Four Khans Everyone Must Read
The name Khan is trending. One Khan – Imran Khan – is now the PM of Pakistan, another, Sadiq Khan, is the Mayor of London, and in the US, Khizer Khan, a five star dad,…
On Centering Black Muslim Women in Critical Race Theory
In recent years, Islamic Studies scholars and scholars who study Muslims have begun to use critical race theory – which was introduced by legal scholars to explain how white supremacy persisted despite the end of…
In Defense of Critical Race Theory: Islam, Race, & the Modern Public Intellectual
Prologue During the Abbasid Caliphate, Baghdad was the center of learning and scholarship in the Islamic world. Scholars from various religious backgrounds and academic disciplines flocked there to be part of a bustling society of…
Critiquing Black Muslim Reason: What Good is Critical Race Theory for Muslims?
Among Muslims of African-descent in the United States, there is a rather extensive history of their participation in the Black Freedom Struggle. From resistance to the forced migration and enslavement of African Muslims starting before…
Mobilizing Construction Jihad in Revolutionary Iran
Introduction The institution of Construction Jihad (Jahad-i Sazandigi, hereafter CJ) dates back to the Iranian Revolution. While CJ’s origins were rooted in the rural reconstruction and development policies that were instituted during the reign of…
The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad Continue to Cause Controversy
“But they denied the truth when it came to them, so they are in a confused condition.” (50:5) Introduction Mubasher Hussain published a book review of The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians…
Gay Pride Parade in Sarajevo: A Victory for Bureaucratic Islam
The recently concluded gay pride parade in downtown Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, stirred much debate in the country and the region, and produced two clear winners in the deliberations: the official Islamic…
The Bosnian Case of ‘Liberal Islam’
In ‘Want to Cultivate a Liberal European Islam?,’ Riada Asimovic Akyol argued that “a tolerant European Islam has already existed for centuries” in countries such as Bosnia, Albania, and Turkey. She supported her claim with…
Berlin’s “Liberal Mosque” through the Lens of a Moroccan
As a political scientist with a background in cultural studies, I happened to experience the so-called ‘culture shock’ in a familiar setting for a Muslim – a mosque, yet in different context and conditions. Having been in…
[Book Review] “Islam in Pakistan: A History” by M. Qasim Zaman | Reviewed by Mahan Mirza
M. Qasim Zaman. Islam in Pakistan: A History. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2018 | 432 pages. $39.50 hardcover | Reviewed by Mahan Mirza This book is not meant to be read. It is meant to be…