Belief in and the practice of hospitality are of paramount importance in an age where intolerance toward the stranger and the immigrant continues unabated in the current political climate and in reaction to the increasing numbers of immigrants to Europe, the United States, and elsewhere. According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), there are 68.5 million forcibly displaced people worldwide of whom 25.4 million are refugees. In the face of sometimes virulent anti-refugee sentiment, Europe and the United States have imposed stricter immigration regimens. By contrast, the countries of the Middle East have shouldered the greatest burden. Lebanon and a water and natural resource-impoverished Jordan have a combined total of nearly 3 million refugees in addition to Turkey which has approximately 2.6 million refugees. People of faith and more generally people of conscience have confronted this intolerance head on by welcoming strangers into their towns, cities and homes.
In the Abrahamic faiths, the exemplar of hospitality par excellence is Abraham, who like, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad was a refugee. In Genesis 18:1-10 and in Qur’an 51:24-27, Abraham entertains three strangers, whom some commentators believe to be angels in human form. This episode foregrounds the Biblical verse: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Heb. 13:2). In Qur’an 51:24-27, Abraham honours his guests, who are described as “an unfamiliar folk.” Abraham felt fear when he returned and they gave him news of the birth of a son. According to Christian commentators, one of the guests was God accompanied by two angels while others interpret Jesus or God as the three visitors.
Commenting on the true nature of Abrahamic hospitality, Louis Massignon (d. 1962) observed:
“The European no longer understands that, thanks to the heroic manner in which he has practiced the notion of hospitality, Abraham deserved as his inheritance not only the Holy Land but also the entering in it of all the foreign hôtes who are “blessed” by his hospitality . . . Abraham’s hospitality is the sign announcing the final completion of the gathering of all nations, all blessed in Abraham, in this Holy Land that must be monopolized by none….”
The hospitality exemplified by holy persons such as the prophets and patriarchs, Abraham, Jesus, and Muhammad in societies that pride themselves on openness and tolerance is often overshadowed by political, ethnic and national considerations. This multi-disciplinary workshop will explore the theme of hospitality in an Abrahamic context in both theory and practice.
Hospitality has been the theme of a number of academic and interfaith gatherings and conferences over the years, though a focus on hospitality in the Abrahamic faiths is missing outside of an ecumenical setting. In 2009 Richard Kearney and Kascha Semonovitch produced a conference volume on the stranger in which the contributors explore various themes pertaining to hospitality and the stranger. This subject continues to resonate today with scholars of the humanities and social sciences. American philosopher Edward S. Casey has characterised hospitality as a “liminal phenomenon,” one that occurs at the “edge.