Doha: Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) will host acclaimed scholar Dr Radwan Al Sayyed (pictured) for a public lecture ‘Political Islam: Today and Tomorrow’ on the school’s Education City campus today at 6pm.
The lecture in Arabic with English translation, is part of GU-Q’s Annual Cultural Season — a series of public events featuring thinkers, writers, artists and academics from the Arab world to provide native Arabic-speaking students of GU-Q’s Heritage Learners programme with a chance to immerse themselves in the language.
Prof Al Sayyed said, “Political Islam has been a hot topic for decades. The recent events of the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ have once more brought it to the top of the ‘hot topics’ list, especially in Egypt, the source of the mainstream Islamic political movement, the Muslim Brotherhood.
“Egypt is where crucial events have occurred that affect the shape of Islamic thought today and into the future. The events are historical and should be well studied. I hope to deliver my thoughts on them at Georgetown, which is the right audience to discuss the issue.” The topic, he said, is challenging. “The topic is a combination of religion and politics and each is complicated on its own. These days, the situation in the region makes the topic more challenging as we are witnessing the rise and fall of several Islamic political movements or parties with different ideologies or views of the world. Many questions are being raised regarding the events that are unfolding.”
Prof Abbass Al Tonsi, Senior Lecturer and Director, Arabic Programme, said: “Prof Al Sayyed is one of the most prominent Arab and Islamic thinkers of our time. Since our students are majoring in foreign affairs, it would be a great opportunity to host such a guest who would offer them credible knowledge in a topic that is related to their major.” Dr. Al Sayyed is a Professor of Islamic Studies at Lebanese University. He was director of Arab Development Institute, editor of the Arab Thought journal, director, Islamic Studies Institute and co-editor of Al Ijtihad quarterly. He has authored articles, books and studies, mostly on Islamic cultural history, ancient and modern Islamic fiqh and ancient and modern political Islamic thought. He studied at Religious Institute in Beirut and Religious Academy of Al Azhar, Cairo, in 1970. In 1973, he obtained a scholarship from Konrad Adenauer German Institution where he obtained a PhD in philosophy in 1977.The Peninsula
