WMU News

Islamic expert to present lectures

March 18, 1999

KALAMAZOO-- An Islamic expert will present three lectures on various aspects of the religion March 23-25 on the Western Michigan University campus as part of the Mircea Eliade Lectures on Religion.

Dr. Ahmet T. Karamustafa, professor of Islamic studies and director of the religious studies program at Washington University in St. Louis, will present a series of lectures that focus on "Defining Religion: Classical, Medieval and Contemporary Islamic Perspectives."

In his first lecture Tuesday, March 23, Karamustafa will address "Religion as a Private Matter." His second lecture on Wednesday, March 24, will examine "Religion as Perfection," while his third lecture on Thursday, March 25 will explore "Religion as Freedom." All lectures will begin at 7 p.m. in Room 3508 Knauss Hall and are free and open to the public.

Karamustafa has published numerous studies on Islamic mysticism including the book "God's Unruly Friends: Dervish Groups in the Islamic Later Middle Period, 1200-1550." He is currently working on a book about the conception of individual identity in Islamic thought.

WMU's Mircea Eliade Lectures on Religion are funded by an anonymous donor and named for religious historian Micea Eliade.

For more information, contact Dr. David Ede, associate professor of comparative religion, at (616) 387-4396.

Media contact: Marie Lee, 616 387-8400, marie.lee@wmich.edu


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