Third Quarterly Debate on Belief and Unbelief: "Must There Be a Conflict Between Science and Religion?'
The Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California (ICCNC) will hold its third quarterly debate titled “Must There Be a Conflict Between Science and Religion?” on Saturday, October 29, 2022, at 11:00 AM (Los Angeles Time). Dr. Tiddy Smith and Dr. Hossein Kamaly will participate in the debate. Dr. Yaser Mirdamadi moderates this debate.
The purpose of these debates is to broaden and deepen the general public’s understanding of religion in the 21st century. The general theme of the first year of the debate series is Belief and Unbelief in a “Post-Secular Era.”
The debate will be on Zoom and live-streamed on ICCNC's YouTube Channel.
Biographies
Dr. Tiddy Smith has a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Otago, New Zealand, an MA, in Philosophy from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and a BA in Philosophy from the University of Otago. He has taught philosophy at the University of Otago and the University of Indonesia.
His research interests include philosophy of science, philosophy of religion, and epistemology. His publications include "The Methods of Science and Religion: Epistemologies in Conflict," published in 2019 by Lexington Books.
Dr. Hossein Kamaly holds the Imam Ali Chair in Shia Studies and Dialogue Among Islamic Schools of Thought at Hartford International University. Before obtaining his Ph.D. and MA in history from Columbia University, he earned an MSc degree in Mathematics, Statistics, and Operations Research from New York University. His undergraduate degree was in Computer and Electrical Engineering from Shahid Beheshti University in Iran.
Dr. Kamaly has taught in New York City for many years. He was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Barnard College and Columbia University from 2007-2017. He has also taught at the City University of New York, Hunter College, and Brooklyn College. His first book in English, God & Man in Tehran: Contending Visions of the Divine from the Qajars to the Islamic Republic, was published in 2018 by Columbia University Press. His next book, A History of Islam in 21 Women, was published in 2019 from Oneworld Publications in the UK.
Dr. Yaser Mirdamadi is a researcher in medical ethics at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. In 2019, he received Ph.D. in Islamic and Middle East Studies from the University of Edinborough. He has a MA in Muslim Cultures from Aga Khan University, Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilizations (AKU-ISMC) London, UK, and a MA in Islamic Theology from Ferdowsi University Mashhad, Iran. Also, Dr. Mirdamadi completed a Level 3 Diploma (equivalent to a Master’s degree) in Classical Islamic studies from Hawza Ilmiyya (Islamic Seminary), Mashhad, Iran.
