Baltimore MD - On Sunday, November 7 at 2 p.m., UMBC Political Science professor Dr. Louis J. Cantori will present a free public lecture on "The Islamic Path to Democracy."

"According to American foreign policy and according to American political science there is only one path to democracy. This path assumes that individualism and pluralism are intrinsic to the concept. Islam, on the other hand, as the religion of 1 billion people worldwide, begins with the assumption of the importance of the community and of consensus in society and yet insists that it too can join the democratic world." Dr. Cantori will explore the theoretical and theological bases of Islamic democracy, linking his study to the current peace process in the Middle East.

Dr. Cantori is a member of the Board of Directors of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy and a member of the Advisory Committee of the School of Islamic and Social Science, Leesburg, VA. He is a founding member of the Circle of Tradition and Progress (Halaqa al-Asala wa al-Taqaddum), Washington, DC and London, UK and a former student in the Faculty of Theology, al-Azhar University.