The World Affairs Forum and Norwalk Library invite the public to attend a Great Decisions presentation with Dr. Kamal Soleimani, Visiting Lecturer in Islamic Studies, Queens College, CUNY.

Kurdistan, a mountainous region made up of parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria, is home to one of the largest ethnic groups in West Asia: the Kurds. Now, most in the West know them for the small, oil-rich autonomous region in northern Iraq called Iraqi Kurdistan-one of the U.S.’ closest allies in the Middle East, and a bulwark against the expansion of the so-called Islamic State. What does the success of Iraqi Kurdistan mean for Kurds in the surrounding region? – Foreign Policy Association

Dr. Soleimani completed his PhD at Columbia University in 2014. He specializes in Islamic history and Middle Eastern politics: Iran, Iraq, Turkey and the Kurds. He has taught courses on Islamic and Middle Eastern history and politics in Turkish and American universities. He has written a number of peer-reviewed articles on Middle Eastern history and politics. His new book Islam and Competing Nationalisms in the Middle East was published in June 2016.

This is a free event and open to the public. No reservation is necessary.