Travel Talk: Israel and Palestine: An American-Muslim Experience

As a fellow of Shalom Hartman Institute’s Muslim Leadership Initiative, Professor Turan Kayaoglu of UW Tacoma has spent four weeks in Israel and Palestine in the last two years. In addition to study sessions on Judaism, Zionism, and Israeli and Palestinian experiences, the visit included site visits where Dr. Kayaoglu discussed the conflict with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. This travel talk will explore his political, cultural, religious experience in this much-contested geography. He will also discuss why this program is controversial in American Muslim community and why he decided to participate.

Turan Kayaoglu is a professor of international relations and the associate vice chancellor for research at University of Washington, Tacoma.  Kayaoglu was a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institute and visiting professor at Qatar University. His research explores issues related to Islam, international relations, human rights, and American Muslim experience. Kayaoglu is the editor-in-chief of Muslim World Journal of Human Rights and the author of two books and over twenty articles in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes.  Kayaoglu currently works on a project for how American Muslims are shaping global Islam.  He is on the Humanities Washington Speakers' Bureau to give talks on American Muslims: History, Culture, and Politics throughout the Washington State.

Kayaoglu lives in Puyallup.