Islam on the Edges EP9 – Living Islam on the Edges of Counterterrorism, Racism, and Disobedience: A Conversation with Dr. Asim Qureshi

In episode 10 of the “Islam on the Edges” podcast, Ermin Sinanović talks with Prof. Ingrid Mattson about her recent visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Religious tourism, including the Muslim version of “halal tourism,” has been on the rise all over the world and in all religions. Prof. Mattson reflects on her visit to Bosnia by talking about the ethics of travel, importance of blending the built environment with nature, and Muslim practices in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Welcome to episode 10 of Islam on the Edges channel of the Maydan Podcast, a project by the Abu Sulayman Center for Global Islamic Studies at George Mason University in Virginia. In this episode, we discuss Prof. Ingrid Mattson’s recent visit to one of the emerging destinations in the Balkans, Bosnia and Herzegovina. With its rich Islamic history, dating back to the Ottoman era and extending to the present, Bosnia has become an important visit site for Muslims from all over the world, but primarily from the Arab Gulf countries, Turkey, and Western Muslims, including from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Halal tourism, a sub-category of religious tourism, caters to Muslims by providing Muslim-friendly destinations and content, such as prayer spaces, halal food, and Muslim historical sites. According to BBC, “the Muslim travel market is expected to reach $300 billion by 2026.” Bosnia and Herzegovina is an interesting case. According to the 2013 census, Bosnia is barely a majority Muslim country, with just over 50% of population identifying as Muslim. Yet, they are heavily concentrated in the part of the country that hasn’t been ethnically cleansed by the Serb and (to a lesser extent) Croat paramilitary forces during the brutal aggression in the 1990s. Combining a rich Ottoman legacy with a more recent secular experience under the communist regime, Bosnia and Herzegovina provides an interesting mix of being situated in Europe and having a considerable Muslim presence and legacy. Prof. Mattson reflects on the ethics of travel, pointing to the huge carbon footprint of air travel. She explains the need for ethical dealing with the environment and the populations one is visiting. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, this is even more sensitive due to the recent memory of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and war crimes. Respectful listening and empathy are some of the key elements of the ethics of travel. While sharing her experiences, Prof. Mattson talks about the beauty of Bosnian mosques and their human proportions. She reflects on female prayer spaces in Bosnian mosques that could serve as a good example of inclusion and spirituality. We hope you will enjoy this episode. Dr. Ingrid Mattson was born and raised in Canada, earning a BA (hons) in Philosophy and Fine Arts, then moved to the United States to study at the University of Chicago, earning a PhD in Near Eastern Language and Civilizations in 1999.  From 1998 to 2012 she was Professor of Islamic Studies at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut where she developed and directed the first accredited graduate program for Muslim chaplains in North America and served as Director of the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations. Since 2012 she has held the London and Windsor Community Chair in Islamic Studies at Huron University College at Western University in London, Canada. From 2001-2010 Dr. Mattson served as vice-president, then as president of the Indiana-based Islamic Society of North America. In that position she established the Office of Interfaith and Community Engagement in Washington, DC, and facilitated new partnerships with other faith-based communities and civic organizations. Her writings, both academic and public, focus primarily Qur’an interpretation, Islamic theological ethics and interfaith relations. Her book, The St

Welcome to episode 9 of Islam on the Edges channel of the Maydan Podcast, a project by the Abu Sulayman Center for Global Islamic Studies at George Mason University in Virginia. I talk to Dr. Asim Qureshi. It is often said that 9/11 changed everything. The former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the unindicted war criminal Tony Blair, said after the 7/7/2005 bombings in London, the “rules of the game” have changed. This prompt provided the title for Dr. Asim Qureshi’s first book, “Rules of the Game: Detention, Deportation, Disappearance.” In this episode, Dr. Qureshi and I discuss how 9/11 and the ensuing atmosphere of anti-Muslim propaganda in Western democracies negatively impacted the rule of law in his native England and worldwide. He chronicles some of the most egregious violations of the rule of law during the so-called “war on terror.” Dr. Qureshi reflects on his work with the CAGE advocacy group in the UK. CAGE “works closely with survivors of abuse and mistreatment across the globe, documenting their abuse and enabling them to take action and access due process.”  Out of these experiences, Dr. Qureshi developed a strong ethic of advocating for abused and mistreated detainees. He also refuses to play the condemnation game, whereby Muslims are often called to condemn violent acts allegedly perpetrated by other Muslims in the name of Islam. Once, while listening to the Friday prayer sermon or khutbah with his children, he heard the Imam (prayer leader) calling for absolute obedience to authorities, even if they were unjust. This event led him to contemplate the virtue of disobedience in the face of grave injustices. Dr. Asim Qureshi graduated in Law (LLB Hons, LLM), specializing in International Law and Islamic Law. He completed his Ph.D. in International Conflict Analysis from the University of Kent. He is the Research Director at the advocacy group CAGE, and since 2003 has specialized in investigating the impact of counterterrorism practices worldwide. He has published a wide range of NGO reports, academic journals and articles. He has written Rules of the Game: Detention, Deportation, Disappearance (Hurst, Columbia UP, 2009), A Virtue of Disobedience (Unbound, 2019), and is the editor of the book I Refuse to Condemn: Resisting Racism in Times of National Security (Manchester UP, 2020). His forthcoming book with Dr Walaa Quisay, When Only God Can See (Pluto Press, 2024) will focus on the way Islam is practised by political prisoners under the custody of the US and Egypt. Since 2010, he has been advising legal teams involved in defending terrorism trials in the US and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In episode 8 of the “Islam on the Edges” podcast, Ermin Sinanovic talks with Dr. Aliyah Khan and Dr. Kenneth Chitwood about the Muslims of the Caribbean. They discussed the coming of Islam to the region, Muslim diversity, ethnolinguistic differences, material and cultural production, major historical developments, Muslim politics, and knowledge production. Muslims of the Caribbean is a growing community due to the continued conversion to Islam in the region. This wide-ranging episode briefly introduces this Muslim community’s rich history, legacy, and present.

In episode 7 of the “Islam on the Edges” podcast, Ermin Sinanovic talks to Imam Khalid Griggs about the Islamic Party in North America (IPNA). The episode traces the origins of the IPNA within the African-American Muslim community. It looks at the transnational links with the Muslims in Pakistan, Lybia, and other countries, that have contributed to the development of ideas within the IPNA. Imam Griggs talks about the relationship between the Nation of Islam and IPNA, the importance of Malcolm X, and the connection with the Muslims in the Caribbean. The IPNA was mostly active in the 1970s and the 1980s. It left a lasting influence on a generation of Muslim activists in the African-American community. This episode sheds light on the legacy of the IPNA. BIO: Imam Khalid Griggs is the Imam of Community Mosque of Winston-Salem (NC), Director of Social Justice and Civic Engagement ICNA Council for Social Justice, Board Member of the Institute for Dismantling Racism, Member Sponsoring Committee Triad Industrial Areas Foundation, and member of Interfaith Winston-Salem.

In episode 6 of the “Islam on the Edges” podcast, Ermin Sinanovic talks to Dr. Farid Hafez (Williams College) about the securitization of Muslims in Europe. In a vibrant discussion, Dr. Hafez speaks about the neo-Nazis and their relationship with Islamophobia in Austria and other European countries. He traces the rise of the New Right and its role in anti-Muslim rhetoric. Dr. Hafez focuses explicitly on Austria, his country of origin, and its increasing anti-Muslim turn. He examines the long-standing presence of Muslims in Austria, dating back to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and how the contemporary Austrian state racializes the Muslim presence. With the French presidential elections around the corner, this episode is a timely reminder of the precarious position of Muslims in Europe.

In this episode, Ermin Sinanovic talks to Dr. Dženita Karić (Humboldt University, Germany) and Đermana Kurić (a Ph.D. student at the University of Sarajevo) about female Muslim piety in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The episode examines a renewed interest in the study of piety in religion in general, then focuses on female piety in Bosnia and Herzegovina, tracing its evolution from the Ottoman times through different political periods in the country’s history to the present.

In this episode, Ermin Sinanovic talks to Dr. Mohammed Hashas (Luiss University, Rome, Italy) and Dr. Meriem El Haitami (L’Université Internationale de Rabat in Morocco) about Islamic thought in Morocco. By tracing the genealogies of modern and contemporary Islamic thought, Dr. Hashas and Dr. El Haitami reveal the rich legacy of Moroccan Islamic thought, especially in the fields of philosophy and Muslim feminism.

In this episode, Ermin Sinanovic talks to Dr. Hatem Bazian of the UC Berkeley and the Zaytuna College about Islamic Palestine and its place in Muslim theology, culture, history, memory, and future. Dr. Hatem Bazian is a co-founder and Professor of Islamic Law and Theology at Zaytuna College, the first accredited Muslim liberal arts college in the United States. In addition, Prof. Bazian is a lecturer in the Departments of Near Eastern and Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2009, Prof. Bazian founded at Berkeley the Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project at the Center for Race and Gender, a research unit dedicated to the systematic study of Othering Islam and Muslims. In 2012, he launched the Islamophobia Studies Journal, which is published bi-annually. Dr. Bazian holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy and Islamic Studies from the University of California at Berkeley.

In this episode, Ermin interviews four scholars and activists about Ramadan fasting in their countries and communities. The episode reveals many similarities across the four continents – North America, Africa, Europe, and Asia – as well as distinct local practices. Central to the observance of Ramadan are family, community, prayers, Qur’anic recitations, and acts of charity. The four guests are Nisa Muhammad (United States), Ahmet Alibašić (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Ibtisaam Ahmed (South Africa), and Lien Iffah Naf’atu Fina (Indonesia).

Ermin Sinanović hosts Dr. Syed Muhammad Khairudin Aljunied, an associate professor of history and Malay studies at the National University of Singapore on the theme of Muslim cosmopolitanism. What is Muslim cosmopolitanism and why is it important today? What are the features of Muslim cosmopolitanism in Southeast Asia? This riveting discussion, covering Islam in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and other Southeast Asian countries, highlights the global movement of people and ideas. It explores interactions among people of various ethnicities, races, and religions. It covers the role of Muslim women in cosmopolitanism, and how the secular state limits cosmopolitan understandings. Dr. Khairudin Aljunied is a Senior Fellow at the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, as well as an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore (NUS). Dr. Aljunied completed his doctorate at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London in 2008. His most recent book was Islam in Malaysia: An Entwined History (Oxford University Press, 2019).