A Muslim’s Guide to Lord of the Rings & Star Wars

Presented by Dr Samir Mahmoud

Many are drawn to the sci-fi & fantasy genre like a magnet and Muslims are no different. However a sense of guilt overwhelms many who find themselves torn between their deeply sincere religious commitment to Islam and a powerful attraction to what seem to be ‘make believe’ or ‘Hollywood fabricated worlds.’ Is a sincere religious sensibility incompatible with the worlds of sci-fi and fantasy? This talk will address this question and provide a few answers.

DETAILS:

Saturday August 5th 2017
LMA Library
6PM – 7.30PM

THIS IS A FREE EVENT

REGISTRATION ESSENTIAL: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/islam-and-pop-culture-a-muslims-guide-to-lord-of-the-rings-and-star-wars-tickets-36434662055

SPEAKER BIO

Dr Samir Mahmoud, PhD. is a graduate of the University of Cambridge (2012) in Islamic Studies. He is currently Assistant Professor of Architectural History & Theory at the Lebanese American University (LAU). Between 2013-2016 he was Visiting Assistant Professor of Architecture at the American University of Beirut (AUB). He was Postdoctoral Fellow at the Khalili Centre for Research in Art & Material Culture, University of Oxford (2012-2013) and Agha Khan Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT (2012).

Dr Samir is also director of “The LivingTurath Initiative.” LivingTurath (Living Tradition in English) is an educational initiative that enables Muslims to discover the wisdom of the Islamic tradition today. Its mission is to educate Muslims on the continued relevance and value of traditional Islamic perspectives and practices for their day-to-day lives. To this end, we organize educational workshops, lectures, & retreats.

Dr Samir’s interests vary widely and include: art & architecture (Islamic and Western), philosophy (Islamic, Neoplatonism, and Continental), Islamic studies, urban & landscape design, and psychology (particularly the dialogue between Islamic and Western ‘therapeutics of the soul’). He has lectured in the UK, Lebanon, & Australia.