I extend a warm welcome from Nazareth College, as we join together in the Sacred Texts and Human Context Virtual Conference, offered by the Hickey Center for Interfaith Studies and the IIIT Chair for Interfaith Studies.

The Hickey Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue and the work of the IIIT Chair for Interfaith Studies epitomize Nazareth College's founding commitment to being an agent – through holistic education – of social innovation, social progress and social justice. We are a community that celebrates and convenes people of all faiths, with the abiding believe that it is through interfaith understanding and relationship building that our world will flourish.

The power and beauty of this conference, and the vital work of the Hickey Center and IIIT Chair, is in crossing barriers and boundaries, bringing together an array of faiths, life experiences and perspectives. Together, we open ourselves to authentic dialogue, active listening and deep learning. We work together for the vital purpose of deepening understanding and developing peaceful ways to cross the divides that are ravaging our global community.

I am grateful for all involved in creating this conference, and grateful to all who will open themselves to being teachers and learners for our shared growth and peaceful progress.

Dr. Beth Paul

President, Nazareth College

As Executive Director of the Hickey Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue and Chair of the IIIT Interfaith Studies at Nazareth College, I thank you for participating in our Conference on Sacred Texts and Human Contexts: Mystical Traditions and Peaceful Coexistence. It was scheduled in Rome, Italy but COVID-19 forced us to go virtual. Your response to the Conference was awesome and we hope that the Conference will provide an opportunity for a fruitful conversation and thoughtful deliberation in raising awareness and educating people on the role of Mystical Traditions in peaceful coexistence. We hope that together you will make this conference rich with opportunities to learn, explore, connect and thus create a roadmap for productive interfaith dialogue on mystical and religious issues.

This is our 6th Conference on Sacred Texts and Human Contexts. The first one on Sacred Texts of Judaism, Christianity and Islam in Uniting and Dividing community was in 2013 and the Conference selected papers that were published with a book titled, Sacred Texts & Human Contexts: A North American Response to the Common Word between US and You. Our 2nd conference was in Istanbul, Turkey in 2014 on Wealth and Poverty in the Sacred Texts of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and the selected papers were published by Palgrave Press in 2016. Our 3rd one was on Nature and Environment in Religions and selected papers were published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing in 2017. The fourth one was on Women and Gender in Religions and selected papers were published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing in 2019, titled: Making Gender in the Intersection of the Human and the Divine. The 5th one was on Religions and (De)legitimization of Violence in 2018 and the selected papers were published titled: The (De)legitimization of Violence in Sacred and Human Contexts by Palgrave in 2021.

The interfaith movement is the next major social movement of the 21st century, a movement that can build bridges of peaceful coexistence. Nazareth College is pleased to take leadership and initiative in this area as well, and we are proud that our city created the first official interfaith agreements in the country between the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities.

Today interfaith is a social justice movement of racial, gender, ethnic, spiritual and religious equity. It is a bridge building movement of moderation between right and left extremes to restore harmony and cooperation. We used to talk about the so-called 3rd world countries lacking a dialogical approach to matters of dispute, but today we see the so called advanced nations in technology and science, including the United States and the Western Europe, are suffering from national tribalism and various extreme waves challenging its very civil foundations. Interfaith dialogue and its education is the healing way to social justice issues to meet with our world's contemporary challenges and I am thankful to all of you in this civil and sacred endeavor.

I thank Nazareth College and our donors for entrusting me this position as well as the Conference Planning Committee and our students for their tireless work and efforts to offer you this momentous experience. Thank you and best wishes to you all.

Muhammad Shafiq, PhD
Professor and Executive Director
Hickey Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue
IIIT Chair for Interfaith Studies
Nazareth College

Welcome to Sacred Texts and Human Contexts Symposium 2021

We are pleased that Nazareth College, Hickey Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue has organized a virtual International Conference on Mystical Traditions: Approaches to Peaceful coexistence, May 24, and 25, 2021. We hope it will generate critical and fruitful conversation. For the past several decades, we have known Nazareth as a place where respect for religious and cultural diversity has been at the forefront of the College’s mission and vision.

We are strongly committed to the idea that the work of the global interfaith movement is not only the concern of religious leaders; it is relevant in the spheres of business, education, and the civic community at large. It is in this spirit that we are excited to welcome this conference of religious and social sciences academics, business and interfaith leaders, and student leaders from across the world and across the spectrum of religious traditions.

We believe that together we can work toward a new awakening in interfaith understanding, peaceful coexistence, and cooperation.

Sincerely,

Brian and Jean Hickey

Welcome to the Sacred Texts and Human Contexts Conference,

The Department of Religious Studies at Hobart and William Smith Colleges is pleased to co-sponsor the Sacred Texts and Human Contexts Conference on "Mystical Traditions: Approaches to Peaceful Coexistence" held on May 24-25, 2021. A huge body of scholarship on mystical dimensions of religious traditions attests to their rich intellectual discourse and experiential praxis on peace and peacemaking efforts. We hope that this conference will facilitate critical, creative, and meaningful conversations about various mystical visions and approaches to peace across traditions. Thus, this conference will contribute to the mainstreaming of peace narratives of various religions both in preventing and mitigating wars and violent conflicts and in maintaining values and structures that affirm the potentials and well-being of each other.

We would like to thank the Hickey Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue for organizing this conference and everyone who contributes to making this event a success.

Sincerely,
Shalahudin Kafrawi
Chair of Religious Studies
Hobart and William Smith Colleges