Our students met on-line with Dr. Renee Hattar, since October 2016 the head of International Studies at the Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies in Jordan, founded in 1994 by HRH Prince el-Hassan bin-Talal of Jordan. RIIFS describes itself as “a non-profit, non-governmental organization that provides a venue for the interdisciplinary study of intercultural and interreligious issues with the aim of defusing tensions and promoting peace, regionally and globally. We live in a troubled world that is in need of deeper mutual understanding between diverse religions and cultures. RIIFS focuses on promoting common human and ethical values.”
Previous to this position Dr. Renee Hattar was professor of Arabic language and culture at the International Center for the Study of the Christian Orient, 2006-2016. Dr. Hattar obtained her PhD in Social Sciences at the University of Granada, Spain. Her PhD was about Peace in Religious Arab Christian Chants: Suggestions for Interfaith Dialogue. In her thesis she suggested creating peaceful and creative spaces for dialogue between Christians and Muslims in the Middle East through sacred music.
Dr. Renee Hattar belongs to a Christian Arab Bedouin tribe. Arab tribes are often believed to be all Muslim but in the region that today is known as Jordan there have always been Arab tribes living from before the advent of Islam. Renee Hattar was speaking about the great diversity in Jordan and doing internships at the Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies.
