Oklahoma Muslims and moderate Baptists will be featured in a documentary aired by ABC affiliate TV stations this month and in February.

"Different Books, Common Word: Baptists and Muslims" will be broadcast in the Oklahoma City area Sunday on KOCO-5.

The Institute of Interfaith Dialog and Raindrop Turkish House hosted a panel forum with the female representatives of faiths on December 4^th at the Raindrop Turkish House in Oklahoma City. The theme of the panel was "Women and Spirituality." Ladies discussed the ways to maintain and enrich spirituality while struggling with the challenges of modern life. Nowadays, women have to be multitasks. They pursue professional careers get education, raise family, and they also become very active in community service. This event brought together women from various faiths and backgrounds around one table to discuss a common issue that relates every woman's life.

The Institute of Interfaith Dialog was proud to present its (7^th ?) Annual sponsored a Dialog and Friendship dinner at the Oklahoma City University on November 24^th, 2009. The event was co-sponsored with the Oklahoma City University. The theme of this year's program was celebrating democracy as a key to living together. The event was very timely as the spirit of friendship and dialog reaches at its peak during the time of Thanksgiving. The crowd was very eclectic and diverse. There were sixty elected officials from local, state, and federal levels and people from liberal activists, conservatives, to faith leaders. Also in attendance were Attorney General Drew Edmondson, State Treasurer Scott Meacham, former mayor Ron Norick, multiple Senators and Representatives, three University presidents, and many academic, faith, business, andcommunity leaders. 

It has been a busy month for Raindrop Turkish Hous, The Institute for Interfaith Dialog ,The Gulen Institute. According to Muslim tradition, the holy month of Ramadan is marked by fasting from dawn to sunset, ending each day with a meal called Iftar. Iftar dinners provide a fertile platform for interfaith outreach. Using this opportunity, Raindrop Turkish House has intensified its Ramadan dinners to come together with various faith communities of Oklahoma at one table to build dialog and friendship. On September 8, Oklahoma's one of the major synagogue B'nai Temple of Israel hosted an iftar dinner for Muslim community of Oklahoma metro area by the initiatives of the Raindrop Turkish House.

Burns Hargis, President, Oklahoma State University received the Institute of Interfaith Dialog (IID) executives in his office on May 14^th. President Hargis was named the 18th President of Oklahoma State University and the OSU System in December 2007 and took office March 10, 2008.Hargis oversees one of the nation's most comprehensive land-grant university systems with more than 32,000 students, 7,400 employees, and campuses located in Stillwater, Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Okmulgee.During the visit, a deep and sincere conversation was taken by both parties. Mr. Kucukosman  Executive Director of IID and Dr. Bilal Erturk, Finance Professor at OSU talked about the importance of working together with the local institutions which would bring mutual benefits. Mr. Kucukosman kindly invited President Hargis to Turkey soon to reach out and establish relationships with the Department of Education and prominent Universities in Turkey. President Hargis showed interest to visit Turkey next year with a delegation from OSU.Mr. Kucukosman kindly asked President Hargis to appear as the keynote speaker at their upcoming IID Luncheon Forums. President graciously accepted the invitation to be the speaker. Finally, a hand-made porcelain with colorful and unique Ottoman motives was given as a gift of remembrance to President Hargis.