Interfaith Lecture Series

The 24thAnnual Knippa Interfaith/Ecumenical Lecture Series

Dr. Ingrid Mattson, Immediate Past President, The Islamic Society of North America

“What Is Islamic Law (Shariah) and For Whom Does It Apply”
Sunday, January 30, 2011 at 7 p.m.
An informal reception will follow in Knippa Hall

Grace Lutheran Church
2331 East 5th Place,Tulsa,Oklahoma
918-592-2999
Parking Shuttle Service Available from Educare Center and Kendall Whittier Elementary School, one block east of Grace Church at 5th Place and S. Atlanta Ave.

In recognition of the distinguished ministry of the Rev.Dr. Clarence W. Knippa, an endowment fund for a lecture series was established on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of his ordination. The purpose of the Knippa Interfaith/Ecumenical Lecture Series is to foster and promote understanding, respect and appreciation for the religious and ethical traditions and concerns of others.

About Dr. Ingrid Mattson…

“In the summer of 1987, I was riding the train out to British Columbia to start a tree-planting job in the mountains. I had just finished my undergraduate degree in Philosophy and had only recently begun my personal study of Islam. I came across Fazlur Rahman’s Islam in a bookstore a few days before my trip. Reading that book as I traveled across the Canadian prairies, I made the decision to apply to graduate school in Islamic studies. His book sparked in me a keen desire to study the classical heritage of Islamic theology and law. …Rahman died before I arrived at the University of Chicago, but it was his book and his encouragement that inspired me to start on the path to scholarship that I have found so rewarding.”

Dr. Mattson earned her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. She teaches Early Islamic History, Islamic Law, Life and Times of the Prophet Muhammad, and Qur’anic Studies at the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam at Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut. This Center is our country’s oldest program for the study of Islam and Christian-Muslim relations.

Dr. Mattson made history four years ago by being elected the first female President of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). Her groundbreaking did not stop there as she and other Islamic Society leaders forged new partnerships with major Jewish and Christian organizations. Dr. Mattson has just completed her term as President of ISNA because of the Society’s two-term limit, but will remain on its Executive Council. She was one of the recipients of the prestigious Istiklal Medal of the First Order, presented to her by His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan.