The role of Islam in the world today is an increasingly complex one. In the wake of the revolutions of the Arab Spring, long-suppressed Islamic parties have been gaining ground in such countries as Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt. Meanwhile, in Iran, a theocracy since the 1979 Islamist Revolution, rifts between reformists and conservatives are growing.
What is the state of Islam? A distinguished group of scholars will gather at Haverford College on December 8 for a day of lectures and discussion on that question. The symposium “Islam: Reform and Revival” will feature:
Ali Mirsepassi, professor of Middle Eastern studies and sociology and Director of the Iranian Studies Initiative at New York University. Mirsepassi is the author of Political Islam, Iran and Enlightenment; Democracy in Modern Iran; Truth or Democracy; and is currently completing a book entitled At Home and In the World: Islam, Cosmopolitanism, and Democracy.
Mohsen Kadivar, an Iranian philosopher, university lecturer, cleric and activist. Kadivar has authored 13 books (in Persian and Arabic) and over 50 articles in Islamic Studies on such topics as philosophy, theology, jurisprudence and political thought.
Mahmoud Sadri, Professor of Sociology, Texas Woman’s University. Sadri’s area interests include Middle Eastern and Iranian studies, and Islamic Reformation. He (with Ahmad Sadri) translated, edited, and wrote a critical introduction to Reason, Freedom, & Democracy in Islam: Essential Writings of Abdolkarim Soroush. Sadri writes regularly about intellectual movements in Iran.
Abdolkarim Soroush, Haverford College Visiting Professor of Religion. Soroush studied chemistry and philosophy of science at London University. He has taught philosophy, mysticism and theology at Tehran, Harvard, Princeton, Amsterdam and Georgetown and Universities. Soroush's ideas about Islam, freedom, and democracy have created a stir in international intellectual communities as well as his home country, Iran. Time magazine named him one of 2005's most influential people.
“Islam: Reform and Revival” is sponsored by the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship and the Distinguished Visitor's Committee at Haverford College and is organized by Abdolkarim Soroush and Professor of Sociology Mark Gould. The day-long event runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and will take place in the College’s Sharpless Auditorium.
One of America's leading liberal arts colleges, Haverford College is a close-knit intellectual community located just outside Philadelphia on a serene campus that is a nationally recognized arboretum. Founded in 1833, Haverford is the oldest institution of higher education in North America with Quaker roots and is today a non-sectarian and highly diverse institution that retains many of the guiding principles of its founders, such as emphasis on community and respect for individual conscience. Haverford’s 1,200 students, who enjoy an 8 to 1 student-faculty ratio, come from independent and public schools across the United States and 17 countries around the world. The Center for Peace and Global Citizenship extends Haverford’s long-standing commitment to social justice through research, education and action.
ABOUT Haverford College: http://www.haverford.edu/abouthaverford/
For more information: elotozo@haverford.edu
