Karolyn Benger is the owner of KB Enterprise, a nonprofit consulting firm in Phoenix, AZ. Previously, she was the founding Executive Director of the newly created Jewish Community Relations Council in Phoenix and served as the Executive Director of the Jewish Interest Free Loan of Atlanta. She is a graduate of Emory University with a degree in Political Science and a specialization in the Middle East where she studied Arab and Islamist opposition groups in Egypt. Ms. Benger has taught at Emory University, Georgia Tech, and Emerson College and is passionate about interfaith dialogue, race relations, and the peace and security of the Jewish community. She regularly speaks on Women in Orthodoxy, Women in Islam, Democratization in the Middle East, Social Movements, Anti-Semitism, and Islamist organizations. Her non-academic publications can be found with eJewish Philanthropy, Kveller, North Shore Children and Families, Times of Israel, and Binah.
Topics I speak/teach about include:
The History of the Middle East
State Formation in the Middle East
Development of Islamist Organizations
History of Islamist Fundamentalism
Muslim-Jewish Relations Historically
Muslim-Jewish Relations Today
Women in Islam
Women in Orthodox Judaism
Religious Dress Codes of Women in Islam and Judaism
The Birth of Islam & Development of the Caliphate
Shi'i Islam
Iran and the Islamic Revolution
Islamism as a Social Movement
Islam & Democracy?
Anti-Semitism Today
Islamic Anti-Semitism
Religious and Ethnic Conflict & Resolution
The Muslim Brotherhood
HAMAS
Hizballah
Israel Syria and Iran
Religious Fundamentalism: Muslims and Jews
Egypt: Nasser to Al-Sisi
Saudi Arabia
From Ottoman Empire to Turkey
Turkey Between a Caliphate & Democracy
The Birth of Israel from an Arab Perspective
Muslim-Jewish Relations
African-American-Jewish Relations
Interfaith Dialogue and Community Relations
