled “The Bahá’í Faith” in The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics 2nd Edition (2007) edited Keith Brown.

Article by Suheil Bushrui entitled “Kahlil Gibran, 1883 – 1931” in The Dictionary of Arab Literary Biography Volume IV (1850 – 1950) edited by Roger Allen and to be published in 2008.