CERIS - Projects

Native American and Indigenous Muslim Stories (NAIMS): Reclaiming the Narrative

pittadmin — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 21:19:19 +0000

Posted by the University of Pittsburgh:

Native Americans are often invisible in our public discussion of America, and even more so in any discussion of Muslims in the United States. As a group, Native Americans broadly make up 1.8% of the US general population. As such, they are often overlooked, invisible and underrepresented in public conversations and decision-making. And Muslims broadly make up an estimated 1.1% of the US general population. Among Muslims in the United States, Native Americans make up just 1-2%. There is an absence of awareness and lack of representation of Native American and Indigenous Muslims both in the broader US public and within the US Muslim community.

Visions and Voices, the first publication from ISPU's Native American and Indigenous Muslim Stories (NAIMS): Reclaiming the Narrative project, is the first-ever photo narrative project to center the lived experiences of Native American and Indigenous Muslims in the United States. This research amplifies Indigenous Muslim voices to highlight the challenges, strengths, and needs of this small but incredibly diverse community.

This project seeks to:

- Provide an accurate representation of Native American and Indigenous Muslims, on their own terms.
- Raise awareness, facilitate cultural competency, and offer educational materials tailored for broader community understanding.
- Identify the specific needs and assets of Native American and Indigenous Muslims more broadly.
- Gain a greater understanding of the views of Native American and Indigenous people of other faiths and no faiths toward Muslims and Islam.

Native American and Indigenous Muslim Stories: Reclaiming the Narrative will be released in two parts.

Visions and Voices, released in November 2022, uses a narrative portrait approach. ISPU Researchers conducted 17 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with Native American Muslims over a period of six months. Interviews explored identity, ways to navigate multiple marginalized communities, and insights into participants' struggles, hopes, and dreams. From these interviews, professional storytellers developed and summarized participant stories. Photographers met each of these participants in their communities all across the United States to capture portraits. By centering their voices and images, this form of storytelling opens up the possibilities of new ways of understanding, while disrupting dominant narratives about Native American and Indigenous Muslims.

Trends and Treasures, to be released in the spring of 2023, is a thematic report of the strengths and struggles of Native American and Indigenous Muslims. It will draw on the narratives of participants in the Visions and Voices portion, as well as on a series of focus groups with Native American and Indigenous people of other faiths and no faith.

This project is made possible by a generous grant from the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Arts Building Bridges Program and with cultural support from IllumiNative. The mission of the Building Bridges Program is to support national efforts, working with U.S. Muslims, to increase mutual understanding and well-being among diverse populations for the benefit of building stronger, inclusive communities. IllumiNative is a Native woman-led racial and social justice organization dedicated to challenging the narrative about Native peoples.

Projects

Institution(s):

University of Pittsburgh

The Maydan Podcast

pittadmin — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 20:10:50 +0000

Announced by the University of Pittsburgh

The Maydan Podcast offers discussions addressing a range of topics and themes—both contemporary and historical—across multiple academic disciplines. It is designed to appeal to both academic and non-expert audiences.

A team of scholars from different institutions and representing a wide range of subfields and domains of expertise contribute to the podcast. It will produce 50 episodes over one year and seeks to engage audiences within and outside the field of Islamic Studies.

Curated by Su’ad Abdul Khabeer from University of Michigan and Sapelo Square, On The Square will be released every first Tuesday of the month. It is co-produced by The Maydan and Sapelo Square.

Curated by N.A. Mansour from Princeton University, Knowledge and its Producers will be released every second Tuesday of the month.

Curated by Saadia Yacoob from Williams College, History Speaks will be released every third Tuesday of the month.

Curated by Ermin Sinanovic from Shenandoah University, Islam on the Edges will be released every fourth Tuesday of the month. It is co-produced by the Maydan and the Center for Islam in the Contemporary World at Shenandoah University.

In addition to the 40 episodes produced by these scholars, other expert names and the AVACGIS faculty will produce another 10 episodes for Maydan Podcast.
Working under supervision of AVACGIS Directors Peter Mandaville and Huseyin Yilmaz, The Maydan Podcast Team is composed of Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu– Editor-in-Chief; Micah Hughes– Project Coordinator, and Sophie Potts – Post Production and Audio Editor. Inquiries and feedback about the Maydan Podcast can be sent to publish@themaydan.com.

Projects

Emergent (BarAyandegan) is a new body of work about Iranian women and how they changed the dynamics of gender and the socio-economic structures in the 20th century Iran. In its first phase, Emergent includes a series of guided conversations with women who were born before 1950. These conversations took place in their personal spaces, and make up the content of the podcast series. Each episode provides an intimate portrait of one woman in her own voice.

Women of this generation, irrespective of their social and economic standing, were a primary factor in political and identity changes that irreversibly changed and reshaped the contemporary Iran. Their challenges and achievements are a little-known part of the 20th century history of the global movement for women’s rights and equality. My project adds to the growing effort to recover this history.

The podcasts are in Farsi, but all episode notes and companion material are provided in both Farsi and English. In addition to a 3-minute trailer, the first episode, Yadhay-e Parvin, is currently online. The series is available for subscription in various ways. Find relevant links below this text, and also on the project website.

Projects

Institution(s):

University of Pittsburgh

Student Research Symposium

cerisadmin — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 19:23:27 +0000

Muslims in the Global:Past and Present

Undergraduate and graduate students are invited to present their research at the CERIS Research Symposium on April 4, 2020 at the University of Pittsburgh. A broad range of topics are accepted (see below a list of past papers presented.) If you think a paper you are writing or a project completed (visual arts, poetry, etc) may qualify but aren’t sure, please email Elaine Linn at eel58@pitt.edu. After the abstracts are received titles will be grouped according to themes that emerge. The symposium brings together students and faculty interested in the diverse topics related to Islamic studies within the arts, sciences, humanities, social sciences and professional disciplines, allowing time for engagement, networking and mentoring. In addition to the student presentations there will be a keynote address and lunch.

Students seeking overnight accommodations should contact Elaine Linn at eel58@pitt.edu

An abstract of no more than 250 words is required by March 21, 2020 about the paper or project. The strongest abstracts will include most or all of the following:

A statement of the purpose of the research.
A statement of the kind of data or texts which provided the basis for the research.
A statement of the relevant theory and research basis to which the research relates.
A brief summary of the findings and conclusions (if research paper is complete).

STUDENTS CLICK HERE TO REGISTER and SUBMIT ABSTRACT: cerisnet@gmail.com by March 28, 2020. There is an eight page minimum for papers. Papers must be double-spaced, with citations of at least eight resources (using MLA format).

Student presentations will be limited to 12 minutes with an additional five minutes for questions from faculty and audience. All rooms will be media equipped.

Working Schedule for the April 4 event
8:30 AM Registration and Refreshments
8:45 AM - 9:00 AM Welcome Remarks
9:00 AM - 10:30 AM Student Panels -
11:30 AM Keynote Address
12:30 PM Lunch
1:30 PM Concluding Remarks

A selection of past topics presented:
Jerusalem Light Rail: Co-presence in a Contested City
Xenophobia in Germany and Why We Should Care
Aisha: Her Life and Legacy for Modern Islamic Feminist Movements
An Exploration of China's Most Controversial Ethnic Minority: the Uyghurs
How Muslim Immigrants in Europe Adapt to Conflicts in State and Religious Laws
An Era of Volatile Transition: Uncovering the Hindu-Muslim Tension in Mumbai, India
Humanitarian Colonialism under the French 3rd Republic
Colonies, Cotton, and the Global: Economy: How Uzbekistan Became Dependent on Cotton in the Imperial Era
The Legacy of Malcolm X
A Comparative Study of Late Ottoman Society and State: Jabal Nablus and Mosul
Disease of Affluence: Economic and Educational Foundations of ‘Homegrown Terrorism’ in Europe and the United States
“'I’m Known For Blowing Up Beats And Governments': The Arabian Nightz and Their Role in Egyptian Hip-Hop and the Arab Spring."
The Qur’anic Moses and Early Islamic Attitudes toward Judaism
Iran and Tajikistan’s Language Policy
Palestinian Hip Hop
Islam and Women’s Rights: An Analysis of Malaysia and Saudi Arabia

The Rebel Sorceress: Gender, Politics, and Religion in Africa from Colonial Times to the Present
The Feminist Hijab
Female Circumcision: Roles in the Islamic Faith, Culture and History, and the Physical and Psychological Repercussions of the Procedure
Women’s Rights, Domestic Violence and Honor Killings
Jordan’s Reproductive Policies
Political Competition as a Mechanism to Promote Human Rights: A Comparative Case Study of Women’s Rights in Libya and Algeria

Projects

Institution(s):

University of Pittsburgh

CERIS Educator's Readers' Forum

cerisadmin — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 15:24:16 +0000

K-16 Educators are invited to participate in the bi-annual Consortium for Educational Resources on Islamic Studies Faculty Readers' Forum.

Be sure to confirm dates with your calendar. Those receiving a book and not attending will be charged for the book.

October 28, 2026 at 6 pm

The book for discussion is Crescent Over Another Horizon: Islam in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Latino USA by Maria del Mar Logroño Narbona, Paulo G. Pinto, John Tofik Karam (University of Texas Press, 2015)

Register here About the book: From renowned Palestinian scholar Tareq Baconi, a powerful memoir of political and queer awakening, of impossible love amidst generations of displacement, and what it means to return home.

An “intimate, mesmerizing meditation on dispossession” (Omar El Akkad, New York Times bestselling author), Fire in Every Direction will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

CERIS Books read:

Hate Your Policies, Love Your Institutions by John Waterbury, in Foreign Affairs, January/February 2003
No God but God: Egypt and the Triumph of Islam by Geneive Abdo
The Ornament of the World by Maria Rosa Menocal
Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations by Michael Anthony Sells
Orientalism by Edward Wadie Said
Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World by Carl M. Ernst
Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas by Sylvian A. Diouf
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi
Islam Without Fear: Egypt and the New Islamists by Raymond William Baker
Islam and the Secular State, Negotiating the Future of Shari’a by Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im
City of Oranges, An Intimate History of Arabs and Jews in Jaffa by Adam LeBor
The Crisis of Islamic Civilization by Ali Allawi
The Long Journey, In Search of Justice and Peace in Jerusalem by James G. Paharik
Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam by Akbar Ahmed
House of Stone by Anthony Shadid
In the House of Men by Hisham Matar
The Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo
Paradise Beneath Her Feet, How Women Are Transforming the Middle East by Isobel Coleman
Revolution 2.0 by Wael Ghonim
Mornings In Jenin by Susan Abulhawa
Saint and the Sultan: The Crusades, Islam, and Francis of Assisi's Mission of Peace by Paul Moses
Who is Allah, by Bruce B. Lawrence
A Sultan in Palermo: A Novel (The Islam Quintet), by Tariq Ali
Thomas Jefferson's Quran: Islam and the Founder by Denise A. Spellberg
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
Beyond Timbuktu by Ousmane Oumar Kane
The Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine
Islam After Communism by Adeeb Khalid
The Bible and the Qur'an: Biblical Figures in the Islamic Tradition by Younus Mirza and John Kaltner
Jihad, Radicalism and the New Atheism by Mohammad Hassan Khalil
Who are the Uyghurs (selected readings)
Faces of Muhammad, Western Perceptions of the Prophet of Islam from the Middle Ages to Today by John V. Tolan
Paths of Accommodation, Muslim Societies and French Colonial Authorities in Senegal and Mauritania by David Robinson
Call Me American By Ibdi Nor Iftin
Meursault Investigation by Kamel Doued
Black Star, Crescent Moon: The Muslim International and Black Freedom beyond America by Sohail Daulatzai.
I Cannot Write My Life, Islam, Arabic and Slavery in Omar Ibn Said's America by Mbaye Lo and Carl W. Ernst
Elastic Empire: Refashioning War through Aid in Palestine by Lisa Bhungalia
Age of Coexistence: The Ecumenical Frame and the Making of the Modern Arab World by Ussama Makdisi
The Return, Fathers, Sons and the Land In between by Hisham Matar
Muslim Families in Global Senegal (Money takes care of shame) by Beth Buggenhagen.

Projects

Institution(s):

University of Pittsburgh

File:

Elastic Empire Discussion Questions

Saint and Sultan Book discussion prompts

A Sultan in Palermo discussion prompts and notes

Thomas Jefferson's Quran.pdf

CERIS.BookDiscussion.ExitWest.docx

Beyond Timbuktu Discussion prompts and suggested readings

Unnecessary Woman Discussion Prompts and timeline