Ramin Jahanbegloo

Internationally respected Iranian philosopher and academic Ramin Jahanbegloo will elaborate on a time when Muslims, Jews and Christians lived together peacefully and created a society known for its intellectual depth during a special presentation on Tuesday, Nov. 19, at California State University, Northridge.

Jahanbegloo, a professor of Islamic studies at York University in Canada, will talk about “Nonviolence, Islam and the Paradigm of Cordoba” at 12:15 p.m. in the Jack and Florence Ferman Room of the Delmar T. Oviatt Library.

Jahanbegloo noted that recent events in the Middle East have stirred up a sometimes-acrimonious debate about Muslim societies and nonviolence, but he pointed to a time, around the 10^th century, when the city of Cordoba, located in a southern region of Spain known as Andalusia, had a reputation as the intellectual center of Europe and was known for its predominantly Muslim society that was tolerant of its Christian and Jewish minorities.

“Some commentators in the West say the two — Middle East and peace — are not compatible,” he said. “The Cordoba experience is not the path which is taken by the radical followers of Islam today. They view modernity and democracy with suspicion, not only as a Western concept that threatens Muslim values but also as a sinister attempt by Western powers to dilute and weaken Islam.

“The Andalusian experience is one zenith of European and Islamic civilizations that is worth benchmarking, where many of the principles of interfaith and intercultural dialogue could be fully realized,” Jahanbegloo said. “That is why the Andalusian experience, probably unique in its own time and rarely matched in any other. The most notable and creative nature of the ‘Cordoba paradigm’ is that cohabitation and coexistence were based on religious and legal principles. This paradigm often refers to the interplay of intercultural discussion between the three groups and shared civic forum where different cultures and values could co-exist regardless of their ethnic or religious origins.”

Jahanbegloo, author of “The Gandhian Moment,” received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in philosophy, history and political science, and his doctorate in philosophy from Sorbonne University. In October of 2009, he was awarded the Peace Prize from the United Nations Association in Spain for his extensive academic work in promoting dialogue between cultures and advocacy for nonviolence.

The Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Program at California State University, Northridge is an interdisciplinary minor offering courses in the languages, histories, religions, cultures, sociology and politics of the Middle East. It seeks to enhance students’ understanding of Islamic cultures and the Muslim communities in the United States and internationally.

For more information about Jahanbegloo’s presentation, call the Middle Eastern studies program at (818) 677-6762 or (818) 677-7218.

Lectures, Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies