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03:00 PM » An Illuminated History of Jewish-Muslim Relations

Feb. 24 (Sun), 3-6 pm—"An Illuminated History of Jewish-Muslim Relations" Will Explore Historic Bonds & Contemporary Tensions

http://www.levantinecenter.org/pages/illuminated_history.html

Levantine Center at Pacific Arts Center, 10469 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles 90025 (just west of Beverly Glen). Street parking. Seating limited, advance reservations suggested.

$25 general, $20 members and students with i.d. ($30 at the door, contingent on availability), includes light reception. Book by phone, 310.657.5511 or online

The turbulence between Jews and Muslims centered on Israel has ignored the many commonalities the religions share. This seminar will shed a different light on how Jewish and Muslim identities have relied on common aspects of life in the Middle East, and the world. Few religions have as much in common as Islam and Judaism. Judaism has historically remained overwhelmingly rooted in its Semitic world view and is extremely similar to Islam in its fundamental religious outlook, structure, jurisprudence and practice. At the heart of the two faiths is an ethical-monotheistic vision which determinedly resists any compromise on the idea of the transcendence and unity of God who is envisaged as just and merciful and who has revealed a way of life in accordance with these values for the benefit of human society.

This seminar will look at Jewish-Muslim relations in three ways; religious, cultural, and literary. We will read literary narratives, sacred texts and poetry.

Mehnaz Afridi, Ph.D.Mehnaz M. Afridi has a B.A. and MA in Religious Studies from Syracuse University and has studied at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Her Ph.D. was on “Mahfouz and Modern Islamic Identity” from the University of South Africa in Religious Studies. As a Muslim, she has had a deep interest in Judaism and Modern Jewish Diaspora, and Secular Islamic Identity that has led her to numerous exciting interfaith conferences, invitations by non-Muslims to expound on the intellectual and theological similarities between Jews and Muslims. Her extensive background in both Jewish and Islamic thought and culture has led to numerous prestigious research grants and fostered the development of courses in Jewish and Islamic Studies programs. Her recent research projects are focused on Europe and Islam, Muslims and Jews in Italian culture; she taught in Rome and participated in a seminar sponsored by the National Endowment of Humanities on “Jews, and Italian Culture” in Venice, Italy. Recently, she was invited by the University of Munich to present her work on “Egypt: A Nexus of Anti-Semitism” in Elmau, Munich.