Islamic University of Rotterdam: From Interfaith Dialogue to Pluralistic Cooperation

This article examines the historical experience of the Islamic University of Rotterdam (IUR), today known as the Islamic University of Applied Sciences Rotterdam (IUASR), as a case for understanding cooperation across religious, ethnic, cultural, institutional, and worldview differences beyond conventional interfaith dialogue. Drawing primarily on archival and institutional materials from the university’s founding and first-generation period under its founder and first rector, Dr. S.T.K. Damra, and supplemented by religious, ethical, and historical sources, the study adopts a qualitative historical-conceptual approach. The archival evidence is analysed reconstructively to identify recurring patterns of cooperation, institutional participation, shared responsibility, and societal contribution. The analysis reconstructs the IUR Model of Pluralistic Cooperation around six interrelated principles: orientation towards the common good, preservation of distinct identities, multi-layered cooperation, civic responsibility and shared ownership, inclusive institutional partnerships, and shared social contribution. Particular attention is given to the institutionalization of interreligious engagement through the Werkgroep Interreligieuze Dialoog (Interreligious Dialogue Working Group, WID), its multi-religious composition, and related institutional initiatives. The findings indicate that sustained cooperation may develop where actors identify shared societal objectives, recognize one another as legitimate partners, preserve distinctive identities, assume shared responsibility, and participate through institutional structures capable of sustaining collective action. The article’s principal conceptual contribution lies in positioning interfaith dialogue within a broader framework of pluralistic cooperation that connects recognition and trust with institutional partnership, shared responsibility, and societal contribution. The IUR Model is presented as a context-sensitive analytical reconstruction whose wider applicability requires further comparative examination across different social and institutional settings.