Michigan State University Muslim Studies Program

04/10/2026

Explore the rich cultural and historical world of Kerala through the lens of Mappila Muslim life. 🌿
Featuring Dr. Shameer Modongal (Fulbright Scholar, American University), this talk examines how migration, religion, and society intersect in one of India’s most dynamic regions.

📅 April 15 | 🕒 3:00–4:30 PM
📍 201 International Center, MSU

Presented by the MSU Muslim Studies Program in collaboration campus partners including the Fulbright Program, Asian Studies Center, Global Studies in the Arts and Humanities, and James Madison College.

04/08/2026

Please note: The event on April 9th runs from 12:40-2:00pm (NOT 12-2:30).

04/03/2026

Please join us next Tuesday for a screening and discussion of the Iranian film Close-Up:

Details:

Tuesday, April 7th, 7:00-8:45pm, B122 Wells Hall

Film Screening: “An Evening with Abbas Kiarostami: Close-Up (1990)

Close-Up (1990) is a work of Iranian cinema that revisits a real incident in Tehran, engaging directly with the individuals involved. Following the screening, there will be a brief discussion.

04/03/2026

Join us next Wednesday and Thursday for lectures on Islamic architecture by Professor Jennifer Pruitt (University of Wisconsin)!

Here are the details for both events:

Wednesday, April 8th, 7:00-8:30pm, East Lansing Public Library:
Jennifer Pruitt (University of Wisconsin), “Introduction to Islamic Architecture: The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and Great Mosque in Damascus”


Thursday, April 9th, 12:40-2pm, 303 International Center:
Jennifer Pruitt (University of Wisconsin), “Construction, Destruction, and Concealment under Cairo’s ‘Mad’ Caliph” (a lecture on Fatimid Cairo)

04/03/2026

04/03/2026

Coming up:

"The Use and Abuse of the Islamophobia Framework in US Higher Education"

April 3-4, 2026 | University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

For over two decades, scholars have studied the racialization of Islam, arguing that Islamophobia is better understood as anti-Muslim racism. They have pointed out that this form of discrimination is not contained to questions of religious freedom, but also impacts Muslims’ experiences with surveillance, policing, immigration, employment, and media narratives. The idea of racialization was an important intervention and framing that helped shift the conversation from a focus on individual and interpersonal bias to systemic targeting that marks Muslims, and those mistaken for Muslim, as threats to US national security.

For more information, please visit: https://lsa.umich.edu/amas/islamophobia-working-group/islamophobia-conference.html

03/31/2026

Join us this Thursday, April 2nd, 2:20-4:00pm, in room 303 of the International Center for a special lecture by Professor Rhea Rahman (Brooklyn College), “Racializing the Ummah: Muslim Humanitarians Beyond Black, Brown, and White”

Description: An ethnography of Islamic Relief (IR), the largest Islamic NGO based in the West, Racializing the Ummah explores how a Muslim organization can do good in a world that defines Muslimness as less than human. Rooted in more than a decade of international research, Rhea Rahman’s study on the organization’s projects, methods, and limitations reveals how racial capitalism permeates all as­pects of humanitarianism—and paints a frank, nuanced portrait of the constraints Islamic aid entities face in the effort to disentangle themselves from neocolo­nialism and Western hegemony.

03/24/2026

Please join us for Gender and Space in the Early Modern World, a workshop organized by Profs Shayan Rajani ( ) and Samira Fathi (Art History). The workshop features two panels of speakers exploring the intersections of gender, architecture, and social spaces across diverse global contexts.

🗓️ March 30
🕛 12-4 p.m.
📍 255 Old Horticulture

Lunch will be provided; RSVP here: https://msu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0qPEWQ5BoOPpcrQ

This event is sponsored by MSU's Center for Gender in Global Context (GenCen) and co-sponsored by the History Department, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY - Art | Art History | Design, Michigan State University Muslim Studies Program, and Asian Studies Center at Michigan State University.

03/23/2026

Please join us for two lectures by public historian Diana Darke, one on campus, another at the Detroit Institute of Arts:

(1) Tomorrow (Tuesday, March 24th), 12:40-2pm, in room 303 of the International Center: “How Islamic Architecture Shaped Europe”

(2) Wednesday, March 25th, 6:00-7:00pm, Detroit Institute of Arts (5200 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48202): “How Syrian Art and Architecture Helped Shape Europe’s Romanesque and Gothic Styles”