AVACGIS Guest Lecture by Dr. Younus Mirza

"The Sacrifice: The Story of Abraham’s/Ibrahim’s Sacrifice and Its Relevance Today"

Monday, February 24, 2020 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM EST
Student Union I, SUBI- Meeting Room 3A

This talk will examine the Biblical and Qur’anic story of Abraham’s/Ibrahim’s sacrifice.  It will begin by highlighting the multiple exegesis of the verses, such as whether Isaac/Ishaq or Ishmael/Isma‘il was the intended sacrifice and the bodies of evidence for the competing claims. It will then transition to focus on how medieval Muslim scholars, like the Andalusian Ibn Hazm, dealt with the moral and ethical implications of the Story.  He contends that somebody attempting to sacrifice his own child could be mentally unstable or transgressive if they were not understood to be a prophet. 

Dr. Younus Y. Mirza is a Visiting Researcher at Georgetown University and Director of the Barzinji Project at Shenandoah University which seeks to enhance America’s relationship with Muslim-majority countries. He defended his dissertation in Arabic and Islamic Studies from Georgetown University and has taught at Millsaps and Allegheny Colleges. His current research focuses on the relationship between the Bible and the Qur’an and the shared stories between them. He is a co-author of the book The Bible and the Qur’an: Biblical Figures in the Islamic Tradition

Co-sponsor: The Religious Studies Department at GMU

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