‘God has never been killed – The Prevalence of the Sacred: Comparative Historical Roots of the Arab Crisis’ is the title of a seminar to be held on Tuesday from 6 to 7pm at the University of Malta’s Gateway Building Hall A, Msida campus.

The speaker is Baghdad-born Dr Arsalan Alshinawi, a full-time academic at the University’s Department of International Relations.

During the seminar, Dr Alshinawi will begin by considering the question of why, in the Middle East and North Africa, there has been no claim that ‘God is dead’, in the manner of Friedrich Nietzsche (1882 ‘The Gay Science’ – also translated as ‘The science of joy’).

He also seek to answer questions what the social difference is between the challenge to the ‘Christian God’ and to the ‘Muslim God,’ as a credible source of absolute moral principles, and why the sacred has prevailed in Arab society.

He will go on to discuss whether there is a political theory for today’s Muslim-Arab societies – and a modern system that is applicable to the countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Through this discussion, he will explore the historical roots of the crisis in the contemporary Arab world.

The seminar is the first of a series of seminars forming part of the 19th series of the Work in Progress in Social Studies convened by Paul Clough, Peter Mayo and Michael Briguglio.

Students and the public are invited to attend.