Media

Islam and Human Rights: A 50-Year Retrospective

When: Wednesday, March 15, 2023 — 6:30 PM- 8:00 PM (MST)
Where: Telus Centre, University of Alberta, Room 134

 

***

Click on the photo to see more.


Resistance, Social Movements, Democracy: Myth of Middle East Exceptionalism

When: Tuesday, February 7, 2023 — 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Where: Telus Centre, Room 150

Click on the photo to see more.

Songs of the New Arab Revolutions (excerpts):
by Prof. Michael Frishkopf

You can view the entire film here

 


The Islamic History Month’s Special Virtual Panel

Multiple Manifestations of Being Muslim 

When: Wednesday, October 19, 2022, 6:00 PM — 8:00 PM (MDT)
Where: Zoom webinar

 


What’s Happening in Iran? “Women, Life, Freedom” (Zan, Zendegi, Azadi)

When: Friday October 14, 2022, 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM (MST)
Where: Online Zoom Webinar.

Speakers:
Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania, President-Elect of Association for Iranian Studies
Nader Hashemi Associate Professor; Director of the Centre for Middle Studies, the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver

In conversation with, and moderated by Mojtaba Mahdavi Professor of Political Science; ECMC Chair in Islamic Studies, University of Alberta

 


The Geostrategic Curse in the Middle East: Regional Rivalries and Western Powers

Public Talk by Fawaz A. Gerges Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics

When: Monday September 26, 2022, 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM (Edmonton time)
Where: Online Zoom Webinar.

 

 


Rethinking China, the Middle East and Asia in a ‘Multiplex World’

Speaker:
Manochehr Dorraj, Professor of Political Science, Texas Christian University, USA
Habibul Khondker, Professor of Social Sciences at Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Mojtaba Mahdavi, Professor of Political Science and the ECMC Chair in Islamic Studies, University of Alberta

Commentator:
Ashley Esarey, Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the interdisciplinary program in Taiwan Studies, University of Alberta

When: Thursday, May 26th, 2022, 10:00 am (Edmonton Time)
Where: Online Zoom Webinar.

 

 

 


Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine: Implications for the Middle East and the Muslim world

Public talk by Juan Cole
Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan, USA

When: Wednesday Mar 23 at 6:00 PM (MST)
Where: Zoom webinar.

 

 


Upholding White Supremacy through Anti-Muslim Racism

Public Talk by Sherene H. Razack Distinguished Professor and the Penny Kanner Endowed Chair in Women’s Studies in the Department of Gender Studies, UCLA

When: Thursday January 27, 2022 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM (Edmonton time)
Where: Online Zoom Webinar.

 


Muslim Feminisms: In and Against the Islam/Secular Dichotomy

Public Talk by Amina Jamal Associate Professor of Sociology at Ryerson University

When: Thursday October 21, 2021 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM (Edmonton time)
Where: Online Zoom Webinar


The U.S. War on Terror: Lessons Learned Twenty Years After 9/11

Public Talk by Fawaz A. Gerges
Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics

When: Wednesday September 8, 2021 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM (Edmonton time)
Where: Online Zoom Webinar.

 


Islam and the Experience of Toleration: The Past and the Future

Public Talk by Arash Naraghi, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion; Chair, Department of Philosophy, Moravian College, USA

When: Saturday, March 27, 2021, 10 AM-12 noon (Edmonton time)
Where: Online Zoom Webinar.

 

 

 

 

 


Book launch on International Women’s Day | A White Lie: Women’s Voices from Gaza Series

Speaker: Dr. Ghada Ageel, Department of Political Science, University of Alberta

When: Monday, March 8, 2021, 12 noon-1:00 pm (Edmonton Time)
Where: Online Zoom Webinar.

 

 


U.S. Middle East Policy in the Post-Trump Era Public

Online Talk by Mehrzad Boroujerdi, Professor and Director of School of Public and International Affairs, Virginia Tech, USA

When: Wednesday, February 24, 2021, 6:00-7:30 PM (Edmonton time)
Where: Online Zoom Webinar.


In Memory of Mohammad Reza Shajarian

Talk by:
Professor Rob Simms, University of York
Majid Derakhshani

Performance by:
Barbad Ensemble: Mehdi Rezania (Santur) and Abtin Ghaffari (Tombak)

 


Islamic Liberation Theology as Critique: Critical Islamic Political Thought in the Age of Systemic Racism and Exclusion Public
A Talk by Farid Esack, Professor in the Study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa

When: Saturday November 28, 2020, 1:00-2:30 PM (MST)
Where: Zoom Webinar


Can Islam Provide The Antidote To Racism in North America?
A Public Talk by Dr. Muqtedar KhanProfessor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Delaware, USA

When: Wednesday October 7, 2020, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM (MDT)
Where: Zoom Webinar

 


Iran’s Post-Islamist Democracy? Challenges and Opportunities : A Public Talk by Mojtaba Mahdavi

When: Thursday, 12 March 2020, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Where: Room 1-5, Business Building, University of Alberta

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”53″ gal_title=”Dr Mahdavi Talk”]


Understanding Islam in an Age of Polarization and Misinformation: A Public Talk by Ali S. Asani

When: Thursday, 5 March 2020, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Where: Room 1-5, Business Building, University of Alberta

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”50″ gal_title=”Asani Talk”]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Video:


David Barsamian: “End the Palestinization of Kashmir”

When: Friday November 22 — 6:00 PM
Where: 150 Telus Centre – 87 Ave & 111 St. University of Alberta

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”48″ gal_title=”David Barsamian”]


Muslims Actions and Contributions to Humanity; Then and Now
Keynote address by Professor Mojtaba Mahdavi at “Islamic History Month of Edmonton Council of Muslim Communities” 

Were: Edmonton City Hall
When: October 22, 2019, 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”46″ gal_title=”Muslim Month Talk”]


Tweets and ‘Deals of the Century’: Trump & Chaos in the Middle East: A public talk by Robert Fisk 

When: Tuesday, November 12, 2019 — 7:00 PM
Where: Centennial Centre for Interdisciplinary Science, University of Alberta

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”44″ gal_title=”Robert Fisk Talk”]


Imagining “Indigenous” and “Glocal” Democratic Socialism: Can Freedom, Social Justice, and Civil Spirituality Coexist in Muslim Societies?

When: Saturday and Sunday 27-28 April 2019, 8:30 AM- 5:00 PM
Where: Room 134, Telus Centre, University of Alberta

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”35″ gal_title=”Conference”]

 


Three Minute Thesis Competition

Warm Congratulations to the Recipients of the ECMC Chair in Islamic Studies Three Minute Thesis Prizes:

* Banafsheh Mohammadi, PhD student, Art & Design, (First place Prize: $500)
* Sajad Soleymani Yazdi, PhD student, Modern Languague and Cultural Studies (Second place Prize: $300)

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”30″ gal_title=”3 Minute Thesis Competition”]


Reading Edward Said and Saba Mahmood in Today’s Context

Yasmeen Abu-Laban (Political Science), Ann McDougall (History & Classics), Cressida Heyes (Political Science), Joseph Hill (Anthropology), Michael Frishkopf (Music), Siobhan Byrne (Political Science), Mojtaba Mahdavi (Political Science)

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”22″ gal_title=”Reading Edward Said and Saba Mahmood in Today’s Context”]


Boustan: In a Fragrant Garden Contemporary Music of Middle Eastern and Muslim Societies

Habib Hoseini (Vocal), Ahmad al-Badr (Ud), Mehdi Rezania (Santur), Abtin Ghaffari (Tombak, Darabukah), Jenny Boutros (Vocal), Michael Frishkopf (Nay), Etelka Nyilasi (Violin), Roy Abdalnour (Violin), Ahmed Al-Auqaily (Riqq).

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”14″ gal_title=”Concert”]


Siavash Saffari | Assistant Professor of West Asian Studies, Seoul National University, South Korea

Mojtaba Mahdavi | ECMC Chair in Islamic Studies, Department of Political Science, University of Alberta

A Panel Discussion on the Many Faces of Islamic Reform: Islamic Reform and Emancipatory Politics in the Age of Extremism and Neoliberalism



Peyman Vahabzadeh | Professor of Sociology at the University of Victoria

Public Talk: The “Muslim Extremist” ’s Invisible Relative: How to Trace the Silent Violence that Informs Our Lives?


Amyn B. Sajoo | Lecturer in history and global politics at Simon Fraser University

Public Talk: Who Are We? Populism, Citizenship, Religion


Asma Afsaruddin | Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures in the School of Global and International Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington

Public Talk: Islam, Gender and Feminist Hermeneutics



Mojtaba Mahdavi | ECMC Chair in Islamic Studies and Associate Professor of Political Science, Department of Political Science, University of Alberta

Public Talk: Muslims and the Middle East in a Post-Trump Era



Tariq Ramadan | Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies, Oxford University

Public Talk: Creating Thriving Societies in Troubling Times



Khaled Abou El Fadl | The Omar and Azmeralda Alfi Professor of Law at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), USA

Public Talk: The Promises and Perils of Shari’ah in the Modern Age


Hamid Dabashi | The Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University in the City of New York, USA

Public Talk: Can Non-Europeans Think?


John Esposito | University Professor of Religion and International Affairs and of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, USA

Public Talk: The Future of Muslims in the West: Protecting Pluralism and Ending Islamophobia


Fawaz Gerges | Professor of International Relations at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), UK

Public Talk: In Defence of the Arab Spring Uprisings: How Al Qaeda and ISIS Proponents and Detractors Misappropriate the Narrative?


Abdulkarim Soroush | Leading Muslim reformist public intellectual, a Rumi scholar, and a former professor of philosophy at the University of Tehran, Iran.

Public Talk: Language of Rights and Language of Obligations: An Islamic Perspective


 

International Conference

The Unfinished Project of the Arab Spring:Why “Middle East Exceptionalism” is Still Wrong

University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada – September 25-27, 2015

‣ Opening Remarks

‣ Keynote Address: Recolonizing the Arab World – Tariq Ali

‣ Special Panel: Middle East Today: What is Missing in the Media?

‣ Panel 1 – Beyond ‘Middle East Exceptionalism’: “What the Middle East Offers to World History”

‣ Panel 2 – Critique From Within: Intellectual Discourses and the MENA Uprisings

‣ Panel 3 – “The Quiet Encroachment” of the Counter-revolutionaries: How the Autocrats Survived the MENA Uprisings

‣ Keynote Address: The Struggle against Fundamentalism after the Revolutions of 2011: Your Fatwa Still Does Not Apply Here – Karima Bennoune

‣ Panel 4 – Geopolitics of the Arab Uprisings: Oil, Foreign Intervention and Military Coup

‣ Panel 5 – What Happened to “Songs of the New Arab Revolutions”?

‣ Panel 6 – Gendering the MENA Uprisings: Women and Politics of the Body

‣ Keynote Address: Reformist Islam, Gender and the Questions of Authority – Amina Wadud

‣ Panel 7 – Finished or Unfinished Social Movements? Is the Return of the Repressed Possible?

‣ Panel 8 – Online Activism in the MENA Uprisings: Media and Politics of Representation

‣ Panel 9 – Five Years After the Uprisings: “A Tale of High Hopes and Dashed Expectations”?

‣ Panel 10 – “Why They Joined” Extremist Groups: ISIS, Boko Haram and al-Shabaab

‣ Panel 11 – Arts and Literature: Diaries and Performance of the MENA Uprisings

‣ Panel 12 – Gendering the Uprisings: Women’s Movements

‣ Closing Remarks