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Zirrar talks to Professor of Islamic Studies at Georgetown, John L. Esposito. They talk about the study of Islam in Western academia and the identity crisis faced by some Muslims in the West post 9/11. They also discuss the approach academics and students of Islam should take moving on from Orientalism.
WHAT WE TALK ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE
- Demographic differences between American and British / European Muslims
- John Esposito’s background
- How 9/11 changed the way minorities identified / were identified by the state and media
- Difference in Islam’s visibility before and after the Iranian Revolution in 1979, and 9/11
- How those major world events shaped the public view on Islam
- What will it take for Islam to be accepted as a part of the same scriptural tradition as Jews and Christians?
- The need to get beyond Orientalism
- Changes in academia: the increase in Muslim academics
- Structural issues faced by Muslim academics
- How the fast pace of cultural change in the West is affecting Christians and Muslims
- Do Muslims need to align with adherents of the Abrahamic faiths?
- What approach should one take to learn about Islam if not familiar with it?
- Improvements in the field of Islamic Studies
- Why Muslims must engage with Western literature and the rich culture and history of Europe
- Is religion dying in the West, or is there a religious revival happening?
- Advances in interfaith dialogue
- Censorship in a divided Muslim media
PEOPLE / THINGS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
- The Fate of Abraham: Why the West is Wrong about Islam by Peter Oborne
- The Republic of Arabic Letters: Islam and the European Enlightenment by Alexander Bevilacqua
- A Culture of Ambiguity by Thomas Bauer
- Travelling Home: Essays on Islam in Europe by Abdal Hakim Murad
- Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think by John L. Esposito and Dalia Mogahed
- Zaytuna College
- Temple University
- Cambridge Muslim College
- Dr Jonathan Brown
- Hamza Yusuf
- Dr Timothy Winter / Abdal Hakim Murad
John L. Esposito is University Professor, Professor of Religion and International Affairs, and Professor of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University. John L. Esposito is Founding Director of the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and The Bridge Initiative: Protecting Pluralism – Ending Islamophobia in the Walsh School of Foreign Service. He is the author of more than 55 books. Full Bio
