August 23, 2007

Expert on women's issues in Islam to speak at SIUC

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Asma Barlas, considered one of the nation's leading speakers on women's issues in Islam, will present a lecture at Southern Illinois University Carbondale on Friday, Aug. 24.

Barlas will discuss "Addressing the Issues of Women in Islam," at 5 p.m. in the Student Center's Illinois Room. Admission is free, and the public is welcome. SIUC's Women's Studies, International Programs and Services, and The Dayemi Tariqat are sponsoring the event.

Barlas is a professor and director of the Center for the Study of Culture, Race and Ethnicity at Ithaca College in Ithaca, N.Y. She is also an author and international speaker. She has written three books, including "Islam, Muslims and the U.S.: Essays on Religion and Politics," in 2004, and " 'Believing Women' in Islam, Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an," in 2002.

Barlas earned a doctorate in international studies from the University of Denver's Graduate School of International Studies in 1990. She has master's degrees in international studies from the University of Denver in 1986, and in journalism from the University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan, in 1971. She earned a bachelor's degree in English Literature and Philosophy from Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore, Pakistan, in 1969.

For more information, contact Rahima Flocco of the Dayemi Tariqat at 618/529-5044.