RIT Hosts Talk on Islam, Poetry and Love, Oct. 23

When we grow tired of religions’ pillars and creeds, poetry can provide a path to its deeper dimensions.

On Oct. 23, Rochester Institute of Technology hosts "Remembering the Beloved: Love and Longing in Islam," presented by Th. Emil Homerin. The 4 p.m. presentation, in the Allen Chapel of the Schmitt Interfaith Center (building 16) on the RIT campus, is free and open to the public.

A selection of classical Arabic poems will be read to underscore an essential element of Muslim life and religion-love.

"Much poetry aims to evoke feelings and the intensity of experience and, so, in contrast to more traditional texts and historical documents, poetry does not tell us about life and existence, so much as it moves us to participate imaginatively in the experience of them," says Homerin. "Thus, reading poetry by other peoples can make us more aware of their beliefs by helping us to feel more sharply and with more understanding some of what they have felt and believed over the ages."

Th. Emil Homerin is professor of religion and chair of the religion and classics department at the University of Rochester, where he teaches courses on Islam, classical Arabic literature and mysticism.

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