Hina Shamsi, the director of the ACLU’s National Security Project, will speak at the MU campus on “The New Normal: National Security and Civil Liberties under the Obama Administration.” The speech will begins at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 10, in 204 Strickland Hall. The free presentation is open to the public.

Shamsi has engaged in civil liberties and human rights litigation, and monitored and reported on the military commissions at Guantánamo Bay. Her speech will address military drone aircraft and targeted killings under President Obama.

The National Security Project was created after the Sept. 11 attacks and advocates for national security policies that are consistent with the Constitution, the rule of law and human rights. The NSP litigates cases relating to detention, torture, discrimination, surveillance, censorship and secrecy.

The event is sponsored by the MU Peace Studies Program. For more information, call The Center on Religion & the Professions at (573) 882-9257.

Charles M. Blow, the visual op-ed columnist at The New York Times, will speak at the University of Missouri campus Wednesday, Jan. 26, as part of the university’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration 2011.

His speech, “A Lie Cannot Live: Rescuing Honest Political Debate From Apathy & Disengagement,” begins at 7 p.m. in Memorial Union’s Stotler Lounge. The speech is free and open to the public.

Blow joined The New York Times in 1994 as a graphics editor and quickly became the paper’s graphics director, a position he held for nine years. Before coming to The Times, he was a graphic artist at The Detroit News. He graduated magna cum laude from Grambling State University in Louisiana, where he received a bachelor’s degree in mass communications.

For more information, call (573) 882-5838 or visit the Chancellor’s Diversity Initiative website.

The Annual Pre-Kwanzaa Celebration will be celebrated at 7 p.m. Dec. 2 at the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center at the University of Missouri. There will be fellowship and fun that’s both educational and entertaining. It includes a candle-lighting ceremony to discuss the seven principles of Kwanzaa and a free soul food dinner. Call the center at (573) 882-2664 with questions or for additional information.

Anthony Alioto will present “Buddha and Buddhism” at a Noel P. Gist Brown-Bag Luncheon Seminar On International Affairs at noon Thursday, Dec. 2.

Alioto, professor and Althea and John A. Schiffman Endowed Chair in Ethics, Religious Studies and Philosophy at Columbia College, is the author of A History of Western Science.

He will speak in Memorial Union S304 at the University of Missouri.

Photo: Columbia College

Larry Brown, a member of the advisory board to CORP sister group World Religions in Missouri, will present the Noel P. Gist Brown Bag Luncheon Seminar on International Affairs at noon Thursday, Nov. 11.

Updated with more details on Webb’s speech and more Islam Awareness Week events.

Imam Suhaib Webb

Imam Suhaib Webb, a contemporary American Muslim activist and speaker, will give the keynote address during the annual Islam Awareness Week hosted by MU’s Muslim Students’ Organization. Webb specializes in civic involvement and youth empowerment, and he has served as a community leader in Oklahoma City and as Imam for the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City. He writes at SuhaibWebb.com.

Webb will speak on Thursday, Oct. 28, at 6:30 7 p.m. The Center is co-sponsoring the lecture, titled “Voice of an American Muslim: How Islam and America shaped me,” to be held in the Black Culture Center. Other Islam Awareness Week events include:

• Muslims in the Media panel discussion, 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 25, Memorial Union South 110
• Movie screening: “Bilal’s Stand,” 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26, Ellis Auditorium
• Pink Hijab Day: Women in Islam panel, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27, Mumford 133

Photo: umar nasir / CC

Do you know an individual, family or organization (community group, business, school, church, etc.) who has significantly impacted Columbia by promoting appreciation for diversity and cultural understanding?

There will be an interfaith dialog and potluck at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 17, at Flat Branch park and the Islamic Center of Central Missouri, at Fifth and Elm streets, in Columbia.