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Gallup Center for Muslim Studies executive director to visit Madison

April 7, 2009 By Kiera Wiatrak

Dalia Mogahed, senior analyst and executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, will speak at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Grainger Hall on Tuesday, April 14.

The Gallup Center for Muslim Studies is a nonpartisan research center that conducts studies and analysis on the views of Muslims worldwide.

During the event, sponsored by the Lubar Institute for the Study of Abrahamic Religions (LISAR), Mogahed will speak about the center’s analysis as well as her book, “Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think,” at 7:30 p.m. in the Morgridge Auditorium, 1100 Grainger Hall, 975 University Ave.

Mogahed co-authored “Who Speaks for Islam?” with John L. Esposito, director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University

After the lecture, Mohaged will answer audience questions. The event is free and open to the public.

LISAR strives to create better understanding of the Abrahamic religions by encouraging discussion among Christians, Jews and Muslims as well as among scholars and the general public.

“We are engaged in trying to inform people about the relationships between Judaism, Christianity and Islam,” says LISAR director Charles Cohen. “Clearly the appearance of someone who has participated in a mammoth project to gauge the sentiments of Muslims around the world has tremendous potential for dispelling a lot of misconceptions about who Muslims are, what they believe and what they think.”

Mogahed will spend two full days in Madison, during which she will speak to a UW–Madison introductory international relations course and to a group of local journalists on how to accurately report on Islam. She will also speak to a small group of UW–Madison faculty from relevant departments, as well as lay people and clergy from the Madison community.

Mogahed’s analysis has appeared in various academic and popular journals including The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy magazine, the Harvard International Review and the Middle East Policy Journal.

She has also been featured on Charlie Rose, CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, NPR and other global media outlets.

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