Professor John Esposito talks to us about studying Islam, Islamophobia in the US, and what Arabs inside and outside of the Arab region misunderstand about Islam. Esposito shares his roundabout journey into the field of Islamic studies, starting with wanting to become a priest. Finally, he reflects on the Iranian revolution and 9/11 as watershed moments in the (mis)understanding of Islam in the States.
0:00 Introduction
0:50 Journey to studying Islam
4:14 Invisibility of Islam & Arabs in the US
9:21 Reception of Esposito’s work
12:46 “What everyone needs to know about Islam”
15:15 Comparing language & rhetoric between 9/11 and 2023
19:33 Misunderstandings about Islam & politics
27:18 Islamophobia
36:35 Changing views over time: Political Islam
44:09 Understandings between Muslims within and outside of the Arab world
47:21 Quick Q&A
John Esposito is a Professor of Religion and International Affairs and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University. He is the Founding Director of the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and The Bridge Initiative: Protecting Pluralism - Ending Islamophobia in the Walsh School of Foreign Service. He has written over 55 books including "What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam", "The Future of Islam", and "Islam and Democracy after the Arab Spring".
Connect with John 👉 https://twitter.com/johnlesposito?lang=en
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
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