An Islamic scholar will conduct the first of four lectures at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Central Woodward Christian Church in an effort to promote understanding of Islam among Christians.

Saeed Khan of Rochester Hills, who teaches Islamic studies at Wayne State University and a Muslim, Christian Interactions class at Rochester College, will kick off a four-part discussion series titled “Coexist or a Clash of Civilizations? Islam and its place in the Modern World."

The free four-part series, which will take place 7-8 p.m. Wednesdays, is open to anyone.  Khan teaches Islamic studies at Wayne State University and is currently teaching a Muslim Christian Diversity class at Rochester College.

Khan met the Rev. Robert Cornwall of the Central Woodward Christian Church in the spring at a panel discussion and they talked about Khan visiting the church as a guest speaker.

“I found him to be an engaging speaker and I find that there is a lot of confusion about Islam especially on the part of Christians,” Cornwall said. “He understands the questions Christians have about Islam and I thought this would be a good opportunity for the Christian community and the community at large to get their questions answered.”

Khan and Cornwall brainstormed topics and issues to address that would be relevant to residents and church-goers.

“What started off as first an invitation come and give a lecture morphed into an actual series,” Khan said. “It’s important to create a climate of understanding and it’s certainly an honor to be invited to conduct a series.”

Cornwall said the church has hosted various lectures, but that this is the first time it has hosted an Islamic scholar or scholar of any sort. Khan plans to lecture half the time, and leave the second half open for a question-and answer-period.

“My hope is that the lecture will provide education, hope it provides clarity and hope I am able to provide answers to questions that people have,” Khan said.

The four-part series will be broken into the following discussions:

• Wednesday: A basic introduction to Islam
• Nov. 9: The relationship of Islam to Christianity and Judaism
• Nov. 16: The place of Islam in the modern world
• Nov. 30: Islam in America

Cornwall wants fellow Christians to understand the longstanding relationships – both good and bad – with Islam. He also thinks it’s important for Khan to look at Islam on a global level in the modern world and the last topic, Islam in America, he feels is necessary especially in this region because of the large population of Muslims in Detroit.

“What we’re basically doing is serving two functions – providing a primer on Islam and about Muslims in general – and also looking at how they practice their faith, what do they believe and how do they interact with the broader community,” Khan said.

For more information on the Islam series, interested community members can visit the Central Woodward Christian Church’s website  or contact (248) 644-0512.