UNC Asheville Hosts Renowned Scholar of Islam and Human Rights;
Abdullahi An-Na'im to Give Talk on "Genocide in Darfur"

UNC Asheville's Africana Studies Program will host a talk on "Genocide in Darfur?: Challenge and Response" by Abdullahi An-Na`im, the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law at Emory University Law School, at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 3, in UNC Asheville's Humanities Lecture Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

An-Na`im, a former prisoner of conscience in Sudan, teaches courses on human rights, and Islamic and criminal law. An-Na`im's teaching and research stems from his personal experiences as a Muslim from Northern Sudan struggling to reconcile his Islamic faith and identity with his commitment to universal acceptance of and respect for human rights. He was executive director of Africa Watch, now the African Division of Human Rights Watch, based in Washington D.C., from June 1993 until April 1995.

An-Na`im has taught human rights and Islam at universities in Sudan, Sweden, the Netherlands, Canada and UCLA. His book, "Toward an Islamic Reformation: Civil Liberties, Human Rights, and International Law," has been translated into Arabic, Indonesian and Russian.

For more information, call Afaf Omer, UNC Asheville Africana Studies Program Director, at 828/232-6979.

Media Contacts:

• Dr. Afaf Omer, UNC Asheville Africana Studies Program Director, 828/232-6979
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526