[210] "MTSU On The Record" Probes Christians', Muslims' Tensions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 24, 2009
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081; WMOT-FM, 615-898-2800

“MTSU ON THE RECORD” PROBES CHRISTIANS’, MUSLIMS’ TENSIONS
Dr. Ron Messier Finds Respect for Jesus of Nazareth Among Adherents of Both Faiths

(MURFREESBORO) – “Jesus as a Locus for Dialogue Between Muslims and Christians” as explained by Dr. Ron Messier is the topic of the next “MTSU on the Record” at 8 a.m. this Sunday, Nov. 29, with host Gina Logue on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org).
A professor emeritus of history and former director of the Honors Program at MTSU, Messier is writing a book about how Muslims and Christians can understand each other better through their mutual appreciation of Jesus.
Messier writes, “I have given more than 150 public service presentations in the last six or so years trying to explain Islam to communities starving to know more about the culture and about the mindset of those who attacked us and of those who continue to criticize us.
“I must be quick to say that Muslims really do not hate us. Hate is a very strong word. Many in the Islamic world resent certain policies and practices of our government, and some are critical of some of our modes of behavior. But for the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Muslims in the world, that resentment falls far short of hate.”

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With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.