Welcome to Pathways of Faith, the theme for Matteson’s Let's Talk About It! discussion series. Leading our discussion series is Dr. Abdul Basit. Dr. Basit is a distinguished Fulbright scholar, educator, and advisor to national leaders. He has published widely,and has taught students at U of C and Northwestern, how culture influences the experience, expression, and treatment of illness. His lectures on the overlap of Sufism and psychotherapy engaged faculty and residents in thoughtful discussion and debate. The five-part reading and discussion series will be held on the following Wednesday evenings at 7 pm. The books and discussion dates are: March 19, 2014 The Children of Abraham: Judaism, Christianity,Islam by E.F. Peters April 2, 2014 Muhammad: A Very Short Introduction by J. Brown Acts of Faith by E. Patel May 7 2014 The Story of the Qur’an by I. Matson Essence of Koran – Abdul Basit May 14, 2014 The Art of Hajj by V. Porter May 21, 2014 Rumi Anthology by R. Nicholson Our first selection is F. E. Peter's The Children of Abraham. This is one of the first scholarly works to explain the connections and commonalities found between the religions of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Peters' book can be slow going at first, but don't get discouraged. We have plenty of tools to help you out! Concentrate on looking at the Introduction and Chapters 1, 2, and 6 as these will give you a framework for our discussions. Once you RSVP, you can pick up a resource folder at the Adult Services Desk. You may also visit the websites listed below: The National Endowment for the Humanities Project scholar Frederick Denny’s Pathways of Faith essay is an excellent overview: http://bridgingcultures.neh.gov/muslimjourneys/items/show/305 Bridging Cultures Author Page and Related Resources http://bridgingcultures.neh.gov/muslimjourneys/items/show/33 Oxford Islamic Studies Online features articles and a glossary of terms www.oxfordislamicstudies.com Please call 708 748-4431, or sign up online at mattesonpubliclibrary.org The Let’s Talk About It: Muslim Journeys, a reading and discussion series, has been made possible through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in cooperation with the American Library Association.