A talk by a leading Muslim public intellectual Dr. Omid Safi February 2nd 2016 at 7pm at SFU Harbour Centre Segal rooms 1420-1430; by sliding scale donation. With the rise of Islamophobia there has also come an entire industry of specialization studies that investigate “Islamic inspired terrorism”. We have all experienced the verbiage of scholars and experts touted in the media and in academic circles, literature and think tanks that while busy pontificating on our predicament and grip of fear, often end up driving it to our detriment. Associations with anything and everything said to be Muslim, Arab and Iranian are often analyzed by these so-called experts in polarizing and confusing ways that ultimately pass through us without effecting any transformative change in either society or ourselves. In this cacophony of sciolism, Safi has the distinct ability to cut through the noise straight to our universal hearts yearning to resonate with those fleeting moments of justice and love in our world today. Safi will be delivering a talk titled “Muslims in an age of Islamophobia and ISIS: Towards a holistic stance of Justice” on February 2nd 2016 at 7pm at SFU Harbour Centre, Segal rooms 1420-1430. Safi is a leading Muslim public intellectual specializing in contemporary Islamic thought and Islamic spirituality, and is cut with the same righteous indignation and radical love that is common to all prophetic traditions. His erudition delivers an antidote to the fear, capable of transformative change in the most ardent Islamophobes and those on the fence who may only have a cursory, illusory or erroneous often-negative understanding of Islam and Muslims. Safi the Director of the Duke Islamic Studies Center, one of the leading institutions for research promoting publicly accessible scholarship on Islam and Muslim communities worldwide. He is widely published, recognized and awarded for his scholarship and teaching at Duke University, University of North Carolina, and Colgate University. He is the editor of the volume Progressive Muslims: On Justice, Gender, and Pluralism. In this ground-breaking volume, he inaugurated a new understanding of Islam which is rooted in social justice, gender equality, and religious/ethnic pluralism. His work Politics of Knowledge in Premodern Islam, dealing with medieval Islamic history and politics, was published in 2006. His Memories of Muhammad is an award-wining biography of the Prophet Muhammad. His last volume on American Islam was just published by Cambridge University Press. He has a forthcoming volume from Princeton University Press on the famed mystic Rumi. The Carnegie Foundation recognized Omid as a leading Scholar of Islam in 2007-2008. Omid has been among the most frequently sought speakers on Islam in popular media, appearing frequently in the New York Times, Newsweek, Washington Post, PBS, NPR, NBC, BBC, CNN, and international media. He regularly blogs at OnBeing.org and leads a summer program in Turkey, called Illuminated Tours, which focuses on the spiritual dimension of Islam and the rich encounter of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism there. Siraat and MARU – Migration/Art/Race/Unlimited are two local community organizations that have formed a coalition of community sponsors including SANSAD, al-Ameen Newspaper and Critical Muslim Voices joining with the Centre for the Comparative Study of Muslim Societies and Cultures (CCSMSC) and Institute For the Humanities at SFU to host Safi’s talk and discussion at 7pm at SFU Harbour Centre Segal rooms 1420-1430 on February 2nd 2016, by donation, sliding scale (no one turned away for lack of funds).
The program is open to everyone, the community invites you to encourage your acquaintances especially those who have only perfunctory understanding to have a listen to Omid Safi as he shares his analysis towards a holistic stance of justice in an age of Islamophobia. -30-
For more information, see Facebook events: “Muslims in an age of Islamophobia and ISIS: Towards a holistic stance of Justice”. Seating is limited please RSVP: at [email protected]. Contact Dr. Omid Safi for interviews c/o, Alnoor Gova at 778-707-2771
