Is ISIS a Threat to Central Asia?
TRAVERSE CITY — NMC’s International Affairs Forum continues its regular lecture series at 6 p.m. March 17 with "Is ISIS a Threat to Central Asia?" presented by Dr. Martha Brill Olcott, visiting professor, James Madison College, at Michigan State University.
The countries of central Asia, once part of the Soviet Union, are predominantly Muslim and have historically charted a course based on secular rather than religious principles. Do these secular traditions risk falling prey to the spread of Islamic fundamentalism? Does ISIS, now operating in nearby Afghanistan, pose a terror threat to aging autocratic regimes such as in Uzbekistan? Olcott, also a visiting professor at al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Kazakhstan, is America’s leading authority on Central Asia.
Tickets are $10 each and available at the door. Tickets are free for current students and educators.
IAF has also added an April 11 special fundraiser lecture to its spring lineup. Proceeds from tickets sales to "North Korea: The Hermit Kingdom" will support Traverse City Central High School's Academic World Quest team's trip to Washington D.C. for the national competition later in April. The 6 p.m. lecture at Traverse City Central High School's auditorium will be presented by U.S. Air Force Major General (retired) Brian Bishop, former deputy chief of staff, UN Command and U.S. Forces-Korea. Bishop is a part-timeTraverse City resident and NMC flight instructor.
His wife, Linda Lindquist-Bishop, a champion sailor who was a member of the first all-women's team to sail in the America's Cup race, will introduce Bishop and discuss living in Korea. Tickets are $10 at the door and free for students and educators, though donations are appreciated.
Release date: March 14, 2016
For more information:
Karen Segal
International Affairs Forum co-chair
(231) 715-6064
jsegal_kpuschel@yahoo.com