Center for Innovative
Religious Education
Our Latest Happenings
Religious Engagement in Global Diplomacy
CIRE Director Afeefa Syeed particpatied in a conversation hosted by the US Institute
of Peace (USIP) and International Center for Religion & Diplomacy (ICRD) titled "Bridging Divides:
The Power of Religious Engagement in Global Diplomacy” on January 30 in Washigton DC.
This timely gathering featured Dr. Douglas Johnston ICRD’s founder and author of Religion, the Missing Dimension of Statecraft (1994). Dr. Johnston, who Afeefa has worked with on various religious education projects in the past, gave a keynote address followed by a discussion with practitioners examining key accomplishments, assessing global trends, and exploring needed new strategies for strengthening diplomacy, security and peacemaking through religious engagement. Afeefa shared her experiences and contribution to the first ever White House’s National Strategy on Religious Leader and Faith Community Engagement which was adopted in 2013.
Building Spiritual Resilience Within Students
Dr. Ismail ibn Ali, CIRE Program Manager, presented on January 18th at the 2025 ISNA West Coast Education Forum. The session, "Teacher Tadabbur to Build Spiritual Resilience Within Students", explored how educators can incorporate the teaching of Qur'ānic Tadabbur ("contemplation") into their curricula.
While many schools emphasize the memorization of sacred texts, few purposefully teach students how to contemplate their passages. Research shows that reflective engagement with religious texts can be a mediating factor in developing resilient individuals.
To this end, Dr. ibn Ali challenged educators to consider how they might incorporate a Tadabbur framework into their classrooms to help students build skills that transcend the text by increasing their engagement with ideas, relating the text to their lives, and prompting them to address challenges in their world. He shared examples from this framework taught at Al Fatih Academy that incorporate elements around making intention, using a reflection journal, and creating community as used by Middle School students.
Leadership Advocacy for Women of Faith
On December 13th, Afeefa Syeed conducted a virtual session for the Global Multifaith Fellowship with the Institute for Global Engagement. This is a one-year program for women-of-faith leaders who serve in their communities. Current cohort participants are from Italy, Nigeria, Ghana, Iraq, Sierra Leonne, Monaco, Switzerland, Egypt, and Yemen
Whether through policy, global affairs, peacebuilding, humanitarian aid, media advocacy, education, public health, or corporate business, this program equips women with the needed leadership skills and experience to build culture, influence others, and make an impact.
Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) Training
On November 14-16 in Muscat Oman, Afeefa Syeed was lead facilitator in developing and conducting a series of training modules on freedom of religion and belief in Islam, the role of culture and religion in FoRB, political and social impacts on FoRB, and connecting religious traditions and beliefs to advocacy work.
Attendees who work in civil society organizations were from Ethiopia, Mali, Kenya, Iraq, and Indonesia. This is a project of The Joint Initiative for Strategic Religious Action (JISRA) which is a partnership of 50 civil society organizations based in these countries. JISRA partners with The Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers (NRTP) to implement training and build communities of practice around the issues of religious literacy and FoRB. The training in Muscat was also supported and hosted by the Ministry of Endowment and Religious Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman.
Global Women’s Summit; Threads of Hope
On November 21st, in Washington DC, the inaugural summit for the Center for Women Faith and Leadership (CWFL) which is part of the Institute for Global Engagement (IGE) was held. Afeefa Syeed facilitated the discussion of a panel of practitioners who work in the areas of education, advocacy, and human rights. Attendees of the day-long summit included policymakers, women’s advocacy workers, political leaders, and youth empowerment initiators.
Imams from Kurdistan
On the 27th of September, CIRE hosted and trained 11 Kurdish imams and heads of religious institutions who were brought to the US by the State Department for the International Visitor Leadership Program which works on anti-extremism.
The half-day-long program included sessions on how to teach religion more inclusively as well as be proactive in integrating values into education.
CIRE’s Director, Afeefa Syeed, included Emir Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza'iri as an example of someone who was brought up with specific values and became the honorable man that he was. She also led the Imams through exercises to create their sermons and teaching lessons on dignity and empathy. CIRE is working on follow up trainings and support once they return to Iraq.
Emir Abd al-Qadir Children’s Book
Tamar Miller and Afeefa Syeed continued work on a children's book telling the life story of the Emir. It is aimed at children ages 7-10 and focuses on the values and characteristics he was brought up with that made him the honorable servant leader who is still respected today. The text is nearly finished and work is focused on getting the drawings completed as well. CIRE is very excited about this project!
Teaching Teachers about Religion
On September 18th, Afeefa Syeed met with the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown to talk about conducting workshops with educators and policymakers in religious literacy. CIRE is helping the team at Georgetown to build modules to teach about why religion is important in communities and also how to teach about religion to public school teachers, especially as they encounter First Amendment concerns.
Training US Government Personnel
CIRE has been in touch with American consulates in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan where they would like to include more religious literacy training for both their staff and partner organizations. Afeefa Syeed shared with them one pagers of the trainings she conducts and they are working on scheduling the workshops into their strategic plans.
Women’s Leadership Program
As a Senior Advisor for the Center for Women, Faith, and Leadership, Afeefa Syeed conducted workshops on Personal Leadership for members of their global fellowship program on September 20. This program brings women from around the world who are working on advocacy issues and helps them build their skills in leadership rooted in their multi-faith traditions.
Emir Abd al-Qadir Film
Afeefa Syeed was interviewed by Mohammed Yabdri, an Algerian filmmaker based in St. Paul, who is making a documentary-fiction film about the Emir. Afeefa’s contribution included how the Emir is viewed by American Muslims and what she’s doing to incorporate his story into education materials and programs. She also provided him with contacts for subject matter experts who he has reached out to and included in his film.