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Scholar Speaks on Future of Islam at JCCC
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Johnson County Community College
Press Release

College Information and Publications
913-469-8500
Julie Haas, Director, ext. 3120
Peggy Graham, Writer, ext. 3425
Tyler Cundith, Sports Information Director, ext. 3122

9/27/05
Story by Peggy Graham
Scholar Speaks on Future of Islam at JCCC
 
Syafi’i Anwar

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Syafi’i Anwar, executive director of the International Center for Islam and Pluralism, Jakarta, Indonesia, will lead an open forum, The Future of Islam, Democracy and Authoritarianism in the Muslim World, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, in the Craig Community Auditorium, on the second floor of the General Education Building, Johnson County Community College. The forum is free and open to the public.
 
Anwar’s residency is part of the Fulbright Visiting Specialist Program. He will be at JCCC from Oct. 17- 28 and at Kansas City Kansas Community College from Oct. 28-Nov. 13. His visit to JCCC is sponsored by JCCC’s International Education Office, which has scheduled Anwar to speak in JCCC classes; Shawnee Mission High Schools, and the Shepherd’s Center (a network of community volunteer organizations that serve the needs of older adults), and conduct interviews such as one on the Walt Bodine Show, KCUR radio, 10-11 a.m. Oct. 26. 
 
As executive director of ICIP, Anwar has been active in promoting the ideas of moderate and progressive liberal Islam through public advocacy, press interviews,  seminars, and radio and television talk shows. According to Anwar, the purpose of his activities are to protect Indonesian Muslims from the influence and propaganda of the radical Islamic groups that have organized regionally and internationally. 
 
Anwar  received his doctorate in political Islam from the Department of Indonesian-Islamic Studies, the University of Melbourne, Australia; and his master’s degree in political science and bachelor’s degree in law, both from the University of Indonesia, Jakarta. He was a visiting fellow to the School of Journalism and East Asian Studies, Columbia University, New York, 1988-89, as part of the Fulbright Scholar program. His most recent research experience has been as the leader of the ICIP’s project on Islam and Peace Building in Indonesia: The Analysis of Radical Movements and Their Implication for Security Development Prospect, funded by the Japan International Agency (July-September 2004) and as the leader in training and research projects on Strengthening Education on Religious Pluralism and Multiculturalism for Journalists and Religious Leaders, funded by the European Commission. 
 
A prolific writer, Anwar has published three books, four book chapters, four journal articles and many newspaper and magazine articles related to politics, religion and social affairs.