Islam and the West (PHOTO OF PANEL) A panel discussion group on Islamic society during "Islam and the West" includes, left to right, moderator Alan Godlas, UGA assistant professor of religion, and panel members Sulayman Nyang, professor African studies at Howard University; Amina Wadud-Muhsin, assistant professor of philosophy and religious studies at Virginia Commonwealth University; Ramadan Abdullah, director of the World And Islam Studies Enterprise; and Ann Mayer, associate professor of legal studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

"Islam and the West": Conference Focuses on Global Understanding

"Islam and the West," a symposium focusing on greater understanding of Islam and the Middle East, attracted more than 500 attendees to the Georgia Center for Continuing Education January 18-20, 1995. The symposium, sponsored by The University of Georgia Humanities Center, the Georgia Humanities Council, and the Georgia Center, is the first in the "Cultures in Conflict Series." The conference brought together speakers from a wide variety of political and theological viewpoints in an attempt to promote better understanding between the Islamic Middle East and the West.

Discussion groups were scheduled during the symposium to encourage debate and complement major addresses. Topics included the Persian Gulf War, political relationships between the Islamic Middle East and the West, and Islamic society. The conference also included discussions of Islamic music and art.

Speakers included Ramsey Clark, U.S. attorney general for the Johnson Administration; John Esposito, director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University; Kanan Makiya, research fellow at the Center of Middle East Studies at Harvard University; and Seyyed Hossein Nasr, university professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University.

Future programs are being planned now, including one next year which will focus on the Pacific Rim. For more information about the UGA Humanities Center's "Program for Global Understanding," of which the "Cultures in Conflict Series" is part, contact Betty Jean Craige, professor, comparative literature, and director, The Humanities Center, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-1628, 706-542-9265. Or e-mail bjcraige@uga.cc.uga.edu

These pages and their contents copyright 1995 University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education. All rights reserved.
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