Tunisian Ambassador, Philosopher Visit and Lecture Students

A new rational approach to religion was discussed in a lecture by the Tunisian philosopher and anthropologist Yousef Seddik on March 28, 2016, organized by the Birzeit University Deanship of Students Affairs.

Tunisian Ambassador in Palestine Habib Ben Farah accompanied Seddik on a visit with university president Abdel Latif Abu Hijleh. Abu Hijleh assured that Birzeit University is a home to distinguished cultures, thoughts and ideologies.

“Our university is a place for diversity,” he said. “We strive to attract intellectuals and philosophers from all around the world to exchange their experiences and innovative ideologies in order to contribute to the cumulative knowledge, education and broad thinking of our students.”

Dean of Student Affairs Mohammad Al Ahmad agreed with this goal. “Our aim is to present a broad spectrum of viewpoints through required courses. In order to enrich students’ knowledge, we offer a number of different teaching situations and environments in a range of academic, cultural, philosophical and economic disciplines.”

Seddik referred in the lecture to the resemblance between the Greek heritage and Islam. “We need to think of Islam rationally. The heritage of ancient Greece is a rich historiographical tradition that preserved ancient knowledge upon which art, architecture, literature and technological achievements were built and affected Islam.”