Join us for an enlightening afternoon with renowned scholar, poet and film-maker Professor Akbar Ahmed, as he discusses the twelfth century novel Hayy ibn Yaqdhan (Alive, Son of Awake) written by the Andulusian scholar, philosopher novelist, the 12th-century Moorish philosopher, physician, mystic, and Islamic official Ibn Tufail.

The novel has been described as “the most important story you’ve never heard of.” This is because the book was so influential in the West.

With its striking similarities to Daniel Defoe’s eighteenth century novel Robinson Crusoe, it is widely regarded as the first novel in the English language.

Presented by: Prof Akbar Salahuddin Ahmed, a Pakistani-American academic, author, poet, playwright, filmmaker, former diplomat, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at AU and a Global Fellow of the Wilson Center

Hosted by: Darryl Morris, the award- winning broadcaster, filmmaker, and writer