York anthropologist Zulfikar Hirji and poet Sheniz Janmohamed will discuss diversity and pluralism in Islam, the subject of Hirji’s new book, at its Canadian launch April 26.
The two will be featured in conversation as part of This is Not a Reading Series (TINARS) at the Gladstone Hotel at 7pm.
Hirji’s book, Diversity and Pluralism in Islam: Historical and Contemporary Discourses Amongst Muslims, was published by I.B. Tauris and launched at Harvard University last fall. It features essays by world-class scholars that explore Islam and Muslim societies and cultures from a range of perspectives, challenging a common portrayal of Muslims as homogeneous and dogmatic (see YFile Dec. 20, 2010).
Sheniz will launch the evening by reading from her first book, Bleeding Light. She is a freelance writer, author and spoken word artist.
The Oxford-educated Hirji is a professor of social and cultural anthropology in York’s Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. His research focuses on Muslim societies, particularly the diverse ways in which Muslims express and articulate issues of deep human concern as well as matters of daily life.
Admission to the TINARS event is $5, or free with a book purchase.