From Abraham’s angels to Europe’s refugees: the ethic and challenge of hospitality

A program of the Encountering Islam Initiative, and co-sponsored by the Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies, the Department of Theology presents the fifth annual Terence Nichols Memorial Symposium. Dr. Fuad Naeem will introduce Dr. Mona Siddiqui.

Professor Mona Siddiqui is an internationally recognised academic and broadcaster at the University of Edinburgh. She is Professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies as well as Assistant Principal for Religion and Society.

Religious and philosophical traditions have extolled hospitality a fundamental ethic in human relationships. Abraham is said to have inspired a theology of hospitality often echoed in Jewish, Christian and Islamic literature, one which has frequently been used as a framework for interreligious dialogue. But hospitality is more than an act of charity or simple welcome; it is an obligation which demands transformation of the self and society. Today, the effects of globalization, increased migration and conflicts have led to the vast displacement of people towards Europe. This has reignited the question of who should be made welcome and forced many to rethink the category of stranger, guest and neighbor.