OBU Slates Discussions for Sept. 11

September 9, 2002

Oklahoma Baptist University students and faculty will engage in dialogue about historical, sociological, political, and religious issues surrounding the events of Sept. 11, 2001, during the university's Wednesday chapel service.

The panel discussion will be at 10 a.m. in the university's Raley Chapel.

A panel of five professors, representing varied academic fields, will work through today's questions about future potential for war, the United States' unpopularity in the Muslim world, stereotyping, religious characteristics of Muslims, and implications of the war on terrorism on civil liberties.

Dr. James Farthing, professor of history, Dr. Jerry Faught, Dickinson assistant professor of religion, Dr. Ron Duncan, professor of anthropology, Dr. Tony Litherland, Randel/Scales associate professor of political science, and Dr. Glenn Sanders, professor of history, will offer remarks related to their areas of expertise before opening the microphone up for student questions. The discussion will conclude with a response from OBU President Mark Brister.

A similar panel addressed several hundred students on Sept. 14 last year in the university's student center.

OBU will host a follow-up session with a film about Muslims Thursday night at 7 p.m. in room 307 of Shawnee Hall. The two-hour episode of the PBS series "FRONTLINE" will examine the different faces of Islam's worldwide resurgence and the fundamental tenets of the faith.

Reporting from Iran, Nigeria, Egypt, Malaysia, Turkey, and the United States, and drawing on the perspectives of leading scholars of Islam, the program tells the stories of Muslims struggling to define how Islam shapes their lives and societies.

Dr. Sanders will lead a brief discussion after the film.

For more information on these activities, contact OBU's Office of Public Relations at (405) 878-2107 or visit www2.okbu.edu.