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• Artist: Professor John Kelsay

John Kelsay is Florida State University’s Distinguished Research Professor and Richard L. Rubenstein Professor of Religion. With his analyses of religion, fundamentalism and terrorism quoted in media around the world, Professor Kelsay is a leading religious ethics scholar who focuses on Islamic and Christian traditions. He provides an oft-quoted and authoritative voice in both the academy and the community.

Kelsay’s work explores some of the prevailing religious questions of our day. In his latest critically acclaimed book, “Arguing the Just War in Islam,” Kelsay examines the concept of jihad and shows that Islamic thinkers have debated the ethics of war and of specific military tactics going all the way back to the time of the prophet Muhammad some 1,400 years ago. That debate continues today, he says.