WASHINGTON (March 22, 2013) – The Howard University School of Divinity, in conjunction with George Mason University, Georgetown University and the International Institute of Islamic Thought, will host a unique conference to explore and evaluate the teachings of the Qur’an from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, March 25, and 9 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, March 26 in the Howard Thurman Chapel.

The keynote speaker is Howard University Professor Sulayman Nyang, Ph.D., an expert on Islam, Islamic teachings and a former deputy ambassador to Saudi Arabia. He will speak at the conference dinner at 7 p.m. Monday in the School of Divinity dining room.

The purpose of this conference is to foster discussion between academics, community leaders and students regarding the Qur’an and its various interpretations, said Zainab Alwani, assistant professor of Islamic Studies at the School of Divinity and conference organizer. It will highlight several areas of contemporary Qur’anic scholarship, she said.

“This conference is important because we need this type of dialogue between students and scholars,” as well as the Muslim community, Alwani said.
It will highlight several areas of contemporary Qur’anic scholarship. 

Alwani said she wants the attendees to leave being more knowledgeable about the Qur’an and open to the dialogue.

“We would like the audience to have this type of knowledge of views and perspectives and also to have confidence in approaching the language and ideas of the Qur’an,”

The conference will focus on The Qur’an in dialogue with Jews and Christians, The Qur’an between faith and critical thinking, Qur’anic ethics, gender in the Qur’an, intertextual readings of the Qur’an and a thematic and stylistic analysis.

Nyang, the former head of chancery of the Gambia Embassy in Saudi Arabia, is chairman of the African Studies Department at Howard University and co-principal investigator of Project MAPS.  He has served as consultant to several national and international agencies.  He has also served on the American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies, America’s Islamic Heritage Museum and the Association of Muslim Social Scientists.