Peace in Islam, Islam in Peace

Islamic Peace Studies Inaugural Conference – March 16-18, 2017

This three-day event will bring scholars and community members together to share ideas and discussions around the field of Islam and peace, addressing topics such as the centrality of conflict resolution in the tradition, the roles and identities of Muslim women, and scripture and theology.

Keynote Lecture

7:30 pm, Thursday, March 16

Michigan Room at the Michigan League, 911 N. University Avenue

The Synergy of Discourse and Action for Peace: An Islamic Perspective

Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im, Emory School of Law

Dinner starts at 6pm; open to the public, RSVP is requested at bit.ly/ips-keynote

Thursday, March 16

1636 SSWB, 1080 S. University Avenue

8:00 am: Breakfast

8:45 am: Welcoming Remarks
Pauline Jones and Juan Cole, University of Michigan

Panel 1: Islamic Spirituality & Peace
Chair: Karla Mallette, University of Michigan

9:00 am: Between Compassion and Justice: Locating an Islamic Definition of Peace
A. Rashied Omar, International Peace Studies at Notre Dame University
Followed by a brief response by chair (9:50 am); Q&A (10:00 am)

10:15 am: Coffee Break

Panel 2: The West African Contribution
Chair: Samer ali, University of Michigan

10:30 am: Principled Pacifism in Islamic West Africa
Rudolph Ware, University of Michigan
Followed by Q&A (11:20 am)

11:30 am: Lunch

1:00 pm: Jihad and Civil Society: Commitment & Moderation
Lamin Sanneh, Yale University
Followed by a brief response by chair (1:50 pm); and Q&A (2:00 pm)

6:00 pm: Dinner at Michigan Room, Michigan League

7:30 pm: Keynote Lecture

Friday, March 17, 2017

1636 SSWB, 1080 S. University Avenue

8:00 am: Breakfast

Panel 3: Muslim Reformism and Peace
Chairs: Alexander Knysh and Juan Cole, University of Michigan

8:30 am: Sufi Perspectives on Peace
Marcia Hermansen, Loyola University Chicago
Followed by Q&A (9:20 am)

9:40 am: Coffee Break

10:00 am: Paradise Bound: Righteous Others in the Writings of Rashid Rida
Mohammad Khalil, Michigan State University
Followed by a brief response by chair (10:50 am); Q&A (11:00 am)

11:10 am: The 1919 Paris Peace Conference in Rashid Rida’s al-Manar
Elizabeth Thompson, American University
Followed by Q&A (12:00 pm)

12:20: Lunch

1:20 pm: Islam and Peace: A Fundamentalist Perspective
Sherman Jackson, University of Southern California
Followed by a brief response by chair (2:10 pm); and Q&A (2:20 pm)

2:40 pm: Concluding Remarks
Juan Cole, University of Michigan

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Arab American National Museum (AANM)  13624 Michigan Ave, Dearborn, MI 48126

11:00-12:30pm: Public Presentations, Aliya Hassan Auditorium at AANM

A Modern History of Muslim Peacemaking
Elizabeth Thompson, Mohamed Said Farsi Chair of Islamic Peace at American University

Paradise Bound: Righteous Others in the Writings of Rashid Rida
Mohammad Khalil, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Director of the Muslim Studies Program at Michigan State University

Between Compassion and Justice: Locating an Islamic Definition of Peace
A. Rashied Omar, Research Scholar of Islamic Studies and Peacebuilding at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at Notre Dame University

Islam and Peace: A Fundamentalist Perspective
Sherman Jackson, King Faisal Chair in Islamic thought and Culture and Professor of Religion and American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California

12:30-1:30pm: Reception, AANM Community Courtyard

All events are free and open to the public.

Organized by the Islamic Peace Studies Initiative at the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies, and the Arab American National Museum. Funded in part by Title VI and the Enterprise Fund. Additional support from the Arab and Muslim American Studies, Conflict & Peace Initiative, Department of History, Department of Near Eastern Studies, and Islamic Studies Program.