Accentuating the Positive

By: Katherine Marshall

December 13, 2008

Journalists rarely pursue stories of interfaith dialogue with much enthusiasm. A yawn is the more common reaction. And in the circles of those who work to promote such dialogue, the foibles of journalists are the topic of much grumbling: No matter how noble the objective, no matter how significant the interfaith breakthrough, there is barely a mention in the press.

The subject is hard to sell because it so often involves meetings, speeches, and--if successful--harmony. So journalists gravitate to interfaith conflict because it makes a better story. But the goals of interfaith engagement need the public education that journalism can achieve.

One avenue to grab some press attention is by giving awards--and interfaith awards are proliferating, to honor those who do wonderful work and, in the words of the old song, "accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative". But how many people wait breathlessly to know who will win the Niwano Peace Award? How many journalists write about it? Celebrity helps - when the World Economic Forum honored Mohammed Ali and Prince Charles for their work on promoting understanding between the Muslim World and the West, that did attract some fanfare. But it's still an uphill battle.

The Rumi Forum is an interfaith dialogue organization based in Washington. It is jointly inspired by Fetallah Gulen, a path-breaking Turkish Sufi master who now lives in Pennsylvania, and Jalal Ad din Rumi, famous ninth century mystic and poet. Both preach respect and common ground. Its support comes primarily from Turkish business leaders. The forum organizes a steady stream of lectures and events and is masterful in its efforts to engage the media.

Last week the forum staged a festive event at the Cannon Office Building on Capitol Hill to honor nine "heroes" of interfaith dialogue. Among the awardees were three congressmen, Professor Akbar Ahmed of American University, and several others.

But the most significant award, to my mind, went to Sally Quinn and Jon Meacham and the On Faith website. It highlighted the critical role that the media must play and honored a site that has shown that interfaith dialogue can be interesting, day after day.

This improbable website - improbable because interfaith voices have hardly dominated the Washington Post over the years - has blazed new paths. It has new features all the time, focuses on provocative questions, and airs widely ranging views. And above all it makes interfaith dialogue interesting.

So congratulations to the Rumi Forum for its work to "accentuate the positive", and to Sally Quinn and Jon Meacham, for this especially well earned recognition.

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