Lectures, seminars and public conversation
Talks
Professor al-Ahsan’s lecture topics grow from books, courses and published scholarship rather than from a separate speaking catalogue. They can be framed for universities, policy audiences, civic institutions or advanced seminars.
Five conversations
Questions for a room
These summaries are concise guides into the published record. The scholarship linked elsewhere on the site remains the fuller source.
Dialogue or Clash: What the Record Actually Shows
A response to clash-of-civilizations arguments built from the history of Muslim and European contact and al-Ahsan’s published work on civilizational dialogue, conflict and perception.
Rise and Fall: How Civilizations Come Apart
A conversation across the four recurring concerns — governance, dignity, cooperation and flourishing — read against the historical record rather than as a deterministic formula.
Human Dignity Before Law: Reading the Cairo Declaration
Grounded in his study in the Journal of Law and Religion and his good-governance work with Stephen B. Young, this topic examines dignity, rights instruments and political institutions.
The OIC at Fifty and After
A long institutional view of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, drawing on scholarship that begins with his 1988 monograph and continues through later work on conflict resolution and Muslim-world diplomacy.
Eurocentrism and the Method of History
For history departments and graduate seminars: how historical vantage point shapes evidence, agency and the stories civilizations tell about one another.
Formats
Lecture, seminar, conversation
Format, timing and scope are arranged case by case.
- Public lecture with discussion
- Graduate seminar or masterclass
- Panel contribution or respondent
- Multi-session short course
- Press interview or background briefing
- Editorial or advisory conversation
- Remote or in-person format may be requested
Selected venues and institutions
Teaching and public engagement
- Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, 2008
- Muslim-Christian Dialogue Center, University of St. Thomas, 2008
- International Islamic University Malaysia, 1990–2017
- Istanbul Şehir University, 2018–2020
- International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization, ISTAC
- Virginia Theological Seminary, visiting professor
- Dawah Academy, International Islamic University Islamabad
- Center for Islam and Global Affairs, full seminar, 2019
- Caux Round Table for Moral Capitalism
Contact
Send an invitation
Use this form for speaking, media, seminar and institutional requests.
Helpful details include the date or window, the audience, whether the event is remote or in person, and the question or theme you hope the conversation will address.
Printable sheet for a programming committee
Open media sheet
His email address is not published on the site. Use the form to initiate contact.