Lectures for 2007-2008Lectures Report: 2007-2008 Lectures Report Lectures:
* A History of Islam in the African-American Community * Talk by Arif Jamal
Arif Jamal: Arif is a librarian at Hillman Library and a faculty member at Pitt. He is an indigenous Muslim African American who gave several talks in the past on this topic The Muslim Students Association partnered with the Office of Student Development to bring Arif Jamal to give a talk on Carnegie Mellon Campus. Arif Jamal is faculty member and a librarian at the University of Pittsburgh, specializing in the African-American Collection. Forty people attended his talk on Feb 5th, 2008, entitled A History of Islam in the African-American Community. His talk was a unique addition to this year's Black History Month (BHM) and aimed to emphasize the prevalence of Islam in the United States among the African-American community. "Islam is not a foreign religion in the U.S.; rather it is among the old religions here. It tells them [the black community] a big part of the history [of Islam in the U.S.] that affects what they are now," said Electrical and Computer Engineering graduate student and MSA member Basil AsSadhan. "The fact that MSA came to the BHM committee shows that connections in unlikely places can be made," M. Shernell said. "The collaboration on the event shows the campus community spirit of bringing together multi-cultural organizations and empowers other groups to see what they can contribute to the campus community." Press Coverage: * God and the Devil in Catholicism and Islam * Talk by David McCarthy
David McCarthy: He converted to Islam from his previous faith, Catholicism, 2 years ago. He has a BS degree in Religion & History and is the new director of ICP. The Muslim Students Association partnered with the Office of Student Development to bring David McCarthy to give a talk on Carnegie Mellon Campus. Forty-five people gathered in McKenna/Peter Room in the University Center at Carnegie Mellon to have a dialogue about the concept of God and the Devil relates to the faiths of both Catholicism and Islam. The speaker, David McCarthy, a Religion History graduate from the University of Pittsburgh and a recent convert from Catholicism to Islam spoke in depth about this topic to a mixed audience of 45 students, faculty and administrators from various faiths including Muslims, Catholics and other denominations of Christianity, as well as other faiths. The talk was followed by an engaging discussion section where the audience had a chance to ask questions and speak about the nuances of their own faiths. * Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think * Talk by Dalia Mogahed
Dalia Mogahed: Dalia is the former Outreach Director at the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh (ICP). She is now a senior analyst and executive director of the Center for Muslim Studies at the Gallup Organization. She will be speaking about her new coming book co-authored with John Esposito, withe same title The Muslim Students Association with the Saudi Students House, invited Dalia Mogahed as part of the University Lecture Series. Dalia Mogahed is a Senior Analyst and Executive Director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, a nonpartisan research center dedicated to providing data-driven analysis on the views of Muslim populations around the world. With John L. Esposito, Ph.D., she is the coauthor of the book Who Speaks for Islam?: What a Million Muslims Really Think. Her analysis has appeared in a number of leading publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy Magazine, Harvard International Review, The Journal of Middle East Policy, and many others. An audience of diverse backgrounds numbering about 130 people gathered in Rangos 3 in the University Center to enjoy multiethnic food from around the Muslim world such as baklawa, minted tea, kofta, and various pastries and listen to the lecture. In her talk, Dalia challenged conventional wisdom and shed greater light on what motivates Muslims worldwide. She shared some anecdotes from her book that was created from six years of research and tens of thousands of interviews representing 1.3 billion Muslims who reside in more than 35 nations that are predominantly Muslim or have sizable Muslim populations. What the study reveals may surprise you. "The conflict between Muslim and Western communities," write Esposito and Mogahed, "is far from inevitable. It is more about policy than principles. But, until and unless decision makers gain an accurate understanding of this conflict by listening directly to the people, extremists on all sides will continue to gain ground." The presentation was followed by an engaging Q&A session with the speaker. Press Coverage:* Less Safe, Less Free: Why America is Losing the War on Terrorism * Talk by David Cole
David Cole: He is a Professor of Law at Georgetown University, and a proficient speaker on the War on Terror and civil liberties. He will be speaking about his new book of the same title. The Muslims Students Association, with the support from members of the Muslim community in Pittsburgh, arranged for David Cole to speak as part of the University Lecture Series. David Cole is a professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, a volunteer staff attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights, the legal affairs correspondent for The Nation, a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books, and a commentator on National Public Radio's All Things Considered. Fifty students, faculty, and members of the Pittsburgh community came to listen to Professor Cole's talk about the dangers of the loss of civil liberties in the U.S based on his book Less Safe, Less Free: Why America is Losing the War on Terror co-authored by University of Pittsburgh Law Professor Jules Lobel. |
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