Black Muslims' Enduring Legacy in the Americas

In St. Philip parish, on the easternmost tip of Barbados, there is a small, one-room, yellow and green “musalla.” With chipped, white wooden shutters, the prayer space looks like a mix between a chattel house and a beach kiosk, with accents of Islamic architectural flair.

Said to have been built by a local Black convert by the name of Shihabuddin at the front of his family residence, the room can fit six, maybe seven prayer rugs. Alongside four mosques, an academy, a research institute and a school, Shihabuddin’s musalla continues to act as a site of community connection for Muslims in the Caribbean island nation, despite Shihabuddin’s passing.

When one thinks of global Islam’s “representative sites,” as literary scholar Aliyah Khan calls them, images of grand mosques and significant shrines in Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Mali or Pakistan might immediately come to mind. And well they should. Yet, to overlook places such as Shihabuddin’s musalla — and other Islamic centers across the Caribbean, Latin America, the U.S. and Canada — as nodes in Islam’s worldwide networks would be to do a vast disservice to the numerous Muslims who call the hemisphere home.

In particular, it would be to sideline the significance of Black Muslims like Shihabuddin.

Beginning with the first Muslim to arrive with the Spanish in the 16th century, Black Muslims have been part of the American story, navigating enslavement, inequality and numerous other misrepresentations and marginalizations in the region for 500 years.

Today, their enduring legacy influences tens of thousands of Muslims across the region and around the globe.

Introducing the Latin America & Caribbean Islamic Studies Newsletter

The study of Islam & Muslim communities in Latin America and the Caribbean is a field on the rise and features an ever-expanding network of scholars.

This newsletter is one way for us to be connected.

The idea behind the Latin America & Caribbean Islamic Studies Newsletter is simple: to bring together persons interested in the study of Islam and Muslim communities in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the networks that exist across, between, and beyond the Americas. The goal is to increase knowledge and encourage further scholarship on the topic.

The quarterly newsletter will not only communicate information on research opportunities and contribute relevant resources, but also serve as a platform to connect and collaborate.

The Latin America and Caribbean Islamic Studies Newsletter is secular, academically independent, and non-confessional. Its main aims include gaining recognition for the field, creating a network of scholars with the hope of one day creating a formal membership organization, generating further interest in the topic, and producing data, analysis, and insights on the subject from various fields of research and the public sphere.

The General Editor for the newsletter is Dr. Ken Chitwood and the Editor is Ms. Giulia Brabetz, both of the Berlin Graduate School Muslim Cultures & Societies at Freie Universität Berlin. Contributions will include work from a range of scholars working in various fields. While the newsletter will be predominately in English, specific articles and resources will be provided in Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, French, Arabic, and other languages. 

The first newsletter will be sent mid-October, 2020. 

If you are interested in learning more about the newsletter or have specific questions or concerns, please contact k.chitwood@fu-berlin.de. 

Otherwise, we invite you to subscribe and share this invitation with other potentially interested people in your network. 

“We Need Each Other to Survive”: How Interfaith Orgs are Responding to COVID-19

When the COVID-19 pandemic started, Zaw Zaw Aung’s first thought was how the disease might put further strain on already fraught relationships in Myanmar, where there are ongoing tensions between Buddhists and Muslims.

Aung is the Programme Manager of Paungsie Metta Initiatives (PMI), a multi-religious network of Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, and Muslims that promotes peaceful dialogue across Myanmar.

Rather than endangering PMI’s efforts, the crisis has proved an opportunity to strengthen bridge-building between Myanmar’s multiple religious communities, Aung said.

As part of my reporting for the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID), I had the opportunity to speak with Zaw Zaw Aung and other interfaith leaders in Nigeria, Indonesia, the Middle East, and the Central African Republic about their efforts in the wake of the global pandemic.

These are their stories of courage in the face of the coronavirus, making connections in an age of social distancing, and how interfaith responses to the global crisis are creating fertile ground for future inter-religious engagement.

Refugee Converts Aren’t ‘Fraudsters': the Fraught Politics of Convert Asylum in Germany

When you visit Trinity Lutheran Church in the Berlin district of Steglitz you’re going to meet a lot of different people, from all over the world: the German woman who thinks Mississippi is the greatest place in the world, the family from Bangladesh who comes to the English-language service every other week, the pastor — Rev. Dr. Gottfried Martens — who has learned Farsi in addition to English and German in order to minister to his community.

Then, you might get to know the hundreds of men and women who have found sanctuary at Trinity, seeking to remain in Germany and not be sent home to places as diverse as Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, or elsewhere.

This is a community whose lives are in limbo. They’ve applied for asylum on the basis of their conversion to Christianity and they claim that they will face religious, social, and political repercussions if forced to return to their countries of origin. Some fear for their lives.

Between 20,000 and 40,000 refugees are seeking asylum in Germany on the grounds of religious persecution because of their conversion to Christianity, according to a 2019 Open Doors report. Amid sharp national debates about anti-refugee sentiment, religious literacy, and religious freedom, a number of evangelical leaders have called for changes to the process of officially evaluating refugee conversion.

Currently, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) judges the sincerity of conversion and the severity of potential threats to asylum seekers’ lives. There is, however, a lack of explicit standards, clear criteria, or legal precedent for these examinations, and the BAMF grants asylum at significantly different rates in different parts of the country.

To say the least, this issue is fraught with multiple angles, opinions, and perspectives to consider. The process is mired by Islamophobic assumptions, a supposedly secular and neutral state making decisions in matters of religion, and the messy and mysterious question of “authentic faith.”

But for those seeking asylum, the issue is clear — “I’ve converted and my conversion puts my life, and the lives of those I love, in danger. I need asylum in Germany.”

Reporting on the topic for Christianity Today, I spoke with refugee converts, local pastors, evangelical leaders, scholars of Islamic law, government ministers, immigration authorities, and everyday Germans about how the issues around the question of judging asylum cases might be untangled.

The end result is that there is no clear answer, no silver bullet, no rubric that can be universally applied. Blame for the inefficiencies and failures of the process cannot be easily allocated — it isn’t an “Islam” problem, a secular government problem, or an evangelical Christian problem. It’s a shared problem, one that must activate multiple stakeholders with varying perspectives, postures, and positions on faith, the state, and religious freedom.

Nonetheless, in the course of my reporting, I did sense that there is the possibility for legal experts, politicians, government ministers, pastors, and religious actors to work together to seek the best solution for those involved.

These questions are not going to go away on their own. Instead, as the church body at Trinity Lutheran Church in Steglitz testifies, we are likely to continue to confront such questions in the years to come given the ongoing entanglement of people, traditions, and nations across the world.

Germany’s struggle offers a telling case-study for the issues we might encounter and the possibilities that lie before us. Perhaps, there is a “third way” that religious actors and the secular state can walk together to protect human rights and maintain peace and order.

Time will tell. For now, take a moment to explore an issue that is far more complex than it at first appears.

What is a caliphate? How the Islamic State tries to boost its legitimacy by hijacking a historic institution

Just days after the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Oct. 27, the Islamic State named Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi as the new “caliph.”

In 2014, IS conquered vast swaths of Iraq and Syria and declared itself to be the “caliphate.” 

Defined and applied in different ways over the centuries, the fundamental idea behind the caliphate is the just ordering of society according to the will of God. 

The Islamic State’s caliphate was never widely recognized among the global Muslim community and no longer has significant territory. But the Islamic State still uses the history of the caliphate to push their claims.

As a scholar of global Islam, every time I teach my “Introduction to Islam” class, questions about the caliphate come up, in part because of IS’s claims. 

Caliph conundrums

The leader of a caliphate is called the caliph, meaning deputy or representative. All caliphs are believed to be the successor to Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad was not a caliph; according to the Quran he was the last and greatest of the prophets. 

That means no one can replace Muhammad as the messenger of God. The caliph, for example, is not always seen as holding special spiritual authority. But he is meant to preside over the caliphate in the absence of Muhammad.

The debate over who was the rightful representative of the prophet began immediately after his death. While the majority supported Abu Bakr – one of the prophet’s closest companions – a minority opted for his young son-in-law and cousin, Ali. 

Abu Bakr’s supporters would come to be known as Sunni Muslims, who believe that Muhammad did not leave instructions regarding his successor. Those who felt Ali was appointed by the prophet to be the political and spiritual leader of the fledgling Muslim community became known as Shiite Muslims. 

Abu Bakr was the first caliph and Ali the fourth. 

The second and third caliphs were Umar and Uthman. Under Umar, the caliphate expanded to include many regions of the world such as the lands of the former Byzantine and Sassanian empires in Asia Minor, Persia and Central Asia. Uthman is credited with compiling the Quran. 

That al-Baghdadi adopted the name of the first caliph was no coincidence. Together, Sunni Muslims call the first four caliphs the Rashidun, or the “Rightly Guided Caliphs,” because they were close companions or relations of Muhammad. They are also believed to be extraordinarily pious. This period lasted about 30 years. 

The complex history of the caliphate

After rebels assassinated Uthman in A.D. 656, Ali was elected caliph. However, a civil war soon broke out between Ali and Muʿawiya ibn Abi Sufyan. The civil war ended in Sufyan’s victory and the formation of the Umayyad caliphate in A.D. 661. 

The Umayyad dynasty lasted 89 years.

The Abbasid dynasty descended from Muhammad’s uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib, and succeeded the Umayyads.

These two caliphates oversaw the continuing expansion of the empire. Under them architecture, the arts and sciences flourished.

For example, the “Dome of the Rock,” a shrine in the Old City of Jerusalem, was built under an Umayyad caliph as a monument to the rising supremacy of their empire.

The Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem (PHOTO: Ken Chitwood).

The Grand Library of Baghdad, also known as the “House of Wisdom,” was supported by Abbasid patronage. The “House of Wisdom” is credited with being a center of translation, scientific study and academic exchange. This period of flourishing, from the eighth to the 14th century, is often referred to as the “Islamic Golden Age.”

Both before and after the fall of the Abbasids in A.D. 1258, a succession of various empires made overlapping and competing claims to the caliphate. These included the Mamluks of Cairo and the Umayyads in Cordóba, Spain. 

In 1517, the Turkish Ottomans amassed enough land and power throughout Asia Minor, North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and Eastern Europe to claim the title “caliphate.” Ottoman sultans, however, were not universally recognized as caliphs. Many Muslims believe that the caliphate effectively ended after the Mongol conquest of Abbasid Baghdad in A.D. 1258.

Nonetheless, the Ottomans effectively held on to that title until 1924, when the Turkish nationalist and secularist Kemal Ataturk abolished the caliphate. 

Resurrecting the caliphate?

The idea of the caliphate, which the Islamic State has forcefully promoted, recalls a time and a place when Islamic states flourished politically, economically and socially. It also summons up a spiritual vision of a supposedly more devout and dedicated Muslim community than exists today. 

Other modern-day Islamists have called for a resurrection of the caliphate, or at least its ideals, as a way to recapture the vibrancy of the past. However, only violent extremist groups such as al-Qaida or the Islamic State have tried to make it a tangible reality.

Killing al-Baghdadi has not quashed the Islamic State’s version of the caliphate. The idea lives on and continues to motivate its members in enclaves across the globe. It is worth mentioning that the name of their new caliph is an honorific title for a member of Prophet Muhammad’s family – “al-Qurashi.” This prophetic lineage is one more way IS is trying to resurrect the history of the caliphate for its destructive purposes.

Rugby player carries the weight of New Zealand's Muslims at Rugby World Cup in Japan

When the New Zealand national rugby team — the All Blacks — run onto the “pitch” for their matches at the Rugby World Cup in Japan, the weight of the nation will be on their shoulders. 

The Rugby World Cup, like its soccer counterpart, is held every four years and is the premier international rugby tournament in the world. It started 20 September and will last until 2 November.

More than sport, rugby is nigh on national religion in New Zealand. Perhaps because of this high devotion, one of the most successful sports teams in the world, the All Blacks’ every pass, tackle, and kick is scrutinized in detail by foe and friend alike. This is especially the case with one of the teams’ premier midfielders, Sonny Bill Williams. 

Sonny Bill Williams prays with fellow All Black and Muslim Ofa Tu'ungafasi (who converted in March 2019) before their first bout with South Africa at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. (PHOTO: @faiz_azizan)

One of the best-known rugby players in the world, Williams has stirred up his fair share of controversy over the years playing rugby union, rugby league, and trying his hand at boxing. Known for some pretty wild escapades in his early years, he has now become a seasoned rugby player and leader in both sport and society. Still, he faces scrutiny in the press for his play and his personality. 

This Rugby World Cup, Williams is also humbly aware of the responsibility he has representing the Muslim community of New Zealand. This is especially true in light of the 15th of March attacks that left 51 dead after a gunman opened fire in Masjid Al Noor and the Linwood Islamic Center.  

The attacks spurred Williams into action on behalf of his fellow Muslims. In the days following he not only visited families who lost loved ones, but also took time to spend time with the injured and pray at Masjid Al Noor with survivors. 

Dr. Anwar Ghani, spokesperson for the Federation of Islamic Associations in New Zealand (FIANZ) said that over the last four to five years, Williams had been speaking out about his religion and how this made him a better person.

“But after the 15th of March, he became more vocal, you could tell he was affected,” Ghani said. 

Indeed, in an emotional message on social media on the day of the attacks, Williams fought through tears to send duas — non-obligatory prayers of request — for the victims, their families, their friends, and all of New Zealand. 

Williams said, “I’m just deeply, deeply saddened that this would happen in New Zealand.” 

Williams’ words and actions were in keeping with the outpouring of support that the Muslim community received after the attacks, but his stood out. 

“He showed he is a man of faith and a man who embraces humanity,” Ghani said, “people were horrified with what happened at those two mosques, his coming out helped in the healing process as well. Especially as one of our sporting heroes.”

Williams’ actions not only inspired New Zealanders, but his own mother and best friend. Within two weeks after the attacks, both converted to Islam. 

Mr. Abdullah Drury, a professor of Islamic Studies at Waikato University in Hamilton, New Zealand, said, “because Williams is a convert, I think he is seen more as a New Zealander, as a Cook Island New Zealander, than a Muslim. His Islam is not ‘obvious.’” 

Drury said, “easily, he is the most prominent New Zealand Muslim.” 

View this post on Instagram

Nice spending time with some of the brothers & sisters here in Christchurch ❤️🤲🏽

A post shared by Sonny Bill Williams (@sonnybillwilliams) on Aug 19, 2019 at 11:01pm PDT

“When he turns up at mosques — and he does so fairly regularly — he is often mobbed by youth who take lots of selfies,” said Drury. He continued, “in a secular country where most religious folk keep their faith to themselves in public, he has raised a positive profile for Islam in New Zealand.” 

Islam has a long history in New Zealand, according to Eva Nisa and Faried F. Saenong, researchers at Victoria University in Wellington. Writing for The Conversation, they reported that while Muslims make up just 1% of the population, “historical accounts document that Islam first arrived in New Zealand in 1769, with two Indian Muslims.”

Largely still a “religion of immigrants and refugees” 26.9% of Muslims in New Zealand come from Asia, 23.3% from the Middle East and North Africa, and 21% from the Pacific Islands, including the Cook Islands where Williams claims his heritage. 

Certainly, the Muslim community in New Zealand was shaken by the attacks six months ago. “We are broken-hearted but we are not broken,” wrote Nisa and Saenong. 

Despite the difficulties of healing, Ghani feels that Islam in New Zealand has a bright future and an important role to play in continuing to build the country’s “peaceful” society. “While we have had a setback, we have seen lots of positives coming out of Christchurch,” he said, “we hope that we would remember the day — as heinous as it was — as something that brings us together to make positive changes not only in New Zealand but around the world.” 

Ghani said that inter-religious engagement has been on the rise and multiple stakeholders have realized — regardless of religious or political leaning — that the vision of a multicultural New Zealand remain fluid. Fissures continue to exist. 

As a Pacific Islander, a Muslim, and one of the most prominent Kiwis in the world, Williams is keenly aware of the tensions that run through the community and the part he plays as a role model in such a society. 

Converting to Islam turned Williams’ life around. He told the Daily Mail, “I did a lot of bad things and went off course but Allah was with me.” In Islam, Williams said, he found “contentment and happiness that I don’t know how to explain.” 

Along the way, Williams has wrestled with finding acceptance for Islam and Muslims among his countrymen. Williams told MSN Lifestyle that his message for non-Muslims is, "We love you. We just want to be accepted like you guys want to be accepted.”

For his fellow Muslims, Williams bears a message of love, support, and peace. Regularly on social media, he posts about visiting mosques around the island (LINK) and posting messages of support for his “brothers and sisters around the world.” 

Sonny Bill Williams posts Eid greetings in the spirit of solidarity with fellow Muslims across the world (PHOTO: @SonnyBWilliams)

But he also uses his following of more than 778 thousand on Instagram to bring attention to critical issues. On Eid al-Adha, he posted “special duas for the people of Christchurch, Kashmir, Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Iraq and wherever people are suffering injustice and persecution.”

The rugby in Japan has so far proved grueling and the pressure placed on the All Blacks — and on Williams — is extremely high. Yet, in either his pursuit of rugby glory or in representing the global Muslim community as a world-famous athlete, Williams regularly comments on how he draws his strength from Allah. As he does so, he might look to a saying of the Prophet Muhammad for motivation along the way: "The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak believer, while there is good in both.”

When Islam Is Not a Religion: A Response to Asma Uddin

After wrapping up a Q&A session at a public conference where I presented on the topic of Islam and Christian-Muslim relations to a largely evangelical Christian audience, an older man who was sitting in the back approached me at the podium.

Rather nonchalantly, he asked, “You do know that the Constitution wasn’t written for Muslims, right?”

As we talked, he elaborated on his opinion that the concept of religious freedom does not apply to Islam and Muslims because, he said matter-of-factly, “Islam is not a religion.” At the time, it seemed to me a fringe theory cooked up in the dark corners of the internet or in 6am greasy-spoon breakfast meet-ups.

In short, I could not really believe — given my own biases — that people could actually think that the First Amendment and its promise of religious freedom did not extend to Islam and Muslims in the U.S.

However, far from fringe political theory or radical cultural posturing, this view has found its way into legal briefs, court cases, and political contexts in recent years. In fact, these legal and political perspectives are the fodder for Asma Uddin’s new book When Islam Is Not a Religion: Inside America’s Fight for Religious Freedom.

In this work, Uddin points out that many Americans insist that the religious liberty they so quickly claim for Christianity or Judaism (or other religions beyond the nation’s so-called “Judeo-Christian” heritage) does not extend to Islam and Muslims in the U.S.

Join me this summer to reimagine Islam and Christian-Muslim relations in Michigan!

What do you think of when you think of “Islam?” Whom do you picture when you think of Muslims? How might we envision ways to love our Muslim neighbor despite what we see in the news? How do we deal with the stunning diversity of the world and its presence in our lives via the rapid and constant movement of ideas, people, technologies, and religious practices?

This summer (June 22-29, 2019), I will be leading a one-week “dean and lecture” program posing, exploring, and unpacking these questions and more with participants at Camp Arcadia in Michigan.

Beyond considering the ways Christians have imagined Islam past and present, these sessions will aim to challenge what we think we know about Muslims, and invite us to reimagine our relationship with Islam and Muslims alike.  In addition, we will use the “case” of Muslim-Christian relations to re-imagine how we think about, live alongside, and engage with “others” in general.

I will be joined in the “dean and lecture” program by Heather Choate Davis, who will be presenting “God’s Visionaries: Seeing the Big Picture.” Heather is a writer, speaker, theologian, liturgist, and servant based in Los Angeles. In 2013, she received her MA in Theology from Concordia University Irvine, and is now completing a two-year intensive training in Christian Formation and Spiritual Direction.

I encourage you to consider attending and registering for Family Week 1 to join Heather and me at Camp Arcadia.

Camp Arcadia, located in Northwest Michigan, is a non-profit, Lutheran, family resort and retreat center on the sandy shores of Lake Michigan. Arcadia exists to provide a setting for families and individuals to enjoy a vacation together and be renewed in spirit, mind and body – enjoying the beauty of the lake surroundings and the community of fellow campers.

During a family week you might square dance, play basketball, shuffleboard, softball, tennis or soccer, create a craft, participate in a talent show, compete in family games or shoot archery. Every member of the family will be engaged spiritually through the daily morning study, presentations, and worship.

Each of the family weeks at Camp Arcadia is unique in that different speakers bring their knowledge and style to the program. While adults are in their program, children (age three through college) are engaged in their own study and activities led by our program staff. A nursery for those under three is also available. Daily programming also features activities (athletic, craft and nature) for children and adults to do on their own or in family groups.

You will find places at Arcadia to be by yourself, have intimate conversations with others, and be with small and large groups of people.  At Arcadia, you will find the time to experience each of these types of community.

Plus, maybe we can grab a meal or two together in the canteen. I hope to see you there.

Explaining the Hajj pilgrimage

Nearly 2 million Muslim pilgrims are gathering in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia for the Hajj. This five-day pilgrimage is a once-in-a-lifetime obligation for all Muslims who have the physical and financial ability to undertake the journey.

Millions of Muslims come from countries as diverse as Indonesia, Russia, India, Cuba, Fiji, the United States and Nigeria – all dressed in plain white garments.

Men wear seamless, unstitched clothing, and women, white dresses with headscarves. The idea is to dress plainly so as to mask any differences in wealth and status. 

The pilgrimage is considered to be the fifth pillar of Islamic practice. The other four are the profession of faith, five daily prayers, charity and the fast of Ramadan.

What is the religious and political significance of this annual pilgrimage?

Review: Latino and Muslim in America

View fullsize

Since 2016, the issues of immigration, religious freedom, and the question of the compatibility of Islam and the West have been hotter-than-usual issues in the United States. In the narrative of Latino Muslims (a term I will later problematize) in the US, these various strands intersect and overlap. 

According to Harold Morales’s own previous research, there “are likely between 50,000 to 70,000” Latino Muslims in the US. Regardless of numbers, there is a pertinent need to study religious minorities such as Latino Muslims for their ability to “de-naturalize and de-essentialize, to broaden and to push our varied and unfixed understandings of and relations” (211) to various categories of religion, identity, ethnicity, and issues such as immigration, religious freedom, and Islam in and of the West. This need is what Morales seeks to address in his latest book, Latino and Muslim in America: Race, Religion, and the Making of a New Minority.

First Ever "Introduction to Islam" Online Course Offered at UF

"Punish a Muslim Day” was supposed to be a thing. 

Letters distributed to homes, lawmakers, and businesses around London back in March encouraged individuals to “take action” against Muslims who have “made your loved ones suffer.” It offered a points-based system advocating for hurling verbal abuse, bombing or burning a mosque, or throwing acid in the face of a Muslim. The date was set for April 3. 

The Washington Post reported, “As April 3 approached, many took to social media to share their thoughts on the hate campaign. Some posts urged British Muslims to take care and look out for one another. Others were determined that the letters would not cause them to change their daily habits.”

Others responded on social media with counter-campaigns such as #PublishAMuslimDay or #LoveAMuslimDay. The counter-campaigns won the day, but the uncomfortable questions still remain: 

• How could such an advertisement not cause more general concern and outrage? 
• What kind of philosophies, postures, and politics lie behind such blatant and brutal hate? 
• Why would someone go to the trouble to print and distribute such a disturbing piece of mail in the first place? 

Islamophobia — the ignorant fear and hatred of Islam and Muslims, often leading to anti-Muslim rhetoric and possibly anti-Muslim actions — is the root cause of such flagrant hate and viscous verbosity. 

By definition, Islamophobia is fueled by ignorance and misunderstanding of Islam and Muslim communities. It’s also fueled by “Orientalism” — the representation of Asia, especially the Middle East, in a stereotyped way that is regarded as embodying a colonialist attitude. These attitudes help fan the flames of anti-Muslim rhetoric, Eurocentrism, and racism in the U.S. and abroad. 

If you know me, a lot of my efforts and work are aimed at combatting Islamophobia and Orientalist imaginings of Islam and Muslim communities. It’s in that spirit that I have helped develop an online “Introduction to Islam” course for the University of Florida. It’s the first of its kind. 

The course provides an overview of basic Islamic beliefs and practices through an examination of Islamic history, law, and an array of theological orientations as articulated in the traditions of teachings of various traditions. The course also examines Islamic practices in the contemporary period and thereby exposes students to reflect on the realities of religious everyday life and religious change. The course aims to give the students the ability to critically analyze the impacts of Islamic beliefs and values on social and cultural practices, and the formation of institutions, communities, and identities. The course also aims to challenge students to grasp the complex relationship between the discursive traditions of a major world religion as well as the ambiguities of some key terms of Muslim religious thinking.

This course will lead students into an exploration of the basic history, contemporary expressions, concepts and phenomena, beliefs and rituals, communities and common experiences of Muslims across the globe. While such a course cannot amply cover the full extent of Muslim traditions across the ages and around the globe the expectation is that students engaged with this course will come away with a fuller appreciation for the richness and variety of Islam while also possessing a foundational understanding of its core concepts and practices.

As an academic study of the Islamic Tradition and the civilization(s) that it evolved this course is not one of Islamic theology per se (a religiously committed intellectual discipline). Instead, this is an academic investigation of this great religion, which will use an intellectually rigorous and critical lens that draws on history, sociology, anthropology and critical hermeneutics in our study. For those looking for a theology course that sets out to show that one religious tradition is superior to the others or has “the truth," this is not the class that you want. Also for those wanting to demonize the tradition, you too will find yourself challenged and confronted. This course aims to present a critical, but balanced, picture of Islam and Muslims across time and in the world today. 

If you are interested in taking this course as a UF student or want to learn more, take a look at the course syllabus or click HERE to find more information about registering for the course. 

Public lecture shines light on little known Muslim populations

From Panther Now, a publication from Florida International University: 

Muslims have had a significant impact on Latin culture, politics, and society, with 3,000 Spanish words having historical connections to Arabic, such as the words “pantalones” (pants) and “arroz” (rice). Their influence, however, has been unnoticed because of the lack of conversation around the topic, according to a professor. 

Ken Chitwood is a [religion scholar] at the University of Florida. For the past six years he’s been studying Islam in the Americas and other subjects. But like many people, there was a time he was unaware of Islam’s influence in the west, he said. 

Chitwood was writing a weekly report during a mosque visit when he met a man dressed in a tunic who told him of how he converted to Islam in New York, he said. It was then that Chitwood decided to research conversion stories, and after researching 135 conversion stories, he soon noticed a pattern: they had connections to Latin America. 

He knew there was a large amount of research done to show Islam’s ties to Latin America, but people weren’t paying attention to it. When he taught a course on the subject years later at the University of Florida, students found it difficult to research. There were plenty of documents and statistics, but it was hard to piece together an “overall narrative.”

Through the event “Islam in Latin America,” which [was] held at [Florida International] University on Tuesday, Nov. 7, Chitwood [spoke] about Islam’s heavy presence in both Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as Islam and Muslim communities’ influence in the past and present. 

The Study of Islam in Latin America & the Caribbean

There are Muslims in Latin America? 

This is the question I often get confronted with when I tell people what I study.

Yes, I study Islam and Muslim communities in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Latinx U.S. Yes, that is a valid field of study. Yes, it has a history you would be surprised about. Yes, the numbers are not as large as other places in the world, but they are higher than you think. Yes, the influence of Muslims in the American hemisphere is lengthy and significant. Let me tell you more...

In this essay, published by Springer's International Journal of Latin American Religions I offer a brief review of the field of Islamic studies in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Americas focusing on its main themes and suggesting some areas for further consideration and research.

The essay not only introduces readers to the topic itself, but outlines its main themes and suggests some ways that  scholars could inject their energy and efforts to advance this unfolding field of study. These theoretical considerations suggest that more work could be done in expanding the field in its engagement with prevalent theories in the field of global Islamic studies and those that treat the Americas as a geography of dynamic hemispheric engagement and encounter.

Essentially, the paper argues that there is still a necessity to explore the tensions, interactions, frictions, and collaborations across and at the boundaries between the global umma (community) and the American assabiya (local social solidarities), between the global and the local, and between immigrant communities and the growing number of regional converts.

Finally, I also make some suggestions about some practical considerations that may prove beneficial to the field’s advancement. 

Hola, Allah: Welcome to the Country’s Only Latino Mosque

You step into a place like Centro Islámico, and you don’t feel marginalized. You’re able to be Latino and Muslim at the same time. Your identity is whole.

These are some of the words I shared with Houstonia magazine writer Adam Doster. Having lived in Houston for four years, studied alongside Latinx Muslims in my time there, and continuing as a scholar interested in how Muslim communities in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Latinx U.S. thrive, adapt, and grow I was honored to contribute to Adam's story. 

For more on how these Latinx Muslims have made Houston their home and to read some of my commentary, click the link below.

What is the Shia-Sunni Divide All About?

In his address in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, May 21, while calling on Muslim leaders to lead the fight against terrorism, President Donald Trump identified Iran as a despotic state giving safe harbor and financing terror in the Middle East. As Iran is a Shia state and Saudi Arabia a Sunni-led country, some media outlets criticized Trump for taking sides in the Shia-Sunni sectarian divide.

As a scholar of Islam and a public educator, I often field questions about Sunnis, Shias and the sects of Islam. What exactly is the Shia-Sunni divide? And what is its history?

Islam as part of, rather than as foreign to, the West

Islam in the West. A simple enough statement, but one with multiple derivative implications. For this volume’s purposes, editor Edward E. Curtis IV makes it clear from the start that Islam is to be imagined “as part of, rather than as foreign to” to that which is referred to as “the West” (1).

View fullsize

This point may seem subtle, but it is vitally important in a climate—both popular and academic—that imagines Muslims as outsiders to “Western culture,” and as unassimilated foreigners in matters of national Western polity.

The Bloomsbury Reader on Islam in the West stakes an important position by not only including readings that exhibit this current bias against Muslims as part of a vision of some trumped-up “clash of civilizations,” but also by showcasing work that highlights the specific and textured ways in which Muslims have long been part of the West and been intimately involved in its political, economic, social, cultural, and religious make-up.

Exploring the presence, and effect, of Muslims in the lands now collectively called “the West” from 711 (when Muslim polity ruled the Iberian Peninsula) to 2015 (amidst the “Global War on Terror”), the book is ambitious in scope and diverse in its contents. It is divided into two parts: “Islam in Western history,” and “Islam in the contemporary West.”

Of Micah, Mercy, & our Muslim Neighbor

We live in an age of un-ease. We feel on the verge of economic, political, social, and cultural crises and face fear when we do such simple things as hop on the internet, travel to see family, or even walk out our own front door. 
 
If ours is a time of destruction, violence, war, impending judgment, fear, and uneasiness so too was the prophet Micah’s.

It might behoove us then to lean in for a listen when Micah writes, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. What does God require of you? That you act justly and love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

In other words: God’s already made it clear to us how to live in line with his will — to do what is fair and just to our neighbor, to be compassionate and loyal in our love, and to not take ourselves too seriously, but to take God seriously. 

What does that look like when it comes to our Muslim neighbor? 

Listen to my message below, delivered at St. John's Lutheran Church in Alexandria, VA on Sunday January 29, 2017. 

Beignets, Po-Boys, & a Youth Gathering

Join Ken in NOLA for the LCMS NYG!

Too many acronyms? Let's break it down. Ken will be speaking in New Orleans (NOLA) for the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod's (LCMS) National Youth Gathering (NYG) from July 17-19, 2016. 

Having been a part of the last few NYGs as a participant, volunteer, and speaker Ken is excited to return for the 2016 edition to speak on two topics close to his heart: faith and popular culture and Islam! 

Here are the sessions Ken will be leading. Both will be interactive sessions that will invite participants to engage with questions, comments, and reactions to the topic. If you're in town for the gathering, be sure to come and check them out: 

View fullsize

Latino Muslims at country's first Spanish-speaking mosque: 'Islam changed my life'

Latina/o Muslims continue to garner attention in the news. Deservedly so. 

They are among the fastest growing demographics of growth in global Islam -- particularly in the U.S. 

Ryan Schuessler, reporting from Houston, recently covered a Cinco de Mayo festival held at the Islam in Spanish mosque in the Bayou City. I was honored to be interviewed for the piece to provide my contextual knowledge and perspective. Here's a sampling below...or read the FULL ARTICLE HERE.

“They’ve been able to really define very significant and strong Latino and Muslim identities, and to merge the two together,” said Ken Chitwood, a PhD student at the University of Florida who studies and writes about the growing Latino Muslim community. “And they are very intentional about that.”

In his research, Chitwood has found that most Latino Muslims are converts from Christianity. Central and South American countries are heavily rooted in the Roman Catholic church.

“Typically, there is some sort of spiritual wandering that occurs,” Chitwood said. “There is some type of spiritual dissatisfaction with their present religious outlook, be that Catholic or Protestant or whatever. And then they go looking.”

It's time to change the way we talk about Islam -- you can't just blame the media

Terrorism. Violence. Extremists. Bombs. The list could go on.

These were some of the responses at a recent community action forum hosted by Welcoming Gainesville—a local organization seeking to create a space for immigrants to thrive in their new community—when participants were asked by Hassan Shibly, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Florida, what the first words were that came to mind when they heard “Islam in the media.”

When asked why, the crowd collectively concurred that the media over-reported instances where Muslims committed acts of violence, avoided calling non-Muslim violent extremists “terrorists,” and generally did a poor job of covering Islam.