Press Releases

October 15, 2001
College Hosts Forum on "Encountering Islam"

Contact:
Darren Johnson
(631) 287 8313
Fax: (631) 283 4081

In an effort to educate and build understanding of Islam and the Islamic faith in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the U.S., Southampton College will present a special program entitled "Encountering Islam," to be held at the college on Monday evening at 8 p.m., November 5, in the Avram Theater. The program is open to the campus and the East End community.

"As we find ourselves in armed conflict with nations and interests in the Muslim world, it is vitally important that we have greater understanding of Islam and the Islamic faith," said Dean of the College James L. Larocca. "This special evening is designed to build that understanding."

Speakers include comparative religion expert William Chittick, whose recent book is "The Heart of Islamic Philosophy" (Oxford University Press, 2001), and two Muslim women, Ruksana Ayyub and Dr. Kushalata Jayakar Ahmed, from Pakistan and India, respectively.

"Since September 11, the terms 'Islam' and 'Muslim' have been in the news often juxtaposed with the term 'terrorist,' and many Americans are assuming false stereotypes," said Kathleen Modrowski, the director of the North American Center of Friends World Program who helped organize the event with Larocca and administrator Alice Flynn. "These speakers will be able to talk about their own experiences having lived Islam."

William C. Chittick is a professor in the Department of Comparative Studies at SUNY-Stony Brook. He received a Ph.D. in Persian literature from Tehran University, taught comparative religion at Aryamehr University in Tehran, and returned to the U.S. before the Iranian revolution. He is author and translator of 20 books and 100 articles on Sufism, Shi'ism and Islamic thought in general.

Ruksana Ayyub graduated from the New School for Social Research with a master's in Psychology in 1989 and is a Certified Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor. For the past 12 years she has worked at Long Beach Medical, helping families affected by drugs, alcohol and domestic violence. In 1992, she helped establish the Committee on Domestic Harmony at the Islamic Center of Long Island in Westbury, which works for the prevention of domestic violence in Muslim families from South East Asia. She is actively involved in the community, advocating women's rights and a right to violence-free life. She lectures throughout the U.S. and Pakistan on increasing awareness toward domestic violence.

Dr. Kushalata Jayakar Ahmed was born in Bombay, India. She completed her medical studies at Grant Medical College, University of Bombay, and moved to the U.S. for pediatrics training at New York Hospital. At Brookdale Medical Center in Brooklyn, Jayakar Ahmed received a fellowship in child psychiatry. For 14 years at the Brooklyn Family Center, she established and ran a treatment program for sexually abused children and victims of violence. She has served as a consultant to the Queens District Attorney as an advocate for victims of rape. Born a Hindu, Jayakar Ahmed married a Muslim and assumed Islam. She is also very active in the area's Islamic community and with the Islamic Center of Long Island.