CATHOLICISM

Fallout: the pope and Islam

IN THE NORTHEAST
• The Alliance for Jewish-Christian-Muslim Understanding was created after Sept. 11, 2001, to build understanding across the three faiths. It’s based in Lexington, Mass. See a list of contacts from all three faiths.

IN THE EAST
• Shireen T. Hunter is director of the Carnegie Project on Reformist Islam at Georgetown University. She is also a distinguished scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where she directed the Islam Program from 1998 to 2005. She is author of The Future of Islam and the West: Clash of Civilizations or Peaceful Coexistence? (Praeger/CSIS, 1998), among other books. Contact 202-687-8205, sth23@georgetown.edu.
• Diana Hayes, professor of systematic theology at Georgetown University, gave an opening speech at Sisters, a conference on the role of women’s leadership in Catholicism and Islam, in 2003. The conference took place at the Catholic Theological Union. It began on the first day of the war in Iraq. Contact Hayes at 202-687-4515, hayesd@georgetown.edu.
• Omid Safi is an assistant professor of philosophy and religion at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y. He edited Progressive Muslims: On Justice, Gender, and Pluralism (Oneworld Publications, 2003). Contact 315-228-7690, osafi@mail.colgate.edu.
• Christopher Bellitto is an assistant professor of history at Kean University in New Jersey, where he teaches a course on the papacy. His most recent book is Ten Ways the Church Has Changed (Pauline Books and Media, 2006). He has also written many articles on Catholicism and is a regular television commentator on Vatican stories. Contact 914-584-3961 (cell), cbellitt@kean.edu.
• Yvonne Y Haddad is professor of the history of Islam and Muslim-Christian relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Contact 202-687-2575, haddady@georgetown.edu.
• The Buxton Initiative works to encourage dialogue among people of different faiths, particularly young people and particularly Muslims and Christians. Its Young Leaders Program brings young Christian and Muslims together, and each year the Buxton Initiatives selects a Christian and Muslim intern who work together. The program was initiated by Akbar Ahmed, the noted Muslim scholar, and Ambassador J. Douglas Holladay. Contact 202-467-2070, buildingbridges@gmail.com.

IN THE SOUTHEAST
• John-Peter Pham is director of the William R. Nelson Institute for International and Public Affairs James Madison University in Virginia. He is a former Vatican diplomat who worked under John Paul II and is author of Heirs of the Fisherman: Behind the Scenes of Papal Death and Succession (Oxford University Press, 2004). Pham is a frequent commentator on papal politics and processes. Contact 540-568-2281, phamjp@jmu.edu.
• The Rev. Joseph Fessio is a former student of Cardinal Ratzinger and remains a confidant of the pope. Fessio is a widely quoted promoter and defender of Benedict and of conservative Catholic views. Fessio founded Ignatius Press but now serves as provost of Ave Maria University in Florida, where he also teaches theology. Contact 239-280-2516, jdfsj@avemaria.edu.
• Carl W. Ernst is a professor Islamic studies at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. He wrote Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World (UNC Press, 2003). Contact 919-962-3924, cernst@email.unc.edu.

IN THE SOUTH
• Roberta Avila is director of the Mississippi Coast Interfaith Disaster Task Force, which has assisted in the recovery after Hurricane Katrina. Contact 228-868-0961.
• The Inter-Religious Council at Emory University in Georgia organized the university's first campus-wide interfaith service project, helping families affected by Hurricane Katrina. Contact Contact Susan Henry-Crowe, 404-727-6226, shenryc@emory.edu.

IN THE MIDWEST
• The Rev. Chrys McVey, OP, is scheduled to give a lecture on Sept. 21, 2006, titled, “Beyond Christ, for Christ’s Sake: The Promise of Muslim-Catholic Dialogue” at the Dominican University’s Siena Center in River Forest, Ill. McVey serves as the Socius to the Order for Apostolic Life in Rome. See a Sept. 1, 2006, press release. Contact Jessica Mackinnon, director of public relations, at 708-524-6289.
• Geneive Abdo is a fellow at the Joan B. Kroc Institute at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. She is writing a book about Muslims in America. Contact 574-631-6970, Geneive.E.Abdo.3@nd.edu.
• Paul M. Cobb is an associate professor of Islamic history at the University of Notre Dame and fellow of the Medieval Institute and the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. See his Sept. 19, 2006, commentary in the Chicago Tribune. Contact Paul.Cobb.3@nd.edu.
• Juan Cole is a professor of modern Middle East and South Asian history at the University of Michigan and frequent commentator on Islam. Read his comments about Pope Benedict on his blog. Contact 734-764-6305, 763-1599, jrcole@umich.edu, jricole@yahoo.com.
• Dennis Doyle, professor of religious studies at the University of Dayton, says he believes the pope was challenging both the secular West and Islamic Middle East to renounce violence by appealing to reason. Contact 937-229-4219.
• The Rev. Michael Kinnamon is Allen and Dottie Miller Professor of Mission and Peace at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Mo., and an expert on interfaith dialogue. Contact 314-918-2588, mkinnamon@eden.edu.

IN THE SOUTHWEST
• Robert Blair Kaiser is a former Jesuit priest and author of several books on the Catholic Church. His latest is A Church in Search of Itself: Benedict XVI and the Battle for the Future (Knopf, 2006). Kaiser lives in Phoenix, Ariz.Contact 602-358-7274, rbkaiser@justgoodcompany.com.
• Samuel Shahid is director of missions at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. A native of Lebanon, he formerly was president of Good News for the Crescent World, a nonprofit that reached out to Muslims. Contact 817-923-1921 ext. 7115, sshahid@swbts.edu.

IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST
• The Rev. Thomas P. Rausch is a professor of theology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. A Catholic priest, Rausch is the author of Authority and Leadership in the Church: Past Directions and Future Possibilities (Liturgical Press, 1988). Contact 310-338-7670, trausch@lmu.edu.
• Joel S. Fetzer is assistant professor of political science at Seaver College at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif. He co-wrote Muslims and the State in Britain, France, and Germany (Cambridge University Press, 2004). Contact 310-506-6250, Joel.Fetzer@pepperdine.edu.