“Creating Islamic Spaces and Places”
Thursday, October 19, 2023
Cosponsored by:
Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture
Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN
A Virtual Conference on the Zoom platform
All Sessions held in Eastern Standard Time (UTC-05:00)
Deadlines:
Abstracts: May 31, 2023
Final Papers: September 30, 2023
As the world’s second-largest religion, Islam shares many roots with other religions, especially
Judaism and Christianity. For centuries it has valued sacred spaces in synagogues and churches. In a
way, this mitigated tension and hostility in today’s all-too-often toxic political atmosphere. Yet
Muslims continue to be racialized in what is broadly described as the “Western” world. This
phenomenon materializes at best when Muslim figures operate in the public sphere or when they try
to establish Islamic spaces in the form of sacred places of worship or cultural centers. This
conference explores the importance of space and place-making to religious identity among Muslims
living in North America.
We invite a diverse range of papers from professors and advanced Ph.D. candidates in the
humanities and social sciences. Questions the papers might address include, but are not
limited to the following:
- The Quest for Muslim Spaces and Places in Travelogue Literature
- How Migration and Trade Shape Muslim Experiences of Space and Place
- African Muslims Experience of Slavery in the USA
- Sharing Prayer Spaces in Synagogue, Churches and other Houses of Worship
- Creating Prayer Rooms in Airports Inside the USA • Being an American Muslim Woman in the Workplace
- How White Muslim Men Converts are Stereotyped
- Converts and Questions of Authenticity and/or Shu ubiyya
- American Muslims in the Public Sphere
- American Muslim Political Figures and Public Office
- State Policies and Establishing Islamic Spaces Post 9/11
- Designing Buildings Influenced by Islamic Architecture Post 9/11
Abstracts (250 words) Due May 31, 2023
Abstracts from Professors and Advanced Ph.D. Candidates ONLY
- Abstracts will be evaluated according to following criteria: clear data & methodology used, and relevance and contribution to conference theme. Abstracts must include a title; author’s full name; contact information; and university position (Professor or Ph.D. Candidate)
- Online Pre-Registration required by Panelists [Zoom link will be available on website]
- Final papers must be submitted by September 30, 2023
- Send abstracts & final papers to Layla Sein, NAAIMS Executive Director, and Director of Academic Affairs at conferences@naaims.org
