Established
in 1994 in Amman, Jordan, under the patronage of
HRH Prince El
Hassan bin Talal, the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies
(RIIFS) provides a venue in the Arab world for the interdisciplinary
study and rational discussion of religion and religious issues, with
particular reference to Christianity in Arab and Islamic society.
More recently, RIIFS has broadened its focus to include all issues
pertaining to religious, cultural and civilizational diversity,
regionally and globally. For this purpose, it maintains relations
with similarly concerned academic institutions in different parts of
the world.
RIIFS is governed by a
board of trustees
chaired by His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal. It is
funded by an annual grant from the government of Jordan obtained
through Majlis El Hassan, as well as by private donations. The
director of RIIFS is HE Ambassador
Hasan Abu Nimah, who
was Jordan's ambassador and permanent representative to the United
Nations for five years until he left the diplomatic service in 2000.
A writer and lecturer, Mr Abu Nimeh was appointed to lead RIIFS on
15 April 2004, replacing the vacancy left by the resignation of
Kamal Salibi,
Emeritus Professor at the Department of History and Archaeology at
the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, who was the Royal
Institute's founding director and who has since been named its
honorary president.
Baker al-Hiyari
is the deputy director of RIIFS.
The work of RIIFS involves research and publication, as well as the
organization of lectures, conferences and workshops.
The RIIFS Arabic program focuses on the study and documentation of
all subjects pertaining to Christianity and Muslim-Christian
relations. Its quarterly publication,
Al-Nashra, provides a forum for the discussion of interfaith
issues, particularly as they relate to Arab and Islamic society. It
also monitors the Arabic press for news and other material bearing
on religious questions.
The RIIFS English program addresses questions relating to
religious and cultural diversity in the world at large, inviting
international participation in its academic and other activities.
Its biannual publication,
Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies (BRIIFS),
is an academic journal refereed by internationally known scholars.
BRIIFS is intended to provide a venue for interdisciplinary
academic inquiry into all fields of the humanities and social
sciences that bear on cultural or civilizational interaction and to
situate culture contact in a global context.
RIIFS invites young scholars from Arab and other countries, on a
selective basis to involve them in the work of the institute as
visiting research associates.
It also brings established scholars from abroad to acquaint them
with academic and cultural life in Jordan and with the work of the
institute.
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