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PROFILE
Decade of research and writing • Consultant to non-profits • Consultant to PACs • Policy research experience • Organizer of small to medium size community organizations • Media experience • Speaker • Educator
EXPERIENCE
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY, HEMPSTEAD, NEW YORK 2008-PRESENT
Professor of Religious Studies focusing on Islam. Courses include “Law and Violence in Judaism and Islam,” “Political Islam,” and “Sufism.” Upcoming courses include “Islam in America,” and “Musics of the Muslim World.”
INSTRUCTOR, CENTER FOR RELIGIOUS INQUIRY, ST. BART’S CHURCH, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 2006-PRESENT
Instructor at one of the largest interfaith centers in New York. Courses include “Introduction to Islam,” “Introduction to the Qur’an,” “Authority in Islam,” “Shared Jewish-Muslim Stories,” and “Abrahamic Prophets.” Also deliver master lecture entitled “Misreading God’s Word.”
WRITER FOR RELIGION DISPATCHES, 2008-PRESENT
Religion Dispatches (religiondispatches.org) is one of the largest internet magazines dealing with religion and culture. I write as a regular blogger about questions of understanding religion, usually Islam. I am also an occasional features writer.
CONSULTANT, AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MUSLIM ADVANCEMENT, NEW YORK, NY 2006-PRESENT
Consultant and presenter for one of the largest organizations representing the interests of Muslims in America. Focus on questions of religious history, theology, and as scholar on-call. Help with organizational development. On-call speaker.
INSTRUCTOR, HARVARD UNIVERSITY, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 2001, 2002, 2005
As a senior graduate student, was authorized to teach own courses. Two courses offered were “South Asians in Diaspora,” and “Religious Identities in South Asia.”
TEACHING FELLOW (TF), HARVARD UNIVERSITY, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 1998-2005
Working with faculty, taught a wide variety of subjects for classes ranging from 80 to 300 students. As head TF for certaincourses, also delivered lectures and organized other TFs - up to 10 - for the courses. Courses include “Urdu 101,” “Making of Modern South Asia,” “Hindu Myth, Image, and Pilgrimage,” “Religious Values and Cultural Conflict,” “Understanding Islam and Contemporary Muslim Societies,” “Postcolonial Narratives,” “Modern Arabic Narratives,” and “For the Love of God and His Prophet: Exploring Islam through the Arts.”
INDEPENDENT POLITICAL CONSULTANT, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 2004
In the 2004 Presidential elections cycle worked with members of Gov. Howard Dean’s campaign to explain issues between Sunnis and Shi’ahs, and contemporary impact. Reviewed policy papers for PAC South Asians for Kerry. Papers focused on religious dimensions of conflict in South Asia.
CONTRIBUTOR, AFGHAN LEGAL HISTORY PROJECT, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 2003
Member of a working group at Harvard that created position papers, based on the legal history of Afghanistan, for thedrafting of a new constitution, for the US State Department.
CONSULTANT, AGA KHAN HUMANITIES PROGRAM, DUSHANBE, TAJIKISTAN 2003
Reviewed humanities core curriculum for the University of Central Asia.
RESEARCH ASSISTANT, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 2003-2005
Worked for a variety of projects and faculty members at Harvard. Research themes included transnational Muslim movements, contemporary issues of the Muslim-majority world, and Muslims minorities in Europe. Was part of the establishment of Network on Comparative Research on Islam and Muslims in Europe (NOCRIME), http://www.nocrime.org.
EDUCATION
HARVARD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES, DEPT. OF NEAR EASTERN LANGUAGES AND CULTURES PRESENT
Doctoral Candidate in the Study of Indo-Muslim Culture.
Dissertation: “A Handful of Dust: Reading South Asian (Im)migrant Identity in Islamicate Literatures”
General Exams: Urdu Language and Literature, Indo-Muslim Culture, Islam in America, Islamic Civilizations – Fatimid History and Shi’iah Thought
HARVARD DIVINITY SCHOOL SEPTEMBER 1996-JUNE 1998 Masters of Theological Study
COLUMBIA COLLEGE, SEPTEMBER 1992-1996 Bachelor of Arts. Double major, Middle East and South Asian Languages and Cultures. Biology.
SELECT PAPERS PRESENTED
INTERFAITH WORK IN AMERICA, ISLAMIC CONFERENCE YOUTH FORUM, CAIRO, EGYPT MAY 2008
Invited by the Organization of Islamic Countries youth wing to talk about doing interfaith work in the United States. Also co-presented on using the internet for movement building with the UN Alliance of Civilization.
BLOGISTAN! IT’S CRAWLING ALL OVER THE MAP, MACARTHUR FOUNDATION APRIL 2007
An introduction to blogs in India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Iran. Presentation was in the context of how internet technolo- gies are impacting political participation in the Muslim majority world.
A MUSLIM BLOGGING, SOUTH BY SOUTH WEST 2007
An introduction to religious blogging for leaders in the technology and artistic industries.
INTER-FAITH BLOGGING: A MUSLIM PERSPECTIVE, PROGRESSIVE FAITH BLOG CON 2006
An introduction to the world of Muslim blogs and the idea of inter-faith blogging from a Muslim perspective.
MOSLEMS AND THE INTERNETS: THE EMERGING MUSLIM BLOGOSPHERE, MIDDDLE EAST STUDIES ASSOCIATION 2006
A survey to describe some of the more popular blogs produced in the US, and the types of issues they discuss. As topical portals to the thought of Muslims of the internet age, I suggest that blogs are the new coffeehouses and bellwethers of Muslim thought.
QAWWALI IN ENGLAND: FROM MYSTICISM TO POLITICS, MYSTICISM WORKSHOP, HARVARD DECEMBER 2003
An overview of South Asian immigration to England, the challenges of racism, and the transformation of qawwali from a music of mysticism to a music of protest.
TEACHING TO LEARN: MUSLIM YOUTH IN LIGHT OF 9/11, ASSOCIATION FOR ASIAN-AMERICAN STUDIES MARCH 2003
A survey of the different responses of Muslim adolescents to the events of 9/11. Emphasis is placed on ways of organizing and changing notions of self and community.
INTRODUCING THE ISMAILIS, ISLAM IN AMERICA CONFERENCE HARVARD UNIVERSITY DECEMBER 1999
An introduction to the Ismaili community, a Shi’ah group, and its impact on Muslim history. Emphasis is placed on communal structures in the context of the US.
NETWORKS
MUSLIM LEADERS OF TOMORROW 2006, 2009
Recognized as an emerging young leader in the Muslim-American community. Attended international conferences in Copenhagen and Doha. Focused on institution building, leadership training, and networking with young Muslim leaders from around the world. Master presenter on using technology to build networks, criticism of Islamist uses of the internet, and questions of religious authority.
PUBLICATIONS
“Calender,” “Calligraphy,” “Central Asians,” “Film,” “Five Percenters,” “Hip-Hop,” “Islam in America Journal,” “Qawwali,” “South Asians,” In Encyclopedia of Islam in the United States, edited by Jocelyne Cesari. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2007.
“Middle East,” in Encyclopedia of Religion and Violence, In Press.
“Ghazal,” and “Qawwali,” in Encyclopedia of Asian-American Folklore, In Press.
LANGUAGES
Gujarati, Sindhi, Kutchi, Swahili, Arabic, Persian, Hindi-Urdu, French, German, Tajik. Various levels of fluency.
