Ramadan on the Edges

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).