The Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding

invites you to:

Democracy and Islam: The South African Experience
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featuring

Abdulkader Tayob
Professor of Islamic Studies
University of Cape Town
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In spite of constituting only 1.46% of the population, Muslim political views are diverse and reflect the diversity of trends in South Africa. On the one hand, ardent democrats support the Constitution without question; on the other hand, certain individuals and groups regard the Constitution as a rival authority to Islamic Law. Michel Foucault’s concepts of utopia and heterotopia are helpful in revealing this complex relationship between South Africa’s constitution and public expressions of Islam. They capture the complexity of Muslim experiences – sometimes reflecting the goals of the constitution (utopia) but also inverting, subverting and often going beyond them (heterotopia). The presentation will closely examine some examples to illustrate the diversity and fragility of South Africa’s democracy.
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Thursday, November 29, 2012

1:45pm - ICC 270

Abdulkader Tayob is Professor of Islamic Studies and Head of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Cape Town. He is currently also the Head of Department. Professor Tayob obtained his doctoral degree in 1989 from Temple University in the United States. He has worked and published on Islam in South Africa, Africa and modern Islam in general. His most recent books are Religion in Modern Islamic Discourse (Hurst/Columbia University Press, 2009) and Muslim Schools and Education in South Africa and Europe (Waxmann Verlag, 2011).

Seating is limited

Please RSVP here:
http://tayobsouthafrica.eventbrite.com/

For more information and directions to the Center, please visit:
http://acmcu.georgetown.edu/about/contact/