The Rumi Forum presented "Religion Builds Peace in the Holy Land" with Dr. Yehuda Stolov, Executive Director of the Interfaith Encounter Association

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Religion is usually perceived as the biggest obstacle for peace but once you question this assumption you will realize that religion can and should be the strongest driving force for peace. The Interfaith Encounter Association (IEA) works to promote genuine coexistence and sustainable peace, through joint community building on the grassroots level, using interactive interfaith dialogue as its vehicle. The a-political and all-inclusive approach of the organization and its activities continuously form the human infrastructure for peace in the Holy Land. In its eight years of existence, the IEA have held more than 700 programs, with thousands of participants – from across the political and religious spectra, most of them encountering 'the other' for their first time. The IEA have formed till now 31 on-going community-groups of interfaith encounter – from the Upper Galilee to Eilat, including 4 Israeli-Palestinian groups, with Palestinians from the West Bank. During 2008, IEA successfully organized 150 programs that included more than 4,000 participants, from all social sectors. For its work the IEA has been recognized and awarded by: UNESCO, the Immortal Chaplains Foundation, the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding, Institute for Interreligious Studies, the World Movement for Global Democracy and the Israeli Presidential Conference.

Yehuda Stolov is the executive director of the Interfaith Encounter Association, an organization that strives to establish a framework for peace in Israel and the Middle East by fostering mutual respect among individuals and communities through interfaith dialogue. Dr. Stolov has lectured on the role of religious dialogue in peace-building throughout the world, including Jordan, Indonesia, Turkey, South Korea and Europe. In 2006, he was awarded the Immortal Chaplains Foundation Prize for Humanity, which honors those who "risked all to protect others of a different faith or ethnic origin." Among other activities, Dr. Stolov was a member of the steering committee for the United Nations Decade of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace. He holds a B.S. and an M.Sc. in Physics and a Ph.D. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Moderator :

Sarah Hasan is Founder and President of oneblue.org and a freelance journalist who covers State Department and other news in the Washington, DC area. She meets regularly with community leaders, scholars and business entities to foster and develop intercultural and religious awareness. An integral part of her work at oneblue.org consists of providing outreach to Muslim communities for entities such as PBS/WETA, foreign news media and the State Department. Sarah is currently developing an interactive internet website project surrounding America and Islam as her main project at oneblue.org. She has served as a member of the Women's Empowerment Action Team on Education at the State Department led by Ambassador Shireen Tahir-Kheli, where she was involved in suggesting and discussing ways media can be used to make education more accessible to women and girls around the world and especially in Muslim countries. Sarah completed her A' Levels in History and Economics in Kuwait and graduated with a triple major in Economics, Political Science and International Studies from Southern Methodist University. Sarah currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Women's Centre a non-profit counseling and resource facility that addresses the personal, professional, legal and financial concerns of women and their families.

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