Bronislav Ostřanský: On Contemporary Islam
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: March 28, 2019, 19:00 – 21:00
Presentation of the book Současný islám: Tendence a dynamika (Contemporary Islam: Trends and Dynamics) and debate with its author, the Arabic and Islamic studies expert Bronislav Ostřanský.
The marked resistance met by Islam in the Czech Republic is matched in few small European countries. Why is this so? What are the current forms of Islam? And should we only fear Islam and Islamists? Instead of correcting the wide range of falsehoods and semi-truths about Islam and Muslims, which has become an essential element of public polemics on the subject in this country, the author attempts to arrive at a realistic “diagnosis”. Ostřanský attempts to tackle apocalyptic visions of the “clash of civilisations” through a substantive overview of the subject, which had hitherto been lacking in the Czech language. His book looks at a number of key factors that help shape events in a major part of today’s world, from the “erosion of authority” and the challenges of the “information age” to the battle for Muslims’ hearts involving various interpreters of Islam.
Petra Královcová will chair the debate.
Organised by the Václav Havel Library in cooperation with publishers Academia.