October 20, 2000

Religious expert to shed light on conflict in Israel

Jean-François Mayer, Ph.D., of the University of Fribourg, will speak Monday, October 23, at 7:30 p.m. in the Multimedia Classroom I in the Monroe Library on "Religions, Strategies and Transnationalism: Globalization and Tensions in the Religious Landscape of the World."

Among other conflicts, Mayer will discuss the Temple Mount/Haram al Sharif controversy that sparked the most recent violence in Israel. On Tuesday, October 24, from 3:30 ­ 4:15 p.m., in Bobet 221, Mayer will address Professor Catherine Wessinger's Honors World Religions class about the movement for the restoration of the 10 Commandments of God, the apocalyptic church in Uganda associated with the deaths of over 900 people. Mayer has been to Uganda to investigate this case, and he will shed light on whether this was a mass suicide, a mass murder, or both. Guests are welcome to attend.

Mayer is a historian of religions who formerly worked for the Swiss Ministry of Defense. He is an advisor to the FBI. The Biever Guest Lecture Series and the Department of Religious Studies sponsor this lecture, which is free and open to the public.

For more information, call Professor Wessinger at ext. 3182.