Scholar to speak on views of "Islam and Violence"

RELEASED: Feb. 8, 2007

DANVILLE, KY—Centre College will host a public lecture by Ishan Bagby, associate professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Kentucky. The lecture, titled "Islam and Violence," will take place Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in 101 Young Hall on campus.

Bagby's lecture will focus on the disparate interpretations and the ramifications that arise in political and policy debates.

"In the popular imagination, Islam and violence are deeply related," says Nayef Samhat, Frank B. and Virginia B. Hower Associate Professor of Government and International Studies at Centre. "Such misperceptions have a profound impact on foreign policy and serve to reinforce the idea, a false one, that the war on terror is in reality a clash of civilizations between Islam and the West. Professor Bagby's work, and his talk, go far to dispel these notions and bring clarity to the issues at hand."

A native of Cleveland, Bagby received a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies from the University of Michigan. His research for the last 10 years has focused on Muslims in America.

In 2001 Bagby published The Mosque in America: A National Portrait, the results of the first comprehensive study of mosques in America. He has published numerous articles based on the 2001 study, and he is presently working on a book on African-American Muslims. 

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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