FORKS — A free lecture on Islam will be presented from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Monday.
The lecture by Professor Dann May will be at the Forks branch of Peninsula College, 481 S. Forks Ave.
“There are 1.6 billion Muslim people worldwide and an estimated 3.3 million Muslims living in the United States,” a news release said. “Islam is currently the second largest religion in the world, yet stereotypes and myths abound. Join Peninsula College at Forks for a free lecture and learn the facts.”
May will discuss major doctrines and practices of Islam and the major schools of thought and practice: Sunni, Shia and Sufism. Brief comparisons will be made with Christianity and the Jewish Faith.
May is a member of the Peninsula College faculty. He teaches courses in geology, philosophy and anthropology, as well as community education courses in geology, Islam and Rumi.
He also instructs coursework in geology, Buddhism and Rumi at Olympic College in Poulsbo through Western Washington University.
May received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in geology from the University of Washington in Seattle and his master’s in philosophy from the University of North Texas.
Before coming to the Peninsula, he was an adjunct professor of religion at Oklahoma City University and the director for the Vivian Wimberly Center for Ethics and Servant Leadership, where he directed OCU’s nationally recognized service learning program.
Ever since his student days at the University of Washington, he has had a great love for the beauty and geology of the Olympic Peninsula, he said.
May has traveled to several Islamic countries including Turkey, Morocco and Nigeria and has visited and met with Muslims in China, Spain, Liberia and the U.S. He has also worked with Muslims, Christians and Jews on various interfaith projects in Oklahoma and Texas.
For more information, contact Deborah Scannell at dscannell@pencol.edu.
