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Samina Ali during discussions with the editorial board for Yalla Italia.
amina Ali, whose first book Madras on Rainy Days won the Prix Premier Roman Etranger 2005 Award (best first novel in translation) in France, spoke in Milan at the beginning of a two week stay in Italy. She led a lively round table discussion on May 14th with a group of young Muslims who form the editorial board for Yalla Italia, an insert in the weekly magazine Vita. She addressed foreign affairs students at Milan's Catholic University, which was followed by questions and answers. Ms Ali's presentations continually underscored the importance of tolerance and multiple means of worship in Islam. Ms Ali also spoke passionately about the Islamic feminist movement in the United States, and her engagement with other Muslims around the world to foster an ample role for women in Islam.
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Senior Advisor to the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs on Muslim
Engagement, Farah Pandith (standing, third from right).
he US Consulate General in Milan hosted a May 18th visit of Farah Pandith, Senior Advisor to the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs for Muslim Engagement. Ms Pandith met with Muslim business, community and youth leaders. She was interviewed by Foreign Affairs analyst Marcello Foa of Il Giornale (Saturday, May 19th article). The major themes she touched on during her visit included learning about the issues facing Italian Muslims, supporting efforts to improve Muslim integration into Italy and strengthening the communications capacities of local Muslim communities.
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Reza Aslan during an interview with Viviana Mazza from Corriere della Sera.
n May 24th U.S. scholar and author Reza Aslan spoke with graduate students of International Affairs at Milan's Catholic University and gave a wide-ranging interview to Viviana Mazza, a Columbia University journalism graduate who writes for Corriere della Sera. Aslan, author of No god But God (his first book, which has been translated into half a dozen languages, was short-listed for the Guardian UK First Book Award, and nominated for a PEN USA award for research Non-Fiction) and Professor of Religious Studies and Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside, spoke on reform within Islam, the Muslim-American experience, and future scenarios for the Middle East.
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