Understanding Radicalized Religion: a Panel with Three Experts
Radicalized elements in religion sow violence, instability, and mistrust across the globe. But how is religion radicalized? How can we understand the motivations of those who would blow up airplanes, behead people, or otherwise do violence in the name of God?
On Wednesday, December 13, at 6 p.m. the Hines Center for Spirituality and Prayer, in collaboration with the Boniuk Institute for Religious Tolerance at Rice University, will host “Understanding Radicalized Religion: An Evening with Three Experts” at the Hines Center.
The evening will begin with a lecture entitled, “The Intellectual History of Militant Jihadism” by Dr. Michael Skerker, Associate Professor of Ethics at the United States Naval Academy. Dr. Skerker will also touch more broadly on radicalized religion beyond Islam and the ways in which the admixture of nationalism, ignorance, and fear of lost opportunity can lead to extreme viewpoints.
About Dr. Skerker, Dean Barkley Thompson says, “Mike Skerker is a friend and graduate school classmate of mine at the University of Chicago. He is incredibly intelligent and insightful. I can think of no one better to help us understand the challenges we face from radicalized elements in the world religions.”
Following Dr. Skerker’s talk, he will be joined by Dr. A. Kadir Yildirim, Fellow for the Middle East at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, and Abdulbasit Kassim, a Rice doctoral student focusing on Boko Haram. Our three experts will engage in a “fishbowl” conversation about radicalized religion, to which the audience will be privy. Questions from the audience will be included. Tickets are available at the Hines Center.
The Bishop John E. Hines Center for Spirituality and Prayer seeks to facilitate knowledge of and relationship with God by nurturing the spirituality of Cathedral parishioners and those who live and work in downtown Houston through spiritual practices, prayer, and opportunities for both Christian and interfaith lecture and conversation.
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