Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy, author of The Talibinazation of South Asia: Can it Be Stopped?, received his bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering and mathematics, master’s in solid state physics, and Ph.D in nuclear physics, all from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  He has been a faculty member at the Department of Physics, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad since 1973, and is chairman of Mashal, a non-profit organization that publishes books in Urdu on women’s rights, education, environmental issues, philosophy, and modern thought.

Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy has written and spoken extensively on topics ranging from science in Islam to education issues in Pakistan and nuclear disarmament. He produced a 13-part documentary series in Urdu for Pakistan Television on critical issues in education, and two other major television series aimed at popularizing science. He is author of Islam and Science: Religious Orthodoxy and the Battle for Rationality, now in 5 languages, and his writings have appeared in Dawn, The News, Frontier Post, Muslim, Newsline, Herald, Jang, and overseas in Le Monde, Japan Times, Washington Post, Asahi, Seattle Times, Post-Intelligencer, Frontline, The Hindu, and Chowk Magazine.  He has been an engaged speaker at more than twenty US campuses including MIT, Princeton, Univ. of Maryland, and Johns Hopkins University.  He has appeared on several TV and radio networks (BBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, PBS, NPR, Fox) to analyze political developments in South Asia.

(c) 2007 The University of Chicago.  Recorded as a part of The World Beyond the Headlines series, a collaborative project of the Center for International Studies, the International House Global Voices Program, and the Seminary Co-op Bookstores. The series aims to bring scholars and journalists together to consider major international issues and how they are covered in the media.

Recorded Tuesday, October 30, 2007 at University of Chicago.