The First Annual Symposium on Islam, Dialogue, and Sectarian De-Escalation at the Harvard Kennedy School

Date: 

Sunday, April 15, 2018 (All day)

Location: 

Cgis South, 1730 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
The First Annual Symposium on Islam, Dialogue, and Sectarian De-Escalation at the Harvard Kennedy School has gathered a diversity of voices from leading scholars, religious authorities, civic community leaders, and policymakers alike to push forward analytical understanding and dialogue on the pressing topic of sectarianism in the Muslim world. From the rise of ISIS and militant extremism in the context of an eroding Arab state system to the intensification of the Iran-Saudi cold war in the wake of the nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers, the dire consequences of Shi’a-Sunni sectarianism and conflict—which can tear apart the societies of the Islamic world—have never been greater in modern history.
  • 10:15AM - 11:45AM: Geopolitics in Iran and Iraq 

  • 12:00PM - 2:00PM: Lunch Panel – Resources for Engaging with Difference: Theology, Literature, and the Arts

  • 2:15PM - 3:45PM: Does Theology Matter? Politics and the Role of Religion and Sectarianism in the Contemporary Muslim World

  • 3:45PM: Closing Remarks