DePaul University will sponsor a town hall meeting on how Muslims and Catholics can have productive dialogue about U.S. decisions concerning foreign aid, building relationships with nations and tackling multinational challenges.

Panelists will discuss how promoting the First Amendment right of religious freedom can influence negotiations with other countries, as well has how the religious communities of Catholicism and Islam are affected by globalism and its attendant multicultural values.

How these shared cultural and value propositions play out politically today and in the years to come will be the focus of a free town hall meeting sponsored by DePaul University’s Islamic World Studies program on March 31 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the DePaul Student Center, Room 314 A/B, 2250 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago.

The panel discussion will be moderated by the Rev. Christopher Robinson, C.M., associate director of DePaul University Ministry, and Scott Alexander, director of Catholic and Muslim studies at the Catholic Theological Union.  Panelists will include Peter Casarella, professor of Catholic studies at DePaul; Frederick Al-Deen, former supervising chaplain for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons; John Borelli, special assistant for interreligious initiatives at Georgetown University; and Laith Al-Saud, instructor of Islamic world and religious studies at DePaul.

The discussion will center on a recent task force report from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs that noted, “The challenge before us is to marginalize religious extremists, not religion. … Promoting an uncompromising Western secularism as a solution to religious extremism can have the unintended effect of feeding extremism by further threatening traditional sources of person, cultural and religious identity.”

Aminah B. McCloud, professor of religious studies and Director of DePaul’s Islamic world studies program, said, “This should be a lively discussion that will offer a unique opportunity to gain important insights into the diverse viewpoints of the two faith communities as they come together and search for common ground in dealing with the challenges that face the global community.”

A reception will precede the discussion. Additional information is available at (773) 325-4905 or iws@depaul.edu.