Professor gives public lecture on Islamic State group

Composite stock image, St. George News

CEDAR CITY — College Democrats at Southern Utah University are hosting a lecture Thursday at 6 p.m. by political science professor Michael Stathis on the Islamic State group – how it came to be and its impact on current issues such as Europe’s refugee crisis. The lecture will be held in the Sterling R. Church Auditorium in the Sharwan Smith Center on campus, 351 W. University Blvd., Cedar City.

The Islamic State group, or ISIS, aims to create an Islamic state across Sunni areas of Iraq and Syria. ISIS currently controls hundreds of square miles, ignores international borders and has a presence from Syria’s Mediterranean coast to south of Baghdad. They rule through Sharia law.

Islam is the second largest religion in the world, with over 1 billion followers. Followers of Islam are called Muslims and believe that there is only one God. While Muslims believe that the final prophet was Muhammad, they respect Jesus, Moses and Abraham as prophets of God. Muslims base their laws on their holy book the Qur’an and the Sunnah.

About the lecturer

Stathis received a Bachelor of Science in political science in 1971 from the University of Utah and a Master of Arts in middle eastern studies from the Middle East Center at the University of Utah in 1976. He completed his Ph.D. in political science, international relations (law, organization and politics) at the University of Utah in 1995. His dissertation was titled “Causes of the First Gulf War: Personal Perceptions of Secular-Based and Belief-Based Dimensions of Interest and Power.”

Stathis is a tenured professor of political science and international relations at SUU. He has taught political science since 1974 and at SUU since 1991.

Event details

  • What: Lecture on the Islamic State group
  • When: Thursday, 6 p.m.
  • Where: Sterling R. Church Auditorium, Sharwan Smith Center, 351 W. University Blvd., Cedar City

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