David Hookema, Professor of Philosophy at Calvin College in the USA and Executive Director of the American Philosophical Society, said:
I have been thinking recently about some remarkable individuals whom I met on a recent journey to sites in the Middle East and East Africa to seek out Muslims and Christians who are creating channels for better mutual understanding.
Dr. Hoda Darwish is one who stands out, Just reviewing Dr. Darwish’s titles boggles the mind. She is the chair of the Department of Comparative Religions at Zagazig University, in Egypt, She is also director of the Israeli Studies Centre there as well as instructor in Hebrew language, and she served previously as director of the university’s Asian Studies Institute. She is a member of a government council for protection of women’s rights and of an interfaith committee in Egypt.
He added, Hokima, in Dr. Darwish’s classes, students study texts from the Hebrew scriptures, the New Testament and the Qur’an, seeking to understand the common elements between them and the differences, pointing out that Dr. Hoda Darwish is the first professor to debate in a boys’ college at Al-Azhar University, and she is an important reformer in Egyptian higher education.