The Dangoor Centre (מרכז דנגור) is the direct continuation of the Dangoor Program which was active from 2008-2018. The Centre began its official activities during the 2019 academic school year and operates out at Bar-Ilan University.
The primary aim of the Sir Naim Dangoor Centre for Universal Monotheism (מרכז דת-עולם ע”ש סר נעים דנגור) is to return the humanities to its place as a connector between worlds and to act as an intercultural mediator.
This is being accomplished through encouragement of intellectual discourse activities and means of dialogue in a variety of fields of knowledge and interest shared by all peoples and all cultures (that is, universal), including diplomacy, literature, music, heritage, faith, folklore and philosophy.
The Centre operations focus on innovation, publication, development and distribution of knowledge and insights on issues of universal cultural interest, based on tolerance, mutual respect, and a comprehensive and respectful intellectual worldview. We operate as an inter-religious and inter-cultural mediator in a variety of fields of knowledge and interest shared by all peoples and cultures, heritages and traditions from the West and East.
In this spirit, the Centre activities focus on four primary loci of interest :
- Comparative Religions
- The History of Ideas
- Cultural Diplomacy
- Contemporary Cultural Studies
Brief on our History
The Sir Naim Dangoor Program for Universal Monotheism
The main goal of the program was to cultivate real peace and understanding through truth, ethics, and action of the broad common ground shared by the major monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Later, the program’s goal expended and were defined as to open horizons to learn more about other religions, and to serve as a bridge to East Asian beliefs and traditions.
Beginning Years 2007-2010: Three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam
During its formative years, the program dealt with such issues as: what monotheistic faiths share in their moral and ethical views, commitments, and whether there are unique characteristics to monotheist regions. The research done during these formative years also lead to the publication of seven books under the aegis of the program.
The program sponsored seminars on Monotheism for university students as well as the general public. A series of conferences were organized and sponsored by the program which attracted participants from across the globe. These conferences, on topics such as Monotheism and Ethics: Philosophical and Historical Perspectives drew a large number of participants and served as a catalyst for establishing academic ties and joint ventures with Asian universities.
Second Stage of the program: years 2010-2014 East Asia Communities and inter-faith dialogue
The Sir Naim Dangoor Program for Universal Monotheism expanded its focus to include activities and programming in Asia with special attention devoted to China, India, Japan, Korea and southeast Asia. This expansion comprised on academic agreement signing with leading Universities and research centers for exchange of scholars, students, joint workshops, educational visits, summer seminars and teacher training on contemporary Israel Studies.
