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CIS | Center for Islamic Studies

Ibn 'Arabi Society Lecture Series: An Afternoon with Todd Lawson

Water, Light, Knowledge: Towards an Ecology of Imagination

Todd Lawson

Water and Light pervade the writings of Ibn 'Arabi as they do the Quran itself. In the poetic literalism of Ibn 'Arabi's discourse, these everyday realities are frequently involved in specific events of knowing. Knowledge appears to be built upon water and light. Water and Light are also essential "hormones of the imagination" – they are elements of the natural realm that lead us beyond nature.

Mirror Texts: Muslim Jewish Interfaith Art and Text Study

Join us for an afternoon of interfaith text study, and open dialogue co-facilitated by Dr. Leyla Ozgur Alhassen, scholar of Qur’anic narrative, and Arielle Tonkin, visual artist and specialist in Jewish text. We will explore text as an intellectual and artistic pursuit in the Jewish and Islamic traditions, focusing on the stories in the Qur'an and the Torah that explore the character of Musa/Moshe's sister. We look forward to learning, creating, and building community with you! Hosted at the Graduate Theological Union, this event is open to the public and to people of all faiths.

7th Annual Islamophobia Conference

The Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project in conjunction with Center for Islamic Studies at GTU cordially invite you to their first and largest conference on Islamophobia, which is held annually on the legendary University of California, Berkeley campus.  This event includes Scholars, Researchers, Artists, Poets, Media Producers, Artists, Activists and Community Organizations to foment a multi-medium engagement with Islamophobia.

Unpacking Islamophobia: What Christians Should Know About Islam

In a climate of fear, misinformation, and generalization, how can we equip ourselves to speak and act in solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters? Dr. Jiwa from Center of Islamic Studies, GTU, and President and Dean Mark Richardson of CDSP will meet in conversation at CDSP to discuss the reality of Islam. This event will be available via livestream.

When: Thursday, March 3rd, 7:45pm
Where: Tucson Common Room, CDSP Campus, 2451 Ridge Road Berkeley CA 94709

The Forty Rules of Love: A Dramatic Reading by Hassan El Jai

Two, very different contemporary characters discover romance in a dramatic reading of best-selling novel The Forty Rules of Love by acclaimed Moroccan theater, voice, film, and TV performer and translator Hassan El Jai (recently performed at Form Mason in SF). Elif Shafak’s novel follows the lives of a Jewish-American housewife and a Sufi Muslim based in Amsterdam and the unlikely love they develop for each other. El Jai’s adaptation