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Sacred Web Conference 2014

April 26th and 27th, 2014
Segal Centre
Vancouver, British Columbia

 

List of Speakers

M. Ali Lakhani, the Conference Convener, is the founder and editor of the journal, Sacred Web. He is a lawyer by profession, and the author of The Sacred Foundations of Justice in Islam and The Timeless Relevance of Traditional Wisdom. Mr. Lakhani will introduce the conference theme. His presentation is titled "'The Dearest Freshness Deep Down Things': The Relevance of the Sacred in Our Lives." He will also conduct an on-stage interview of Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr.
Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr is University Professor of Islamic Studies at the George Washington University, Washington D.C. The author of some 50 books and over 500 scholarly articles, Dr. Nasr is a renowned perennialist and a pre-eminent scholar of Islamic and religious studies in the world today. He will deliver the Keynote Address titled "What is the Sacred and How can we Know and Experience it in a Secular World?" The second day of the Conference will be devoted to the centrality of the Sacred in the teachings of Dr. Nasr.
Professor Osman Bakar is Director of Sultan Omar 'Ali Saifuddien Centre for Islamic Studies at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam. He has published 15 books and over 250 scholarly articles on Islamic thought and civilization, particularly on Islamic philosophy and science. Datuk Dr. Bakar will present two papers. The first is titled "From Secular Science to Sacred Science: The Need for a Transformation." The title of the second is "Nature as a Sacred Book: A Core Element of Dr. Nasr's Philosophical Teachings."
Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar is an Iranian-American Muslim author, translator and clinical psychologist. She is the author of several books including Avicenna's Psychology. A former student of Dr. Nasr, her presentation is titled "Avicenna's Perennial Psychology: An Illustration of Dr. Nasr's Focus on Sacred Philosophy."
Jane Casewit, a writer, translator, and educator, lived and worked with the USAID education team in Morocco for many years before moving to Washington, DC, where she now resides. Her presentation is titled "The Necessity of the Sacred in Education."
Dr. Robert D. Crane is the former adviser to the late President of the United States Richard Nixon, and is former Deputy Director (for Planning) of the United States National Security Council. He has authored or co-authored more than a dozen books and over 50 professional articles on comparative legal systems, global strategy, and information management. He is currently based in Qatar. He will present a paper titled "Holistic Natural Law and the Sacred Dialectic of Pluralism."
Professor Mohammad Faghfoory lectures in Islamic Studies and religion at George Washington University. A long-time associate of Dr. Nasr, his presentation is titled "A Loss of a Sense of the Sacred? The Reception of Seyyed Hossein Nasr's Views Amongst Modernist Groups in Iran and in the West."
Professor Patrick Laude teaches religious studies at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in Qatar. The author of several books and monographs, he is also editor-in-chief of the bilingual journal of inter-religious studies, "Religions-Adyan", published by the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue. Dr. Laude will present two papers: "The Sacred and the Post-Modern: An Impossible Convergence."; and "Seyyed Hossein Nasr's Knowledge and the Sacred: The Spiritual Relevance of Intellectuality."
Professor Joseph E. B. Lumbard is currently a professor at Brandeis University where he holds the title of Assistant Professor of Classical Islam in the department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and Chair of the Islamic and Middle East Studies Program. He is a former Advisor for Interfaith Affairs to His Highness King Abdullah II of Jordan and the author, editor, and translator of several articles and books on topics of Islamic philosophy, Sufism, and Qur'anic Studies. [Topic to be confirmed]
Professor Mohammed Rustom is Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at Carleton University, and in 2010 he served as a Research Associate at the Tehran-based Iranian Institute of Philosophy. His presentation is titled "The End of Islamic Philosophy."
Dr. Reza Shah-Kazemi is an author who specializes in comparative mysticism, Islamic studies, Sufism and Shi'ism. The author of several books and monographs, he is the founding editor of the Islamic World Report and currently a Research Associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies. Dr. Shah-Kazemi will present two papers: "Invoking Blessings upon the Prophet: Discovering the Immanence of the Sacred."; and "Seyyed Hossein Nasr's Perspective on the Sanctity of Nature: Reflections in the Light of the Holy Qur'an."

 

 

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