By COLLEEN MCKOWN
(NOTE: Article updated Saturday at 11:15 a.m. to reflect a change in location)

Eisa Khan Ayoob Ayoobi, a native of Afghanistan who recently completed a year as a Fulbright Scholar at Stanford University, will speak at 3 p.m. Sunday in the Davidson College Presbyterian Church Congregation House. Ayoobi will discuss the basis of conflict in Afghanistan and his personal experiences growing up there.

Davidson resident Bob Maier met Ayoobi in 2005 while working for a television station in Kabul, Afghanistan. Ayoobi was Bob’s assistant at the station and his guide in Kabul. Ayoobi is visiting Bob’s family before returning to Kabul next week.

At Stanford, Ayoobi taught Dari, studied politics, and served as a cultural ambassador. Ayoobi graduated from Kabul University with a degree in Law and Political Science in 2002. Later, he worked in law, government, business, and communications, and was a Deputy Chief of Staff for the Vice President of Afghanistan, Ahmad Zia Masood.

He has been touched personally by the war in Afghanistan. Ayoobi fought against the Taliban with a student military brigade. The brigade sought to promote peace and human rights in Taliban-controlled areas. Ayoobi also lost two brothers to war, one in the Soviet conflict and the other fighting the Taliban.

Ayoobi will give a unique first-hand view into life in Afghanistan and possible solutions for the political and ideological conflicts in Afghanistan. To read more about Ayoobi, visit his blog at http://ayoob-ayoobi.blogspot.com.