Lectures

The AbuSulayman Center for Global Islamic Studies at George Mason University had an eventful academic year, hosting a diverse range of guest lectures and events during the Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 semesters. These events brought together esteemed scholars, practitioners, and thought leaders to share their expertise and perspectives on various topics related to global Islamic studies. 

Through its Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 guest lectures and events, The AbuSulayman Center for Global Islamic Studies fostered a vibrant intellectual community, providing opportunities for students, scholars, and the wider public to deepen their understanding of Islam's global significance and its multifaceted contributions to various fields of study.

Listed below is a collection of recent lectures and events, along with detailed descriptions, speaker profiles, and links to relevant resources.

Spring 2026 and Fall 2026 Lectures

Ulema-State Alliances in Crisis: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Indonesia Dr. Ahmet Kuru April 1, 2026

The Colonial Legacy of Europe's Islam Policies. The Cases of Austria and Germany ACGIS Guest Lecture with Dr. Farid Hafez March 23, 2026

Spring 2025 and Fall 2025 Lectures

The Islamic Mary: Maryam Through the Centuries Dr. Younus Y. Mirza November 11, 2025

What is the Meaning of Home? Syrian Refugees Between Displacement, Diaspora, and Return Dr. Wendy Pearlman October 29, 2025

Being Muslim in the Face of Doubt Dr. Zaid Adhami October 9, 2025

Melancholy Acts: Defeat and Cultural Critique in the Arab World Dr. Nouri Gana March 7, 2025

Ahmadi Diaspora Adaptation in the American Context Dr. Halide Rümeysa Küçüköner February 27, 2025

Spring 2024 and Fall 2024 Lectures

 Experiences of Somalis as a Racialized Refugee Population: Narrative of Migration, Placemaking, and Faith
Dr. Ifrah Magan October 31, 2024

 Water on Fire: A Memoir of War
ACGIS Guest Lecture | Tarek El-Ariss October 3, 2024 

When Only God Can See: Muslim Carceral Theologies in the Prisons of Egypt and Guantanamo BayACGIS Guest Lecture | Walaa Quisay September 25, 2024

The Starvation of Gaza, Palestinian Food Sovereignty & Questions of AccountabilityACGIS Guest Lecture | Garrett Graddy-Lovelace September 5, 2024

Art Acts, Taswir, and Local Art History: Studying Lebanon through Modern Art and vice versaACGIS Guest Lecture | Kirsten L. Scheid May 13, 2024

  Shari'ah and the Islamic Secular: Between Political Theology and Political PhilosophyThe Annual Anwar Ibrahim Lecture | Featuring Sherman Jackson  April 16, 2024 

The Great Muslim American Road TripRamadan Iftar | Featuring Jawaad Abdul Rahman  March 26, 2024, 2024

Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 Lectures

 “In me is the essence of the Gita”: Muslim engagements with Hindu dharma in an age of Hindu NationalismAnand Vivek Taneja May 3, 2023

 The Predicament of Islamic Decoloniality in Turkey: Sufi Political Thought and the “Great East” Project of Necip Fazıl Kısakürek
Alev Çınar April 26, 2023

   A Discussion of "Markets of Civilization: Islam and Racial Capitalism"
Muriam Haleh Davis  March 29, 2023

 Poetry in Praise of Prophetic Perfection: The West African Madih Tradition
Dr. Oludamini Ogunnaike March 27, 2023

 Islamic Ethics of Interpretive Jurisprudence
Dr. Abdulaziz Sachedina March 9, 2023 

God’s Other Book: The Qur’an Between History and IdeologyMohammad Salama March 1, 2023 

Epigraphy and the Religious Landscape of late Pre-Islamic ArabiaAhmad Al-Jallad February 22, 2023

"The Mevleviye as a Generative Force in the Art Music of Muslim Anatolia and the Ottoman Empire"Walter Feldman  November 17, 2022

  Hui and Uyghur in Modern China: Two Muslim GroupsMorris Rossabi
November 3, 2022

Contemporary Moroccan Thought: Revisiting the Arab-Islamic Intellectual TraditionDr. Mohammed Hashas October 25, 2022 

Navigating White AmericaSofia Ali Khan October 13, 2022

2021 Lectures
	Dreams of the Arab Spring: Past, Future and Trajectories Nadia Oweidat October 28, 2021
	Justice You Can See: Representations of the Muslim Body in the Films of Sembene Danielle Widmann May 7, 2021
	American Muslim Voters: Also not a Monolith Youssef Chouhoud February 25, 2026
	"The Structure of Pain: The Impacts of Knowledge, Policy, and Religion on Prescription Opioids in Morocco” Cortney Hughes Rinker April 14, 2021
	“ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ ᎤᏩᏒ ᎨᏎᎢ” From Islamic Sources to Iroquoian Inscriptions Jeffrey Einboden November 6, 2021
	"Who is the legal person in Islamic law?" Saadia Yacoob April 7, 2021
	"Ramadan in Lockdown: Personal Reflection and Communal Activities" Laura Jones April 21, 2021
	Mass-producing the cosmos: visuality and divination from manuscript to lithograph in 19th-century South Asia Nur Sobers-Khan May 19, 2021
2020 Lectures
	“To Reform or Decolonize the Mind? Islamophobia, American Muslims, and the Dilemmas of Double Consciousness” Zaid Adhami April 30, 2020
	"How has the Arabian Nights Sustained a Reputation?" Muhsin al-Musawi September 29, 2020
	"The Universal Enemy: Jihad, Empire, and the Challenge of Solidarity" Darryl Li November 18, 2020
	“The Transformation of Islamic Charity: From Alms to New Public Voluntarism in India” Christopher Taylor April 16, 2020
	"Our Bodies Belong to God: Organ Transplants, Islam, and the Struggle for Human Dignity in Egypt" Sherine Hamdy September 23, 2020
	Making the US: Muslims, Race, and Class Hussein Rashid November 10, 2020
2019 Lectures
	Horn, Sahel and Rift: Fault-lines of the African Jihad Stig Jarle Hansen November 7, 2019
	Islam and Humanitarianism: Interdisciplinary Inquiries on Islamic Forms of Aid November 1, 2019
	Turks in America Public History Initiative November 16, 2019
2018 Lectures
	"A Modern Islamic Perspective on Coexistence and Pluralism" with Abdulrahman Al-Salmi Abdulrahman al-Salimi  April 4, 2018
	"What is Islam?: Conventional Views and Contemporary Perspectives" Conference April 11, 2018
	"Racism, Racialization, and African-American Islam in the Americas" Conference April 12, 2018
	"Maimonides and Islam" Lecture by David Novak" March 27, 2018
	"The Study of Manuscripts and its Importance for Research on Islamic Literature and Culture" Muhammad Isa Waley February 6, 2018
2017 Lectures
	Xenophobia and Islamophobia in the Modern Era February 1, 2017
	"Beyond 'Moderation': Islamic Politics and the Security State in Pakistan" Joshua White November 1, 2017
	"Voice of the Muslim Brotherhood" Noha Mellor & respondent Nancy Youssef November 16, 2017
	"When Mystic Masters Meet: Toward a New Matrix for Christian-Muslim Dialogue" Syafaatun Almirzanah April 27, 2017
	CSC: Designating Muslims: Islam in American Governmentality Peter Mandaville October 5, 2017
	"Media and the Afterlife of the Arab Uprisings" November 1, 2017
	Film Screening: "Theeb" April 20, 2017