EXPERTS ADVISORY

Christiane Gruber, associate professor of art history, is an expert on Islamic painting who can discuss the history of Islamic representations of the Prophet Muhammad. Contact: 734-764-5400, [email protected]. Bio: http://myumi.ch/aAY2a

Gruber says, “Rarely do journalists, readers and the public at large ask themselves: Does Islam really ban images of Muhammad? The short and simple answer is no. The Qur’an does not prohibit figural imagery. Rather, it castigates the worship of idols, which are understood as concrete embodiments of the polytheistic beliefs that Islam supplanted when it emerged as a purely monotheistic faith in the Arabian Peninsula during the 7th century.”

Mark Tessler, professor of political science, conducts public opinion surveys throughout the Middle East and studies attitudes toward political Islam. He will soon be releasing a book on the subject. Tessler also co-directs the Arab Barometer Survey project. Contact: 734-615-9149, [email protected]. Bio: http://myumi.ch/aX3b6

Juan Cole, professor of history, can discuss how Muslims are reacting to the Paris attacks. He studies the ongoing political change in the Arab world. Contact: 734-764-6305, [email protected]. Bio: http://myumi.ch/L4WRa

Cole writes on his blog Informed Comment that Muslims are condemning the violence: “Not only are most Muslim authorities in the Middle East denouncing the al-Qaeda massacres, but they are engaged in active warfare against extremists and risking their soldiers’ lives, with hundreds or thousands killed. And those killed by the extremists in Paris included a Muslim policeman named Ahmad and a Muslim copy editor, a man of broad learning. How many commemorations of the victims mention that they included Muslims?”