Events & Lectures

The Digital Islamic Studies Curriculum (DISC) presents an annual Distinguished Lecture and supplemental lectures as part of its Global Islam programming series. DISC also co-sponsors Islamic Studies related lectures, events, and related activities at Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) institutions that coincide with DISC’s mission to develop a collaborative program of instruction in Global Islamic Studies.

View our 2022-2023 programming below.

_{DISC Global Islam programming and co-sponsored events are made possible through the generous financial support of the Mellon Foundation.}

Submit your request for co-sponsorship.

SAVE THE DATE:

8TH ANNUAL DISTINGUISHED LECTURE

Tuesday, March 21st

2022 7th Annual Distinguished Lecture:

Afghanistan’s Bleak Future under the taliban rule presented by: Jawad Sukhanyar

An Afghan journalist’s perspective on the war, democracy, the United States withdrawal, and the return of the Taliban to power. Jawad Sukhanyar worked as a journalist for major news agencies in Afghanistan, where he reported for The New York Times for 8 years. He was also a freelance journalist and wrote analytical pieces for various outlets, including the Eurasia Review. In early 2020 he served as a media adviser in the office of the first vice president of Afghanistan.

2022-2023 Programming

AFRICAN MUSLIM FILM FESTIVAL

ALL MARCH LONG | VIRTUAL SCREENINGS

The African Muslim Film Festival is the first of its kind, screening films from all across Africa that were made by, for, or about Muslims. All films will be streamable & online, with a variety of films from Sudan, Chad, Egypt, and South Africa.

book talk: sultan, caliph, and the renewer of faith: Ahmad lobbo, the Tarikh al-fattash and the making of an islamic state in west Africa

September 27th, 2022 | 5:00PM – 6:00PM

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Arabic Studies Program is hosting Dr. Mauro Nobili of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for a book talk of his recently published book.

Cut, stamp, touch: mecca and medina images in the late ottoman empire

October 5th, 2022 | 4:00PM

To join virtually, please register at: https://bit.ly/CutStampTouch

This talk, given by Dr. Sabiha Göloğlu, will demonstrate how several 18th & 19th century Mecca and Medina images catered to those wishing to secure intercession, blessings, cures, and protection.

The Fourth Annual Halaloween: A Muslim Horror Film Festival

Weekly Screenings | October 2022

The Muslim Horror Film Fest is back! Each week during the month of October, enjoy a Muslim horror films from across the globe. The first three will be streamed online for free and the final screening will be in-person at the State Theater. Stay tuned for streaming dates and the lineup announcement here: watch.eventive.org/halaloween

Beyond Center and Periphery: Locating Southeast Asia in the Muslim World

In this talk, Professor Ismail Fajrie Alatas of New York University, explores the relationship between religion and spatiality through a study of the emergence of a transoceanic religious geography that links Southeast Asia and South Arabia.

November 4, 2022

Politics and Culture in the Muslim World: A Focus on the Balkans by Dr. Ermin Sinanovic

Dr. Ermin Sinanovic is the Executive Director of the Center for Islam in the Contemporary World (CICW) at Shenandoah University, where he is also a Scholar in Residence. Dr. Sinanovic’s research focuses on transnational Islamic revival, Islamist activism, politics of Southeast Asia, contemporary Islamic thought, and institutionalization of Islam in the Balkans and Southeast Asia.

Mid-November, 2022 | Virtual

Muslims in Comics: A Conversation with Ms. Marvel Screenwriter, Bisha K. Ali

For the third iteration of Muslims in Comics, Ms. Marvel’s screenwriter, Bisha K. Ali, will discuss Muslim identity, screenwriting, and whats to come. Date & Time TBD: Sign up for more info!

More programming to be listed soon

2021-2022 Programming

Afghanistan’s Bleak Future Under the Taliban Rule

April 18, 2022 | 4:00 PM Eastern

University of Minnesota Religious Studies Faculty Lecture: Islamic Translations of Violence in Terrorism Trials

Professor Aisha Ghani, Department of Anthropology and Religious Studies Program, University of Minnesota

March 24, at 4:00 (Central Time) pm via zoom. This event is free but registration is required. Register here.

2020-2021 Programming

Democratic Survival in the Muslim World

September 22, 2020 | 9:00am-10:30am Eastern
Virtual Via Zoom Webinar

Hamtramck, USA Virtual Screening

October 15, 2020
Virtual via Direct Link

Hamtramck, USA: Conversation with Co-Director and Co-Producer Razi Jafri and Justin Feltman

October 22, 2020 | 6:30pm – 8:00pm Eastern
Virtual via Zoom Webinar

Muslims in Comics: Superheroes & Scapegoats

October 23, 2020 | 2:00pm-4:00pm

U-M Global Islamic Studies Center

Virtual Via Zoom Webinar

Neighbors Interfaith Lecture Series

Various Dates & Times

University of Nebraska Arabic Studies Program

Virtual via Zoom Webinar

Stefan Weber, Pulling the Past into the Present – Sixth Annual DISC Distinguished Lecture

Thursday, April 15

Historians of Islamic Art Association & U-M History of Art Virtual via Zoom Webinar

2019-2020 Programming

Being Muslim: Women of Color in American Islam

Dr. Sylvia Chan-Malik | Tuesday, August 27, 2019

3:00pm-4:30pm Eastern

Foster Auditorium, Pennsylvania State University

Islamophobia Working Group

Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies | 3rd Friday of the Month, unless indicated otherwise; 4:00pm-5:30pm Eastern

Weiser Hall 955, University of Michigan

Hollywood Horror in Iran

4:00pm-6:00pm Eastern

Alireza Doostdar | Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Weiser Hall 555, University of Michigan

Vernacular Sufism in Islamizing Anatolia (14th & 15th Centuries)

Dr. Ahmet Karamustafa | Wednesday, October 2, 2019

4:00pm-6:00pm Eastern

Thayer 1022, University of Michigan

Global Challenges to Human Rights Today

Zeid Ra`ad Al Hussein, UN Commissioner for Human Rights | Wednesday, November 6, 2019

4:00pm-5:30pm Eastern

1010 Weiser Hall, University of Michigan

Reading the Qur’an through the Lens of Indigenous Rights

Dr. Shadaab Rahemtulla | Tuesday, November 12, 2019

4:00pm-6:00pm

Weiser Hall 555, University of Michigan

A Conversation on Muslim Identity with Aymann Ismail

Friday, November 22, 2019

4:30pm-6:30pm

Forum Hall Palmer Commons, University of Michigan

Dr. Robert Rozehnal on Cyber Sufis: Virtual Expressions of the American Muslim Experience

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

11:30am-2:30pm

Rutgers University

Koran by Heart: Film Screening & Discussion

Dr. Mohammad Khalil | Tuesday, January 14, 2020

7:00pm

Foster Auditorium, Pennsylvania State University

Dr. Farina Mir, Vernacular Texts on Ethics in Late-Colonial India

Thursday, January 16, 2020

1:30pm-3:00pm

303 International Center, Michigan State University

Dr. Farina Mir, Urdu Ethics, Literature & the Diversity of Muslim Thought in Colonial India

Thursday, January 30, 2020

4:30pm-6:00pm

301 Van Dyck Hall, Rutgers University

Dr. Tony K. Stewart, Witness to Marvels: Sufism and the Literary Imagination

Friday, February 21, 2020

4:30pm-6:00pm

110 Weiser Hall, University of Michigan

Eboo Patel, American Muslims in the Era of Islamophobia – Fifth Annual DISC Distinguished Lecture

Eboo Patel, Founder & President, IFYC | Wednesday, March 11, 2020

5:30pm-7:00pm

1010 Wesier Hall, University of Michigan

Dr. Abla Hasan, “Qur’an’s Most Controversial 4:34: A New Interpretation

Monday, March 2, 2020

6:00-7:30pm

Pennsylvania State University

2018-2019 Programming

Weiser Hall 1010 Event Space

Teaching Islam vs. Preaching Islam in the Classroom

Abla Hasan | University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Thursday, April 11, 2019

AB-5141, Rutgers University*

Room 303, MSU International Center

Film Screening and Discussion of Soufra

Monday, October 1, 2018

4:00-6:15pm

1010 Weiser Hall

Idols and Figural Images in Islam: A Dive into a Perennial Debate

Christiane Gruber | University of Michigan

Monday, October 15, 2018

4213 Art/Sociology Building, Michelle Smith Collaboratory for Visual Culture, University of Maryland*

Idols and Figural Images in Islam: A Dive into a Perennial Debate

Christiane Gruber | University of Michigan

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

303 International Center, Michigan State University

A Day in Cairo: Sights and Sounds

Mohammad Khalil | Michigan State University

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

102 Weaver, Penn State University

2017-2018 Programming

Religion, Ethics, and Climate Change

Jonathan Brockopp | Pennsylvania State University

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

International Center Room 303, Michigan State University*

In his Own Voice: What Hatayi Tells us about Shah Ismail’s Religious Views

Ahmet Karamustafa | University of Maryland

Monday, February 5, 2018 Hatcher Gallery, University of Michigan*

Situating Rumi in Islam

Jawid Mojaddedi | Rutgers University

Wednesday, February 7, 2018 | 5:00-6:30 PM EST

Humphrey Room 25, University of Minnesota*

The Lost Gender Egalitarian Voice of the Qur`an

Monday, February 19, 2018 | 4:00-5:30 PM EST

AB-5141, Rutgers University*

The Leaking Subject: Arab Culture in the Digital Age

Tark El-Ariss | Dartmouth University

Thursday, March 8, 2018

Thayer 1022, University of Michigan

North Quad Space 2435

ISIS, Jihad, and Islamic Law

Mohammad Khalil | Michigan State University

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Foster Auditorium, Penn State University*

Political Shari’a, Women’s Bodies and the Politics of Love in Razinat T. Mohamed’s Novel Habiba (Beloved)

Ousseina Alidou | Rutgers University

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

4701 Haven Hall, University of Michigan*

Islamotopia: American Exceptionalism and Muslim Reform

Michael Mohammad Knight | University of Central Florida

Friday, September 15, 2017

Hatcher Gallery, University of Michigan*

Being Muslims: A Cultural History of Women of Color in American Islam

Sylvia Chan-Malik | Rutgers University

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Hatcher Gallery, University of Michigan*

2016-17 Programming

Contemporary Islamic Identities

October 20-27, 2016

Facing Mirrors; Film directed by Negar Azarbayjani

Gender and Sexuality in the Islamic Culture; Second Annual DISC Distinguished Lecture with Shirin Ebadi

Human Rights, Gender, and Sexuality in the Islamic World; DISC/WCED Symposium

Webinar: Live Interview with Aman Ali

Friday, February 10, 2017

2:00-2:30 PM

Room 1636 (II/SSWB), 1080 S. University Ave

Islamophobia: Then and Now / Lunch Q&A

Saturday, February 11, 2017

11:30-1:30 PM

Room 1636 (II/SSWB), 1080 S. University Ave

Ping Chong: Beyond Sacred

Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker

Thursday, February 16, 2017

5:00-6:30 PM

Investigating Islam: A Community Forum

DISC Symposium

Friday, February 17, 2017

2:00-4:00 PM

Beyond Sacred: Voices of Muslim Identity

Ping Chong + Company

Saturday, February 18, 2017

8:00 PM

2015 Programming

Inaugural DISC Distinguished Lecture

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Islamic Studies in America: Past, Present, and Future

*Lecture live-streamed or broadcast via interactive videoconferencing to other BTAA institutions.