Scholars Forum

Isaac Friesen, TMTC Associate and University of Toronto PhD student in Near and Middle Eastern Studies, will lead a forum on "Bishops, not Pawns: The Roots and Reflexivity of Coptic Interfaith Programs in Provincial Egypt." His dissertation, titled “Navigating Tradition in Provincial Egypt: The Avenues and Ethics of Muslim Crossing into Coptic Spaces”, examines cultures of interfaith coexistence and conflict in Egypt since the 1960s. This anthropological and historical project is based in the town of Beni Suef, a friendly field site to which he was first introduced as a Mennonite Central Committee worker in 2011. Please plan to join us for what promises to be an engaging discussion!