Speaker series examines contemporary Muslim culture

KALAMAZOO—Experts from a range of scholarly and activist backgrounds will participate in the Islam in Global Perspectives speaker series Jan. 23 through April 3 on the campus of Western Michigan University.

All lectures are free and open to the public and take place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Multicultural Center in the Trimpe Building. Free parking is available in lots 39 and 100. Light refreshments will be provided.

The goal of the series is to spark discussion on themes critical to understanding contemporary Muslim cultures and societies.

Series speakers and topics

• Jan. 23, Mohammad Hassan Khalil, Michigan State University, "Muslim Expressions: A Tour of the Muslim World through Music Videos"
• Jan. 30, Ahmed El Shamsy, University of Chicago, "Reconfiguring the Classics of Islamic Thought in Early 20th-Century Egypt"
• Feb. 6, Zarinah El-Amin Naeem, Niyah Creative Living and Beautifully Wrapped, "American Muslim Identities and the Cultural Wombs that Bore Them"
• Feb. 13, Mara Leichtman, Michigan State University, "Conversion to Shi‘i Islam and the Transformation of Religious Authority in Senegal"
• Feb. 20, Sally Howell, University of Michigan-Dearborn, "Building on Difference: Detroit's First Mosques, 1912-1962"
• March 20, Dawud Walid, Council of American Islamic Relations-Michigan, "Challenges of Racism and the Acculturation of American Muslims"
• March 27, Nathan Tabor, University of Texas, "Ethical Publics and Urdu Poetics in Muslim North India"
• April 3, Tabassum Ruby, WMU, "The Power of Images and Muslim Women: A Critical Reflection on Sharia in Canada"

For more information, contact Dr. Alisa Perkins, Department of Comparative Religion, at (269) 387-4396 or alisa.perkins@wmich.edu.