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Visiting Scholar Charles Kimball to Speak About Islam Sept. 26

|Kimball’s latest book.|||

Last updated September 8, 2016

By Tina Underwood

Dr. Charles Kimball, Presidential Professor and Director of Religious Studies at the University of Oklahoma (Norman, Okla.), will speak on the campus of Furman University Monday, Sept. 26 at 1:30 p.m. in Johns Hall 101.

His talk, “Islam in the 21st Century: What in the World is Going On … and Why?” will address widespread concerns and misunderstandings about Islam. The Cultural Life Program lecture is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the Furman Department of Religion.

From 1983-1990 Kimball was the Director of the Middle East Office at the National Council of Churches based in New York. He lived in Egypt in the late 70s, has made more than 35 visits to the Middle East, and has worked closely with Congress, the White House and the State Department over the past 25 years.

Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, Kimball has been interviewed by over 900 TV and radio stations as well as major newspapers and broadcast outlets throughout the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, France, Sweden, Australia and South Africa.

Kimball's latest book.

Kimball’s latest book.

He is the author of five books, including When Religion Becomes Lethal: The Explosive Mix of Politics and Religion in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Jossey-Bass/Wiley, 2011).  His previous book, When Religion Becomes Evil (HarperOne, rev. ed. 2008), was named one of the “Top 15 Books on Religion” by Publishers Weekly and one of the top 10 books of the year by the Association of Parish Clergy. It has been published in Swedish, Indonesian, Korean and Danish translations. His three other books are:  Striving Together:  A Way Forward in Christian-Muslim Relations (Orbis Books), Religion, Politics and Oil: The Volatile Mix in the Middle East (Abingdon Press), and Angle of Vision: Christians and the Middle East (Friendship Press).

His articles have appeared in a number of publications, including Sojourners, The Christian Century, The Los Angeles Times, The Christian Science Monitor, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Boston Globe.

During the 90s, Kimball taught six years at Furman where he also held the post of Director for International Education. Between 1996 and 2008, he served as Chair of the Department of Religion (1996-2004) and professor of comparative religion in the Department of Religion and the Divinity School at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. During 2006, Kimball was the Rita and William Bell Visiting Professor at The University of Tulsa.

He is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and holds the M.Div. degree from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. An ordained Baptist minister, he received his Th.D. from Harvard University in comparative religion with specialization in Islamic studies.

For more information contact the Furman News and Media Relations office at 864-294-3107.

 

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