ATFP Senior Fellow Chairs Panel at Major Iran Conference

ATFP Senior Fellow Hussein Ibish moderated a panel at an international conference at Lake Forest College in Illinois March 27-28, 2010 entitled "The Future of Secularism and the Public Role of Religion in Iran." Ibish's panel discussed "Religion, Politics and State in Modern Iran." On the panel conference organizer Prof. Ahmad Sadri of Lake Forest College discussed "Islam in a Post-Islamist Iran: Critiquing the Alternatives," Prof. Hamid Dabashi of Columbia University spoke about "Din va Dowlat: Rethinking Worldliness," and Prof. Hossein Kamaly of Barnard College analyzed "The Logic of Categorical Distinctions: Dichotomies in the Making." Conference presenters were virtual who's who of Iranian intellectuals in the United States and beyond, including Abdolkarim Soroush, Akbar Ganji, Farzin Vahdat, Ali Afshari, Golbarg Bashi, Ali Mirsepassi, Nader Hashemi, Mehrzad Boroujerdi, Arash Naragh and Mahmoud Sadri, among others. The full program schedule can be accessed at the following URL:

http://www.lakeforest.edu/academics/programs/iws/conf.asp [3]