Islamic Studies and the Creation of the Good Muslim

Lecture by Dr. Farid Esack

Date: Friday September 23, 2011
Time: 6:30-8:30 pm
Location: Auditorium, Noor Cultural Centre
Admission: $5

Dr. Farid Esack is a South African scholar of Islam who currently serves as the Head of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Johannesburg. Prior to that, he held a joint appointment for two years at Harvard University between the Divinity School and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as the William Henry Bloomberg Professor. He completed his PhD at the University of Birmingham (UK) and did post-doctoral work on Biblical hermeneutics at the Philosophisch Theologische Hochschule, Sankt Georgen in Frankfurt-am-Main.

He is the author of several publications including Qur’an, Liberation & Pluralism: An Islamic Perspective of Interreligious Solidarity Against Oppression, and On Being a Muslim: Finding a Religious Path in the World Today. His current major field of interest is Islam and AIDS, and he is the author of a series of publications dealing with this area, including Islam, HIV & AIDS – Reflections Based on Compassion, Responsibility and Justice. He has also published widely on Islam, gender, liberation theology, inter-faith relations, religion & identity and Qur’anic hermeneutics.

He was formerly a National Commissioner on Gender Equality appointed by President Nelson Mandela, is a veteran of the struggle against the Apartheid, and is an activist in the inter-religious solidarity movement for justice and peace. He is currently active with Positive Muslims, an organization working with Muslims who are HIV positive in South Africa; and through the several development boards on which he serves in South Africa and internationally.