An intriguing program is slated for this evening that will examine Islamic American relations. It is sponsored by the St. Thomas More Society as part of its Civil Discourse Series.

I covered a previous panel in that series back in April 2011; that covered the death penalty.

Tonight’s event will be held in the Great Hall at ASU Law School. Here is how the evening is described:

Imam Ahmad Shqeirat

“The Civil Discourse Series sponsored by the St. Thomas More Society seeks to provide a public forum to discuss issues of legal, cultural, and moral concern. The title of the event this spring is “Islamic/American Relations: Getting Along in the 21st Century.” The event’s main speaker is Imam Ahmad Shqeirat from the Tempe Islamic Community Center located near ASU’s campus. Imam Shqeirat was one of the six “Flying Imams” removed from a commercial airplane for praying. He will discuss his views on the current state of Islamic American relations. The program will be moderated by the Honorable Patrick Irvine, a former Judge of the Arizona Court of Appeals. Commentary will be provided by Chris Lowney, a best-selling author on the topic of history and comparative religions. One of his best-selling books is titled A Vanished World: Muslims, Christians & Jews in Medieval Spain. There will also be time given for questions from audience members for our main speakers.”

Organizer and lawyer Chris Pattock described the event further:

“Basically it’s the history of why Americans and Muslims don’t get along and what we can do to fix that. The subject is being approached from an individual or ‘micro’ standpoint, rather than a political/macro perspective. This subject would seem to be especially timely in view of the current Iran situation and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Chris Lowney

In the past year, we’ve heard ample comments from Americans about Islam. Tonight will be an opportunity to learn something about it.

More information is here.