Wednesday Morning Plenary Session
The Divided Times Discourse will focus on the fallout from the Israel/Palestine conflict, specifically its effects on Jewish and Muslim communities in the United States and Europe. Centering on the diasporic context, the presenters will further illuminate how and why Jewish-Muslim relations (entailing a long history of intellectual, theological and social entanglements) should not be reduced to the conflict. They will further engage with these relations, both in terms of the conflict and beyond it, as a means to establish a discursive culture in democratic societies, highlighting a “third space”, that is a space between supposedly binary positions. Through this discussion, they will address forms of hate and exclusion, such as antisemitism and Islamophobia, which threaten to undermine democratic culture and unity.
Meet The Speakers
Elisabeth Becker-Topkara
T1W 2024 Presenter
Elisabeth Becker-Topkara is a sociologist, currently a Freigeist Fellow/assistant professor at Heidelberg University and a Faculty Fellow at the Yale Center for Cultural Sociology. Her research and writing focus on the experiences of Jews and Muslims in the United States, Europe, and Israel-Palestine, Jewish-Muslim relations, as well as debunking Islamophobia and antisemitism. She is the author of the book Mosques in the Metropolis and writes for newspapers and magazines such as the Washington Post, Religion and Politics, and Tablet Magazine, where she was a journalism fellow. She has collaborated with many non-profits, including the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, as the principal investigator of the Muslims for American Progress New York City project and the New America Foundation. She also leads a project called Inscribing Plurality, which supports emerging Muslim and Jewish writers with the hope of pluralizing the voices that we hear.
Ufuk Topkara
T1W 2024 Presenter
Ufuk Topkara is a Muslim theologian and Assistant Professor for Comparative Theology in Islamic Perspective at the Berlin Institute for Islamic Theology, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin. Dr. Topkara’s research brings Islamic theology into discourse with Judaism, Christianity, and Modern Philosophy. He has been active in promoting inter-religious dialogue since 2005. Dr. Topkara was a Tour Guide at the Jewish Museum of Berlin from 2005-2015. He worked in the US House of Representatives as a Humanity in Action-Lantos Fellow in Washington D.C. Dr. Topkara is additionally trained as a Muslim chaplain and has worked extensively as an imam in mosque communities, serving multi-ethnic religious communities. Furthermore, Dr. Topkara has worked in inter-religious affairs, holding an MA in German-Jewish History from the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin and doctoral-level training in comparative theology. He is the author of two books, Outlining a contemporary philosophical Theology in Islam: The Refinement of Character (Springer Publishing) and Happiness, Justice, and Friendship in Miskawayh’s Tahdib al-Ahlaq (Routledge Press).