Interfaith Panel Discussion on Resilience & Miracles

Classrooms Without Borders is honored to convene a panel discussion featuring religious leaders from the three major monotheistic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Moderated by Imam Jihad Turk founding President and Dean of Bayan Islamic Graduate School, this panel features Rabbi Aaron Bisno of Rodef Shalom Congregation, Rev. David Poecking of Archangel Gabriel Parish, and Imam Chris Caras of the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh.
This discussion is in partnership with Rodef Shalom Congregation, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, and the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh.

Rabbi Aaron Bisno

Rabbi Aaron Bisno holds the Frances F. and David R. Levin Senior Rabbinic Pulpit of Rodef Shalom Congregation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He has been the senior rabbi to the community since June 2004. Bisno has been recognized specifically for his work in the areas of interfaith and inclusion. In 2010, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI conferred upon Rabbi Bisno a Benemerenti Medal for “outstanding contributions to interfaith relations.” Today, Bisno continues his work to strengthen interfaith dialogue and partnerships in our community and beyond.

Imam Chris Caras

Imam Chris Caras, originally of Peoria, Illinois, is a convert to Islam who earned degrees in traditional Islamic studies in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia from 2007 to 2016. He was then active in Islamic outreach for several Muslim institutions in St Louis Missouri. In the summer of 2019, he became the imam and religious director for the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh. Chris is married with three rambunctious children.

Rev. David Poecking

Fr. David Poecking began adult life as a math and physics teacher, but a childhood encounter with the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien ultimately led him to the Catholic Church and to the priesthood. He has served at several churches in the Pittsburgh region and as the director of continuing education of clergy, and is currently pastor of Archangel Gabriel Parish in the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

Discussion Moderator: Imam Jihad Turk

Jihad Turk is the founding President and Dean of Bayan Islamic Graduate School, a preeminent Muslim institution of higher education offering accredited Master’s degrees in the fields of Islamic Studies, Leadership, Education, and Chaplaincy.

He completed his B.A. degree in History and Arabic at the University of California, Berkeley, an M.A. degree at the University of Texas, Austin in Arabic and Islamic law and jurisprudence, and pursued doctoral studies in Islamic law at University of California, Los Angeles. Currently, Jihad is doing a doctorate in education at the University of Southern California.

Jihad has served as both an academic as well as a religious leader. He has taught at UCLA and Southwestern school of law and has served as the Imam and Director of Religious Affairs at the Islamic Center of Southern California, LA’s oldest and largest mosque.

He is a sought-after national speaker and media commentator on Muslims in America, Reform Movements, Ethical Leadership, and Spiritual Formation of Muslim Youth.

He is a prominent interfaith leader and cofounder the Muslim-Christian Consultative Group as well as the Greater Los Angeles Muslim Jewish Forum.

He has been consulted by the Whitehouse and has traveled abroad for US State Department.

Recently, Jihad was recognized as one of the 500 Most Influential people in Los Angeles by the LA Business Journal.