Open Discussionsin association with
Gulf Cultural Club
invites you to a Discussion titled:
Moral, ideological and political crisis of the West
with
Prof Ziauddin Sardar *
Clive Hambidge**
Catherine Shakdam***
Recent developments in the Western hemisphere have raised concerns among thinkers and ideologues about the state of Western world. From the inflated refugee saga to the Trump phenomenon and the rise of the far right, terms like Apocalypse, Armageddon, Third World War and civilisation collapse suddenly resembled reality lowering the threshold of fear among the “wise” men and women. What is adding to the worry is that those phenomena are embraced by large proportions of the Western societies. This is likely to entrench social, cultural and religious polarisation to unprecedented levels. This seminar is an attempt to contribute to the discourse on the looming Western crisis.
Date: Tuesday, 14th March 2017
Time: 6.30pm
Venue: Abrar House, 45 Crawford Place, W1H 4LP
*Ziauddin Sardar is Chair of the Muslim Institute, a learned, fellowship society that promotes knowledge and debate, and editor of Critical Muslim, an innovative quarterly on contemporary Muslim ideas and
thought. He is also the Director of the Centre of Postnormal Policy and Futures Studies, East West Chicago, and the editor of its journal East West Affairs.
He has been described as a ‘critical
polymath’ and works across a number of
disciplines ranging from Islamic studies and futures studies to science policy, literary criticism, information science to cultural
relations, art criticism and critical theory.
He was born in Pakistan in 1951 and grew up in Hackney, East London.
Ziauddin Sardar has worked as science
journalist for Nature and New Scientist and
as a television reporter for London Weekend Television. He was a columnist on the New
Statesman for a number of years and has served as a Commissioner for the Equality and
Human Rights Commission and as a member of the Interim National Security Forum.
Ziauddin Sardar has published over 45 books.
The Future of Muslim Civilisation (1979) and
Islamic Futures: The Shape of Ideas to Come
(1985) are regarded as classic studies on the
future of Islam. He pioneered the discussion
on science in Muslim societies, with a series
of articles in Nature and New Scientist and a number of books, including Science,Technology and Development in the Muslim
World (1977), The Touch of Midas: Science,
Values and the Environment in Islam and the
West (1982), which is seen as a seminal
work, The Revenge of Athena: Science, Exploitation and the Third World (1988)
acquired a cultish following and Why Do People Hate America? (2002) became an
international bestseller.
**Clive Hambidge is Human Development Director at facilitate global a human right NGO. His articles and papers have been published among others in IRIN, Al Haram, The Palestinian Chronicle, Media With Conscience, Dandelion Salad, Sabbah Report, Al-Arabiya and London Progressive Journal. He also had numerous interviews with Press TV. Clive has over 30 years experience working with faith communities which include the Hindu Community in general and in particular with the Head of the London Sevaashram Sangha, Swami Nirliptinanda. He has acted for many years, in an emissary capacity to support the work of the former Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem, his Grace Bishop Riah Abu Al Assal.
***Catherine Shakdam is a political analyst and commentator for the Middle East with a special focus on Yemen and radical movements. She is the Director of Programs for the Shafaqna Institute for Middle Eastern Studies in the UK, and serves as Special Adviser for the Middle East for Prince Ali Seraj of Afghanistan. She also sits as the Executive Director of PASI (Prince Ali Seraj of Afghanistan Institute for Peace and Reconstruction) She is the author of Arabia’s Rising – Under The Banner Of The First Imam. Her writings have appeared on RT, Press TV, Mehr News, The Foreign Policy Journal, The Duran, MintPress, the American Herald Tribune, Open Democracy, the Age of Reflection and many others. She’s the director and founder of Veritas-Consulting.
Admission is Free. Please register for catering purposes – email: d05sa@yahoo.co.uk or text 07795 660 438
