CAN WE TALK ABOUT GOD?- Devotion & Extremism in the Modern Age

CAN WE TALK ABOUT GOD?
Devotion and Extremism in the Modern Age

TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2007

VENUE: International House, 2299 Piedmont Avenue (at Bancroft Avenue), UC Berkeley (Wheelchair accessible)
TIMINGS: 7:00 PM (Reception/book signing 6:15-6:45 PM)
ADMISSION: FREE
For parking and driving directions click here.

In the West, we like our religion private. Indeed, recent religious flashpoints—from the Danish cartoon controversy to the rhetoric of Pat Robertson to a Congressman swearing an oath on the Qur'an—have taught us to fear public manifestations of religion. How deserved is that fear? And, does privatizing our religions help us manage faith’s ugly side—or does it, in fact, push the devout so far in the corner that they lash out in desperation?

Please join us for a lively conversation between Roger Scruton and Zaid Shakir, two thinkers with some common ground -- and some sharply differing perspectives, moderated by Sandy Tolan of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

Roger Scruton, the foremost conservative thinker in Britain, is a writer and philosopher who has taught in both Europe and America. He is currently a research professor at the Institute of Psychological Sciences in Arlington, Va. Scruton believes the values held by the West are distinct from those held by other cultures –- and that this creates problems of accommodation, notably for Muslims in western societies. (For a full bio click here.)

Zaid Shakir, a resident scholar at the Zaytuna Institute, is among the most respected Muslim voices in America. Previously an imam at an inner-city mosque in New Haven, Connecticut, he remains deeply concerned about social justice and insists Muslims not dilute their theological heritage while negotiating their Western context. (For a full bio click here.)

Sandy Tolan (Moderator), is an award-winning journalist, documentary-maker, and author of the acclaimed book The Lemon Tree: An Arab, A Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East. He currently teaches at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley, where he directs the International Reporting Project.

A FREE public event presented by the Zaytuna Institute
Co-sponsored by KPFA 94.1 fm, Cody's Bookstore, the Dept. of Near Eastern Studies, and the Religion, Politics, and Globalization Program at UC Berkeley.