Head of Chautauqua Institution, which seeks to built interfaith connections, profoundly shaken by Friday’s violence
The attack had left Hill profoundly shaken, he said, speaking 24 hours after it unfolded.
At the center of Chautauqua Institution’s efforts is the aspiration to build inter-faith connections. Its 19th-century roots were as a Methodist training camp for Sunday school teachers, but in recent decades it has widened its ambitions to tackle some of the toughest religious and communal conflicts on the planet.There is a strong Christian and Jewish presence in the community, and a growing emphasis on reaching out to Muslims.
Hill declined to address specific security concerns, such as whether there should have been walk-through metal detectors – or staffers equipped with metal-detecting wands – installed to catch the knife used by the attacker. He stressed there had been extensive planning with state and local authorities before the summer season began and that “we put in place what we believed was appropriate security for the event”.
Hill said the institution was celebrating individuals who have stood up for what is right despite great adversity, an all the more urgent theme in the wake of the Friday’s attack. “That is how Mr Rushdie has spent his whole life, and we are very hopeful he will continue to do so,” he added.
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