Program & Event Highlights: 2009

The Director’s Speaking Tour
In February the Director travelled to the US for a two-week speaking tour. He spoke at United Reformed Church (NJ) and at a joint service of Faith and Sixth Reformed Churches (NJ). He led a one day seminar at New Brunswick Theological Seminary on “Christians and Muslims: Basic Questions & First Steps.” He then travelled to Virginia and spoke at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, along with his colleague Dr. Bill Sachs. Dr. Sachs is the founding Director of the Center for Interfaith Reconciliation, an initiative of St. Stephens and a key partner of Al Amana. While in Virginia, the Director spoke at a Kiwanis luncheon at the Virginia Historical Association, with nearly150 in attendance. The last stop on the tour was Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, where he spoke to students on the state of Christian-Muslim relations in the Arabian Peninsula.

Forthcoming Book on Pioneer of Medical Work in Oman
The Centre, in cooperation with the government of Oman, hosted the Rev. Lew & Nancy Scudder and Dr. David & Lois Dickason for two weeks. David is writing a book on Dr. Wells Thoms, an RCA missionary and pioneer in medical work in Oman. The Scudders and Dickasons represent a long legacy of work in the region. Lew was born to RCA missionary parents in Kuwait, and Nancy to Presbyterian missionaries in India. He is the author of The Arabian Mission’s Story: In Search of Abraham’s Other Son (Eerdmans, 1998), and Nancy served as chairperson of the board for Al Amana. They accompanied the Dickasons to assist with any research and translation needs. David is a professor at Western Michigan University and Director of the W.E. Upjohn Center for the Study of Geographical Change. His wife, Lois Thoms-Dickason, is the daughter of Wells, the focus of the book. While here, Lew and David gave a lecture at the Catholic Church’s St. Luke’s Medical Guild. Nearly two hundred gathered to hear more about the history of medical work in the Gulf.

Professor David Ford Lectures in Oman
Professor Ford is the Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge, and the Director of the Cambridge Interfaith Programme. Al Amana Centre had the privilege of cooperating with Oman’s Ministry of Religious Affairs to host him in Muscat. As part of his visit, he lectured at the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque and the Institute of Shariah Studies. His theme was “Seeking Muslim, Christian, and Jewish Wisdom in the 21st Century: A Muscat Manifesto.” It was very well received and will be published in Arabic in the journal Al Tasamoh (Tolerance). It represents his reflections on fifteen years of interfaith work. One can read the lecture by visiting the website http://www.divinity.cam.ac.uk/cip/ and going to “resources.” We are looking forward to greater cooperation with Cambridge in the future.

Islam in Oman
“Islam in Oman” is the title of the latest article published by Al Amana’s Director, Michael Bos. It is being published in the Netherlands as part of a collection of articles commemorating an exhibition on Oman. The exhibit begins in October in the Nieuwe Kerk , which is located in Dam Square in Amsterdam. The article explores the history of Islam in the country and the subsequent impact it has had as Oman as been transformed into a modern state.