As Taliban tightens grip on Afghanistan, Rice expert available to discuss perceptions of Islam

EXPERT ALERT

Amy McCaig
713-348-6777
amym@rice.edu

As Taliban tightens grip on Afghanistan, Rice expert available to discuss perceptions of Islam

HOUSTON – (Aug. 20, 2021) – As the Taliban tightens its grip on Afghanistan and the world wonders what its implementation of Sharia law will mean for the country’s citizens, Rice University sociologist and Islam expert Craig Considine is available to discuss the international perception of Islam and Muslims and the experiences of minorities in Afghanistan.

Craig Considine

Considine is a prolific researcher of Islam and Muslim-Christian relations. His latest book, “People of the Book: Prophet Muhammad’s Encounters with Christians,” was released today. He said the images from Afghanistan unfolding on television are not representative of the world’s second-largest religion.

“For people who are not familiar with the Islamic tradition or Muslims at large, it is easy to digest the news and think, ‘The Taliban represents Islam,'” Considine said. “This could not be further from the truth. The global Muslim population of over 1 billion people is rich in diversity and viewpoints. Afghanistan itself is not a monolith. There are Muslims there who are concerned with the Taliban’s approach, or lack thereof, to integrating women and minority populations.”

While the treatment of women and minorities are real concerns, the global media coverage sometimes conflates the treatment of these communities with the Islamic faith itself, as if Islam cannot and does not protect and respect women and minorities, he said.

“One would be wise to study the life and legacy of Prophet Muhammad, who liberated women from oppression and welcomed Jews and Christians into the fold of his ‘Muslim nation,'” Considine said. “The media’s focus on the Taliban’s implementation of the Sharia sends the message that ‘Islamic law’ is one coherent and codified set of laws. In fact, the Sharia has many different interpretations. It is similar to U.S. Supreme Court justices differing in their rulings on certain issues. The Taliban has its own version of the Sharia, but many Muslim jurists and scholars around the world disagree with them on their rulings.”

An award-winning professor and author of seven books, Considine is recognized as an authority in interfaith dialogue, particularly between Christians and Muslims. His writing and opinions appear regularly in the leading media outlets around the world.

To schedule an interview with Considine, contact Amy McCaig, senior media relations specialist at Rice, at 217-417-2901 or amym@rice.edu.

-30-

This news release can be found online at news.rice.edu

Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews

Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,978 undergraduates and 3,192 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 1 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.

If you do not wish to receive news releases from Rice University, reply to this email and write “unsubscribe” in the subject line. Office of News and Media Relations – MS 300, Rice University, 6100 Main St., Houston, TX 77005