“If we know each other, we will trust each other. Then we will walk together.” For Fatih and Ayse Sezgin, this simple progression lies at the heart of the Intercultural Dialogue Institute (IDI). We spoke to the Sezgins about IDI’s interfaith and intercultural work, the projects currently bringing Calgarians together, and their hopes to carry that work forward.
IDI emerged from the Hizmet, or Gülen, movement, an Islamic movement which places particular emphasis on service and dialogue. Fatih described IDI as “a platform for bringing people from different backgrounds together,” whether cultural or religious. Its purpose is to overcome the prejudices that develops when communities remain separated and to demonstrate that “we can live together in a peaceful way.”
For the Sezgins, this work is also an expression of their faith. Ayse described bringing people together and helping them understand one another as “a kind of service” and “a path to God’s love.” “To be able to love God, to be able to get closer to God, we have to be close to people,” she explained. Fatih expressed that he sees helping one’s neighbour and treating others well as “universal values” shared across religious traditions.
One of IDI’s principal projects is Bridge Builders, which brings Christians and Muslims together monthly to discuss how subjects such as generosity, family, and welcoming strangers are expressed in their respective faiths. Participants compare what their traditions teach, where they differ, and what they share. “We thought that we had many differences,” Ayse recalled participants telling her, only to discover how much their beliefs had in common. IDI now hopes to involve Jewish participants as well, broadening these conversations across all three Abrahamic faiths.
Other projects build relationships through hospitality. IDI hosts an annual Christmas dinner and a Shabbat-Iftar dinner alongside Temple B’nai Tikvah which Ayse described as “a very strong peace message to the world.” IDI also runs a Christian-Muslim retreat which brings families together for two days. “When you spend two days together, you know each other much better,” Fatih explained.
The Sezgins are increasingly looking toward the next generation. They explained that young people already participate in IDI’s leadership and help organize events, but Ayse hopes to reach more high school and university students. “We don’t want to end this work here,” she told us. Reflecting on her own experience with IDI, she said, “I’m not the same person as I was before,” and hopes young people will similarly “learn more” and “expand their world.”
Looking ahead, IDI hopes to revive its Public Heroes programme honouring first responders and establish a new community centre where it can host more activities. More broadly, the Sezgins want to reach beyond those already involved. “Peace begins in communities,” Ayse told us. This means encouraging Calgarians to move beyond the comfort of remaining exclusively among people who share their language, culture, or faith. “When you take the first step, you will find yourself a new world.”
The Sezgins do not expect this work to transform society overnight. “We are not superheroes. We are not going to save the world,” Fatih reflected. Instead, each person is responsible for doing what they can. Ayse’s hope for what those individual efforts might ultimately produce is straightforward: peace and unity.
