In light of the tragic events of 9/11 and the growing religious pluralism of the United States, Christian-Muslim relations are now more important than ever. Regrettably, too few Americans have thought seriously about what an honest, scholarly-informed conversation between the two traditions might involve--shorn of rancor, ignorance, and kumbaya bromides. This three-speaker “mini-conference” takes a small step in remedying this deficiency. Speakers have been asked to share from their scholarly expertise to help establish here at Valpo a learned, truth-seeking framework for one of the most important religious conversations of our time.

Speakers:

Gabriel Said Reynolds, Ph.D., Crowley Professor of Islamic Studies and Theology, University of Notre Dame. Topic: “Is the God of the Qur’an the God of the Bible?” Author of The Qur’an and the Bible (Yale University Press, 2018) and Allah: God in the Qur’an (Yale University Press, 2020)

Stephen Ogden, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame. Topic: “Christian-Muslim Dialogue in the Middle Ages: The Cases of Averroes and Avicenna.” Author of Averroes on Intellect: From Aristotelian Origins to Aquinas’s Critique (Oxford University Press, 2022)

Syed Atif Rizwan, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies and Director of the Catholic-Muslim Studies Program at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Topic: "Contemporary Muslim-Christian Relations: A Muslim Perspective." His research interests include the history of Islamic law, hadith studies, medieval and post-modern theories of punishment, and interreligious dialogue and studies.