![[Farid Hafez]](https://bridge.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-04-at-10.45.01-AM.jpeg "Farid Hafez")
The Bridge Initiative is a multi-year research project on Islamophobia housed in Georgetown University.
The Bridge Initiative aims to disseminate original and accessible research, offers engaging analysis and commentary on contemporary issues, and hosts a wide repository of educational resources to inform the general public about Islamophobia.
Research & Resources
Bridging Worlds: Reflections on Teaching, Dialogue, and the University’s Role
As a historian of the Middle East and a historian of religions, my scholarship and teaching for over two decades have focused on the history of interfaith and interreligious relations, pluralism, and identity. Over this time, I have followed with concern the often polarized debates and disconcerting political developments affecting our universities. In reflecting on…
Silencing Dissent: The Islamophobia Industry’s Assault on Academic Freedom
In 2025, The Bridge Initiative marks ten years since its launch. Founded by world-renowned Islamic studies scholar Dr. John L. Esposito, the project, housed under the Al-Waleed Center for Muslim Christian Understanding (ACMCU) at Georgetown University, was created in response to the urgent need for a reliable source on Islamophobia. As the issue grew in the United States, Bridge was established with a clear mission: to study, analyze, and provide the public with resources on Islamophobia—how it manifests and the often-devastating consequences it brings to individuals and society.
Abraham’s Bridge: A Documentary Review of Interfaith Connection in America’s Heartland
In a world marked by conflict, division, and religious tension, “Abraham’s Bridge” offers a compelling narrative of collaboration across faith traditions. This short documentary, running just under 40 minutes, produced and directed by Elinor J. Pierce, Research Director of the Harvard Pluralism Project (pluralism.org), chronicles the remarkable Tri-Faith Initiative in Omaha, Nebraska – an ambitious project to build a mosque, synagogue, church, and interfaith center side-by-side, connected by a circular wooden bridge.