Public Lectures

Organized by CISMOR and the Center of Oriental Studies, Cairo University

The 6th International Conference on Values in Religions

Date: 2017/12/02 9:30-17:10
Place: Room RY305, Ryoshin-kan, Imadegawa Campus, Doshisha university
Lecture: Naglaa Rafat Salem (Cairo University)
Gamal Abd elsamia Elshazly (Cairo University)
Mohamed Ahmed Saleh ( Cairo University)
Mohamed Hawary (Ain Shames University)
Mohamed Fawzy Dief (Menoufia University)
Etsuko Katsumata (Doshisha University)
Sik-ping Choi (Bible Seminary of Hong Kong)
Abdulla Galadari (Khalifa University/ Al-Maktoum College)
Caren el-Chawa (Independent Researcher)
Masaki Nagata (Independent Researcher)
Norimasa Fujimoto (Doshisha Univeristy)
Chikako Ikehata (Doshisha University)
S. Jonathon O'Donnell (Aoyama Gakuin University)
Masahiro Shida (Post-Doctral Fellow, Japan Society for the promotion of Science)
Hiroshi Tone (Doshihsa University)
Rehab Abuhajiar (Dosihsha University)
Summary:
On December 2nd 2017 The International Conference on Values in Religions was held in the Ryoshinkan of Doshisha University on the Imadegawa campus. This was part of the annual project that was jointly conducted and sponsored by The Center of Oriental Studies in Cairo.
The theme for the sixth annual symposium that was chosen to be discussed was “Holy Times in Religions” which focused on the sacred dimensions on the passage of time and special events that are commemorated among various religions. Naglaa Rafat Salem who is a professor in the Faculty of Letters in The Center of Oriental Studies, expressed his gratitude towards Doshisha University and the Center for Interdisciplinary Study of Monotheistic Religions which helped prepare and organize the presentations for the conference.
Sixteen participants delivered presentations which is highest number up to this date. A wide ranging group of participants attended from the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, England and Japan.
The symposium was divided into four programs and in each session four participants delivered their presentations. The following is a list of the name of the MCs, presenters and the titles of their presentations.

Session 1 Title: "Holy Times in Prayer" (Chair: Gamal Abd Elsamia Elshazly (Cairo Univ.))
・"Prayer in Judaism," Gamal Abd Elsamia Elshazly
・"Christ Child as Holy Times in Islam - On the reception of Paidika in the Koran," Hiroshi Tone (Doshisha Univ.)
・"Holy Time in the Qur’an," Caren El-Chawa (Independent Researcher)
・"The Holy Time of Boaz - Meeting God in Solitude," Sik-ping Choi (Bible Seminary of Honk Kong)

Session 2 Title: "Prayer in the Holy Day" (Chair: Naglaa Rafat Salem (Cairo Univ.))
・"Sabbath in Judaism," Naglaa Rafat Salem
・"Qur’anic Concept of "Waqt"," Abdulla Galadari (Khalifa Univ./ Al-Maktoum College)
・"Transnational Faith: Early Japanese Free Methodists," Chikako Ikehata (Doshisha Univ.)
・"Using the Pesah rituals in achieving the Palestinian-Israeli rapprochement, a study in "Rachel and Ezekiel" novel by Almog Behar," Mohamed Ahmed Saleh (Cairo Univ.)

Session 3 Title: "Holy Times as Festival" (Chair: Mohamed Hawary (Ain Shames Univ.))
・"Yom Kippur - Day of Atonement in Judaism," Mohamed Hawary
・"Beyond the Age of the Torah: Nahmanides (1194-1270) and Two Polemical Contexts," Masahiro Shida(Post-Doctral Fellow, Japan Society for the promotion of Science)
・"Islamic Rituals in Holy Times," Masaki Nagata (Independent Researcher)
・"Overcoming Jezebel: The 2016 U.S. Election as Sacred Time in American Neo- Charismatic Evangelicalism," S. Jonathon O’Donnell (Aoyama Gakuin University)

Session 4 Title: "Holy Times in the Religious Calendar" (Chair: Etsuko Katsumata (Doshisha Univ.))
・"Interactions among Three Monotheistic Religions through Calendars," Etsuko Katsumata
・"Autonomy and Biomedical Ethics in Islamic Medical Practice: Comparative Case Studies of Jordan and Turkey," Rehab Abuhajiar (Doshisha Univ.)
・"The Problem of the Interreligious Praying in the Grief care," Norimasa Fujimoto (Doshisha Univ.)
・"Fasting time in Judaism and Islam," Mohamed Fawzy Deif (Menoufia Univ.)

As one can observe from these titles, each of the talks focused on the theme “Holy Times in Religion” and moved chronologically forward from ancient times to the present. The theme can be universally observed in Judaism, Christianity, Islam and various other religions for over two thousand years.
The thematic discussions could range from religious regulations within sacred time (focusing on Shabbat and Yorn Kippur) to encounters with God in moments of solitude as is narrated within the Hebrew Bible-especially the Book of Ruth. There was also an analysis of an Iraqi novel about a Jewish individual that narrates the possibility of an Israel-Arab peace settlement while undergoing the rite of Passover. Other talks took a more comprehensive view by comparing the three major religions’ effects on each other. A particular interesting presentation dealt with a medieval rabbi’s analysis on the sacredness of time while awaiting the coming of the Messiah. Another scholar analyzed the role of Islamic regulations in modern medicine while emphasizing the need for independence. The role that the Evangelic movement played during the US presidential election of 2016 was also thought-provoking. There was also an interesting presentation on the inter-religious role of prayer in the grieving process.


Translated by
Jonathan Augustine (Ryukoku University)
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