Webinar: A meeting of two oceans?

This event has already happened

Online (Zoom) - times specified are for Cambridge, UK

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Graphic representation of sun rise at sea, an Om symbol appearing in front of the sun. In the background an ocean photo. Waves crashing, the two seascapes merge together.

About

A recording of this past event can be watched on the Faculty of Divinity YouTube channel (see link below).

Do the Upanishads and the Quran share a common philosophical and mystical vision, as the Mughal prince Dara Shukoh (1615–1659) famously declared? Or is it that the two vast oceans of Hindu and Muslim traditions cannot be further apart and ‘never the twain shall meet’? Are Hindus and Muslims destined to live forever in great mutual ignorance of each other’s traditions and worldviews? 

The Cambridge Interfaith Programme and Project Noon invite you to a webinar that aims to probe these most fertile and pertinent of questions.

Dr Ankur Barua, Senior Lecturer in Hindu Studies at the Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge, will offer an outline of Hindu worldviews, and also introduce the 10 weekend online lectures he will give in August. Keeping in mind primarily Muslim intellectual and faith-based frameworks, he will take us through a tour of diverse tapestries of Hindu philosophical, cultural, and socio-historical landscapes, occasionally decoding and translating Indic idioms for an Abrahamic audience. 

The webinar is open to anyone interested, and does not presuppose any prior acquaintance with Hindu socio-religious traditions.

A brief video introduction

Dr Barua has recorded a short video, outlining the scope of the webinar and online lecture series. Lectures will start on 5 August. (A transcript of the video is available on YouTube.) 

About Project Noon

Project Noon is an Indian-based forum dedicated to improving Hindu–Muslim mutual understanding through philosophical, theological, as well as faith-based engagements. Engaging leading scholars and academics on Indic—Hindu and Muslim—traditions through extended podcasts, in-depth essays and reviews, and webinars and workshops.

The Project Noon website (projectnoon.in) is edited by Dr Saad Ismail, a junior resident in the Department of Physiology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, India.

Further information

Registration for the lecture series will open following the 24 June webinar. Dates and outline are available in our events pages.

Dr Barua shares reflections and work-in-progress on his personal YouTube channel. View Ankur's videos (via youtube.com).