Daniel C. Peterson, professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic at Brigham Young University (BYU) USA will deliver the annual Religious Liberty Lecture at the University of Notre Dame Australia School of Law in Sydney.
A native of southern California and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Daniel C. Peterson received a bachelor’s degree in Greek and philosophy from BYU and after several years study in Jerusalem and Cairo, earned his Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).
Dr. Peterson is the author of several books on Islamic topics including a biography entitled Muhammad; Prophet of God (Eerdmans, 2007) and has lectured across the United States, in Europe, New Zealand, Australia and at various Islamic universities in the Near East and Asia.
While serving in executive leadership roles for the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at BYU, a computer-digitized version of the Dead Sea Scrolls was produced along with electronically recovering damaged documents from the ruins of Herculaneum, Petra, and Bonampak. With the Vatican Apostolic Library in Rome, they electronically published editions of ancient Syriac Christian manuscripts.
Dr. Peterson is the founder of BYU’s four-part Middle Eastern Text Initiative which translates into English classical works of medieval Arabic philosophy, medicine and science and early Syriac and Christian Arabic literature.
A member of the board for the Foundation of Religious Diplomacy he is also the president and chairman of the board of the Interpreter Foundation.
While here in Australia, Dr. Peterson will speak to young single adults in Melbourne as well as conduct radio interviews and meet with various Islamic and interfaith groups. He will be accompanied by his wife, Deborah.
Many of the young single adults attending Dr. Peterson’s presentations are institute (religious education) students. Gary C. Prebble, Seminary and Institute Coordinator in Victoria for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says, “We’re excited our students have this opportunity to gain greater insights and understanding from this esteemed scholar.”