Facing Religious Intolerance: Islamophobia in 21st C America
Facing Religious Intolerance: Islamophobia in 21st C America
This symposium hopes to the address the underlying convoluted make up of religious bigotry today, specifically against Islam, and the ways in which it impacts the larger society and the socio-political arena. This is a timely and important discussion that all are encouraged and welcomed to attend. This intellectual exercise is committed to learning and understanding. Let’s grow in awareness together for a more just and peaceful world.
Date: Saturday, Feb. 23rd 2013
Venue: American Islamic College
Time: 4:30PM Reception, 5:00PM Keynote: Nathan Lean
There Will Be a Book Signing
Speakers:
Mr. Nathan Lean, (Keynote Speaker)
Writer, Editor-In-Chief of Aslan Media, Author of The Islamophobia Industry
Mr. Laith Al-Saud, Professor Islamic World Studies, DePaul University
Mr. Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director, CAIR-Chicago
Mr. Asaf Bar-Tura, Director of Programs, Jewish Council on Urban Affairs
Dr. Aminah McCloud, Director of Islamic World Studies at DePaul University
Dr. Farid Hafez, Department for the Philosophy of Law, Law of Religion, and Culture, University of Vienna
Dr. Mary Nelson, Interim Executive Director of Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions, Chair of Board of Sojourners
1st Panel 6:30pm:
Nature, Origin, & The Manufacturing of Islamophobia
Mr. Nathan Lean, Mr. Ahmed Rehab, Dr. Farid Hafez
2nd Panel 7:30pm:
Confronting Bigotry, Countering Stereotypes: Community Leaders Respond
Mr. Asaf Bar-Tura, Dr. Aminah McCloud, Dr. Mary Nelson
Free & Open to the Public
RSVP Required
Free, Limited Parking Available http://www.aicusa.edu/contact/
640 W Irving Park Rd
Chicago, IL. 60613
773.281.4700
Speaker Bios:
Mr. Nathan Lean, Writer, Editor-In-Chief of Aslan Media, Author of TheIslamophobia Industry
Mr. Nathan Lean is a writer and scholar of Middle Eastern studies, political science, and international relations. He holds a Masters of Arts in International Studies and and has written extensively on Islam, American foreign policy, North African politics, and cultural diplomacy. He is the Editor-In-Chief of Aslan Media and a contributing writer on national politics and global affairs at PolicyMic.com. He is currently completing a graduate degree at Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies. Nathan is the co-author of Iran, Israel, and the United States (Praeger 2010) and the author of The Islamophobia Industry: How the Right Manufactures Fear of Muslims (Pluto Press, 2012). Visit his website at: www.nathanlean.com and follow him on Twitter @nathanlean.
Mr. Laith Al-Saud, Professor Islamic World Studies, DePaul University
DePaul University’s Laith Saud is an expert on Islamic thought and contemporary Middle Eastern politics. He is a former contributing writer for al-Jazeera, and has published numerous articles on Islamic thought and Middle Eastern politics. He lectures and speaks to audiences at several university campuses and at many conferences. He serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Islamic Law and Culture and has published numerous articles such as “Interpretations in Islamic Political Thought: Preliminary Quest & Other Considerations” for the Comparative Islamic Studies Journal. He is a regular contributor to NPR, recently reporting on interviews he gathered from the Muslim Brotherhood during his visit to Egypt at the time of the Egyptian Revolution, and is co-authoring a book (with Amina McCould and Scott Hibbard) entitled, An Introduction to Islam for the 21st Century, scheduled to be released Spring 2013.
Mr. Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director, CAIR-Chicago
Mr. Ahmed Rehab is an American Muslim activist and writer with a focus on contemporary social issues including civil rights, media relations, and Islam-West relations. He is a regular contributor to the Chicago Tribune, the Huffington Post, and CNN.com, his Op-Eds have been published in numerous newspapers around the country, and he has been interviewed numerous times by the Chicago Sun-Times, the Daily Herald, the Washington Post, the Orlando Sentinel, the Economist, the Boston Globe, Crain’s Business Magazine, the Chicago Tribune, Germany’s Die Zeit, and many more.
Mr. Asaf Bar-Tura, Director of Programs, Jewish Council on Urban Affairs
Mr. Asaf Bar-Tuna has extensive background in training, education and work with low-income communities. After backpacking in South America for six months, he completed his undergraduate studies in Philosophy and Political Science at Ben-Gurion University in Israel. He holds a Masters degree in Philosophy from Loyola University Chicago, and is currently working on his Ph. D. in political philosophy at Loyola. Before coming to JCUA, Asaf directed an educational program serving 300 children in the underserved Bedford Park community of the North Bronx in New York City. Asaf joined JCUA in 2007 as the Director of Teen Programs. In 2009 he began coordinating JCUA’s Jewish-Muslim Community Building Initiative (JMCBI). Currently Asaf oversees a number of programs as JCUA’s Director of Programs.
Dr. Aminah McCloud, DePaul University Director of the Islamic World Studies Program
Dr. Aminah McCloud is the Director of the Islamic World Studies Program at DePaul University where she teaches Islamic Studies in the Department of Religious Studies. She is the founder of Islam in America Conference at DePaul. She is a board member of several organizations including Radio Islam, Feminist Sexual Ethics Project, and Institute for Social and Policy Understanding. She is the current editor for The Journal of Islamic Law and Culture. She is the author of African American Islam, Questions of Faith, and Transnational Muslims in American Society and Silks: The Textures of American Muslim Women’s Lives. Her research is primarily based on Muslim faith and practice, cultural diversity, and the history and region of the Muslim world. She has specialized in Islamic mysticism, law, theology, and philosophy. She is interested in topics on human rights, gender, and liberation theology.
Dr. Farid Hafez, Department for the Philosophy of Law, Law of Religion, and Culture, University of Vienna
Dr. Farid Hafez holds a Ph.D. and a M.A. in political science (University of Vienna) and a M.Sc. in civic education (University of Krems). He has been doing researches and lecturing at different Universities and colleges in Austria. Currently he teaches political science at the Muslim Teachers Training College (Vienna). He is co-editor ofIslamophobie in Österreich (Islamophobia in Austria), which won the Bruno-Kreisky-Award for the political book of the year 2009. Research interests are: institutionalization of Islam in Europe, Islamophobia and Islamic political theory. Hafez is the editor of the German Yearbook on Islamophobia Studies (www.jahrbuch-islamophobie.de). His last publications include “From the Far Right to the MainstreamIslamophobia in Party Politics and the Media” (University of Chicago Press, 2012).
Dr. Mary Nelson, Interim Executive Director of Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions, Chair of Board of Sojourners
Dr. Mary Nelson is the Interim Executive Director for the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions. She is Chair of the Board of Sojourners. The Sojourners is one of many Christian organizations and representatives that denounced the controversial Islamophobic ads initiated in NY subways by purchasing advertisements that countered those.
Dr. Nelson has spent the last 40 years working in faith-based community development on the west side of Chicago, leading a staff of 300 persons at Bethel New Life, Inc. She was awarded six honorary doctorate degrees. She is vice chair of the board of the Council for a Parliament of World Religions and is Chair of the Board of Sojourners. She is also currently the coordinator of the Loyola University (Chicago) Institute of Pastoral Studies Masters in Social Justice and Community Development. Mary is also the author of Empowerment.
