Herbert Berg, an expert on Islam and a professor at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington, will give a lecture comparing historical views of Muhammad and Jesus tonight at 7.
"The lecture will provide a broader understanding of how these two figures - and to an extent, Christianity and Islam - have been approached by scholars," said Steven Ramey, assistant professor of religious studies. "This understanding fits with the larger conversation in our society about how religions in general - and Islam and Christianity in particular - are treated in the media and broader public discourse."
Berg's lecture, "The Historical Muhammad and the Historical Jesus: Comparing Scholarly Reinventions and Reinterpretations," will address ongoing work regarding both of these important figures in Islam and Christianity. It is part of the Religion in Culture series in the department of religious studies.
While scholars of the historical Jesus and scholars of the historical Muhammad are engaged in seemingly similar activities, rarely do they look to the others to compare and evaluate their methods and theories, Ramey said.
Berg will argue that scholars of the "historical Jesus" and the "historical Muhammad" work to discover the historical facts about these important religious figures, without making assertions based on faith. But the scholars still approach the texts with assumptions shared by the believers.
According to a press release, Berg will also argue that the comparison suggests scholars of the historical Muhammad may be fewer in number, have fewer resources and have less sophisticated methodologies than their counterparts. Also for the most part, their conclusions are supposed to be less theological. Scholars of the historical Muhammad are more willing to challenge some of the theological positions in Islam.
"However, the lecture is not about which religious belief is more historically accurate or how the figures compare to each other," Ramey said. "The lecture will focus on comparing the assumptions and approaches of the scholars who have studied these central figures."
Berg's qualifications include a bachelor's degree in religious studies and Middle East studies from the University of Waterloo in 1989. He then completed his master's and doctoral degrees specializing in Islam at the Centre for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto in 1990 and 1996.
He taught at Middlebury College, the University of Vermont and Cornell University before coming to the University of North Carolina Wilmington in 1997, where he is a professor in the department of philosophy and religion and is director of the Graduate Liberal Studies program.
Berg is a recognized expert on Islam. His courses, articles and books deal with two major subjects: Islam in its first few centuries and American forms of Islam.
His lecture will be free and open to the public.
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