334 LEADING ISLAM SCHOLAR JOHN ESPOSITO LECTURES AT MTSU

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 2, 2007
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu

Talk Explores Resentment, Misunderstanding Between Islam & the West, Hibbard Says

(MURFREESBORO)—Dr. John Esposito will present “Islam and the West,” a free and open lecture, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 18, in the State Farm Lecture Hall (Room S102) in MTSU’s Business and Aerospace Building.
A professor of religion and international affairs and founding director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, Esposito is a leading scholar on Islam and the Middle East.
Additionally, Esposito is the editor-in-chief of the four-volume Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam and The Islamic Word: Past and Present. Among the more than 30 books he has authored are What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam, Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam, The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality? and Islam and Politics.
Dr. Allen Hibbard, English professor and director of MTSU’s Middle East Center, said, “Esposito is widely interviewed or quoted in the media in sources such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and network news stations, NPR (and) BBC … as well as in media throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
“In his provocative, challenging and direct presentations, Esposito explores the nature of Islam’s relationship with the West,” Hibbard continued, “and the resentment and misunderstanding that have characterized this often troubled relationship.”
The April 18 lecture, which received sponsorship from the MTSU Distinguished Lecture Fund, is the third in a series of events sponsored by the new Middle East Center at MTSU this spring. In January, Lilly Rivlin presented her documentary film titled “Can You Hear Me? Israeli and Palestinian Women Fight for Peace,” and in March, Dr. F. Gregory Gause III spoke on “The Iraq War: Causes and Consequences.”
Regarding MTSU’s Middle East Center, Hibbard said its mission, in addition to serving students on campus, is to “promote greater understanding of the Middle East throughout the region.
"A key aspect of the center's mission is an outreach program that would provide area middle-school and high-school teachers (with) opportunities to learn more about the Middle East and incorporate that knowledge in their teaching,” he observed, adding that the center also supports faculty research related to the Middle East."
For more information about Esposito’s upcoming lecture, please contact Hibbard (ahibbard@mtsu.edu) at 615-494-8809 or Chantal Rich, assistant in the Middle East Center, at 615-494-7906 or via e-mail at cfrich@mtsu.edu.


• ATTENTION, MEDIA: Media are welcomed and encouraged to attend this event. To schedule a phone interview with Dr. Esposito beginning April 11, 2007, or to secure a jpeg for editorial use, please contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at lrollins@mtsu.edu or 615-898-2919.