Please Pass the Palau: Biblical Hospitality and Empowering Muslim Refugee Women

The following presentation took place at the 2025 Symposium for the Theological Interpretation of Scripture: Hospitality & Immigration on North Park University’s campus in Chicago, IL on February 14 and 15, 2025.  

In Session 5, Cindy M. Wu’s presentation, “Please Pass the Palau: Biblical Hospitality and Empowering Muslim Refugee Women,” focuses on the concept of biblical hospitality as a means of empowering Muslim refugee women. She likely explores how hospitality, traditionally understood, can be reinterpreted and applied in contemporary contexts to create welcoming and supportive environments for refugees. Her points probably highlight the importance of active engagement and fostering agency within the refugee community, moving beyond passive reception to genuine empowerment.

She emphasizes that true hospitality involves not just providing basic needs but also recognizing the inherent dignity and capabilities of refugee women, allowing them to participate actively in their new communities. This could involve creating spaces for their voices to be heard, their skills to be utilized, and their cultural heritage to be honored, all within a framework of biblical principles.

Christopher M. Hoskins responds.