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Asma Sayeed is an Associate Professor and Program Director of Islamic Studies at UCLA's Near Eastern Languages and Cultures department, part of the UCLA College. She holds a PhD in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University (2005) and previously served as an Assistant Professor at Lafayette College. Her research focuses on early Muslim social history, Muslim education, gender studies, and hadith transmission by women. She has authored Women and the Transmission of Religious Knowledge in Islam (2013) and contributed to numerous journals and encyclopedias. Sayeed received a Fulbright Fellowship (2010) for archival research on Muslim women’s education in Syria. She teaches courses such as 'Introduction to Islam' and graduate seminars on research methodologies. Her current work examines textual practices in Muslim education across historical contexts. Education: PhD, Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University (2005) MA, History, Binghamton University (1994) BA, Politics, Princeton University (1991) Certificate in Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University (1991) Research Interests: Her scholarship emphasizes women’s roles in religious knowledge transmission, legal and social history intersections, and medieval Muslim educational systems. She frequently addresses how gender shaped access to religious authority and spaces. Awards: Fulbright Fellowship (2010) Teaching and Professional Engagement: Sayeed’s courses cover Quranic studies, Islam in the West, and methodological frameworks in Islamic studies. She actively participates in academic conferences and initiatives, including keynote lectures on women’s intellectual engagement in classical Islam and digital humanities projects mapping women’s educational histories.

• Early Muslim Social History
• History of Muslim Education
• Law and Social History
• +3 more

Reyhan Durmaz is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, affiliated with the School of Arts & Sciences and multiple interdisciplinary programs. Her research focuses on Syriac Christianity, medieval religious dynamics, and the intersection of Christianity and Islam in late antiquity. She holds a Ph.D. from Brown University (2019) and has received prestigious fellowships such as the Dumbarton Oaks Junior Fellowship and the Charlotte Newcombe Dissertation Fellowship. Her seminal book Stories between Christianity and Islam (2022) examines the transmission of saints' stories between religious traditions, earning Honorable Mention from the Middle East Medievalists. Current projects include a study of rural Christianity in the medieval Middle East through soldier-monk narratives and an analysis of the 19th-century Arabic newspaper Kawkab America . She co-leads the Digital Photograph Archive project Visualizing Countryside , documenting medieval religious sites. Dr. Durmaz teaches courses on global Christianity, material culture, and late antiquity, and serves as co-chair of the Philadelphia Seminar on Christian Origins. Her work bridges historical analysis, textual scholarship, and digital humanities, addressing themes of religious identity, cultural exchange, and marginalized communities.

• Syriac Christianity
• Medieval Studies
• Byzantine Studies
• +7 more

Molly Greene is a Professor of History and Hellenic Studies at Princeton University. Her work focuses on the Ottoman Empire and the Mediterranean world, with expertise in early modern Christian-Muslim interactions, maritime history, and colonial dynamics. She served on the Executive Committee of the Program in Hellenic Studies from 2011 to 2022. Her research bridges Ottoman administrative systems, ethnic communities, and religious coexistence. Affiliations: Princeton University (current), Center for Hellenic Studies (past committee role) Her research explores themes such as Ottoman governance mechanisms, the role of piracy in Mediterranean trade, and socio-economic relationships between Christian and Muslim populations. Recent work emphasizes the agency of non-state actors and marginalized groups in shaping imperial structures. Greene’s publications include seminal works like A Shared World (2002) and Catholic Pirates and Greek Merchants (2010), which reframe understandings of religious and economic networks in early modern Europe. She has also published in Greek, reflecting her deep engagement with Hellenic cultural history. Teaching: Courses on the Mediterranean’s historical trajectory, Ottoman Empire studies, and early modern global connections. She advises students on topics spanning Ottoman social history, Mediterranean maritime networks, and interfaith historiography. Her research has been supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Greene’s interdisciplinary approach integrates archival research from multiple languages and regions, emphasizing the Mediterranean as a cohesive yet diverse space. She is a leading voice in redefining narratives of early modern empire and cross-cultural interaction.

• Ottoman Studies
• Early Modern Mediterranean History
• Christian-Muslim Relations
• +3 more

Michael Christopher Low is an Assistant Professor of History and Director of the Middle East Center at the University of Utah. He specializes in late Ottoman Empire, Arabian Peninsula history, Indian Ocean World studies, and environmental history. His research focuses on the intersections of empire, environment, and global networks, particularly through the lens of the Hajj pilgrimage and water infrastructure in the Middle East. Low earned his Ph.D. in History from Columbia University (2015). Before joining Utah, he was an Assistant Professor at Iowa State University (2015–2022). His major work, *Imperial Mecca: Ottoman Arabia and the Indian Ocean Hajj* (2020), won the Middle East Studies Association’s Albert Hourani Book Award and explores Ottoman modernization and global health dynamics in the Hijaz region. He is currently working on a new book project, *Saltwater Kingdoms*, examining desalination’s environmental and energy impacts in Arabia. Key affiliations include the Environmental Humanities Program (as Research Professor, 2023–2025), NYU Abu Dhabi (Senior Humanities Fellow, 2020–2021), and Koç University (Visiting Fellowship, 2016). He serves as Series Editor for *Transregional Middle Easts* and on editorial boards for journals like *Journal of Global History*. Awards include the Alice Hamilton Prize (2016) for environmental history, and grants from Columbia University, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and the William Lind Foundation. His research spans Ottoman public health policies, colonial Hajj logistics, and the hydraulic history of the Saudi state.

• Late Ottoman Empire
• Arabian Peninsula
• Indian Ocean World
• +3 more

Professor Kecia Ali is a scholar of Religion and Islamic Studies at Boston University, with a PhD from Duke University. Her research focuses on Islamic law, gender studies, ethics, and biography, emphasizing feminist critiques of religious texts and institutions. She has authored influential books like Sexual Ethics and Islam and The Lives of Muhammad , exploring intersections of gender, law, and culture in Islamic traditions. Ali has held fellowships at Brandeis University and Harvard Divinity School before joining BU in 2006. She actively contributes to organizations like the American Academy of Religion and served as President of the Society for the Study of Muslim Ethics (2014–2016). Her work bridges religious studies with popular culture, analyzing themes in J.D. Robb's fiction and critiquing academic sexism. Courses taught include Islamic law, Quranic studies, and representations of Muhammad.

• Islamic Studies
• Gender Studies
• Ethics
• +3 more

Audrey Truschke is Professor of South Asian History and Director of Asian Studies at Rutgers University–Newark, within the Department of History, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. She holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University and specializes in the cultural, imperial, and intellectual history of early modern and modern India (c. 1500–present). Her scholarship bridges deep historical inquiry with urgent contemporary debates, particularly around religious identity, nationalism, and decolonization. Truschke earned her B.A. in Religious Studies from the University of Chicago (2004) and her Ph.D. in Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies from Columbia University (2012). Her academic journey includes prestigious fellowships at Stanford University, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris III. Her research centers on South Asian history, with a focus on the Mughal Empire, Indo-Muslim rule, Sanskrit-Persian cultural exchanges, and the historical construction of Hindu identity. She critically examines how premodern histories are mobilized in modern political projects, especially Hindu nationalism (Hindutva). Her work spans cultural, intellectual, and religious history, emphasizing philology, translation, and the politics of historical memory. Truschke’s recent publications reveal a consistent trajectory: analyzing the evolution of religious and ethnic identities, particularly 'Hindu' and 'Han', through longue durée historical lenses. Her articles explore how empires, religions, and languages interacted in South Asia, and how these pasts are weaponized in the present. She frequently engages with themes of hegemony, identity formation, and the dangers of historical falsification, especially in the context of Hindutva ideology and its global manifestations. Scientific Awards and Honors: Karwaan Book Award (2022) National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholars Fellowship (2021) Rutgers Board of Trustees Research Fellowship for Scholarly Excellence (2020) John F. Richards Prize in South Asian History, American Historical Association (2017) Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship (2013–2016) Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship (2009–2010) Truschke is an active advisor and mentor, though specific student names are not listed in the provided texts. She has secured significant research funding, including grants from the NEH and Princeton University Press. Her public scholarship includes contributions to the South Asia Scholar Activist Collective , the Hindutva Harassment Field Manual , and the Reporting Guide on Hindu Nationalism . She is currently writing a single-volume history of India for Princeton University Press, forthcoming in 2025. She is affiliated with several research initiatives, including the South Asia Scholar Activist Collective (SASAC), and maintains an active public presence through her personal website, media appearances, and public writings. Her work bridges the academy and public discourse, challenging dominant narratives and promoting historical accuracy in understanding South Asia.

• South Asian history
• Mughal Empire
• early modern and modern India
• +14 more

Heather Ferguson is an Associate Professor of History at Claremont McKenna College, specializing in Ottoman and Middle Eastern History. Her research focuses on early modern empires, archival practices, and legal/urban transformations in the Mediterranean. She holds a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley and an M.A. from UT Austin. Notable works include *The Proper Order of Things* (2018) and her current project on Ottoman-Habsburg archival dynamics. Education: Ph.D. in History, University of California, Berkeley M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies, University of Texas at Austin Awards: American Council of Learned Societies Fellow (2014–2015) National Endowment for the Humanities Grant (2019) ACLS Burkhardt Fellowship (2020) Her research integrates comparative imperial studies, exploring how archives and legal frameworks shaped governance in Ottoman and Habsburg contexts. She emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches, linking ethics, power dynamics, and urban development. Ferguson serves as Editor for the *Review of Middle East Studies* and Associate Editor for the *International Journal of Islamic Architecture*. Her publications trace themes of archival mobility, legal discourses, and Mediterranean identities. Current projects investigate 'last acts' in imperial courts and the interplay between statecraft and documentary practices. Grants and Fellowships: Extensive support from ACLS, NEH, Ford Foundation, and FLAS programs. Service: Claremont Faculty Leadership Program member and academic editor roles. Ferguson’s work bridges historical analysis with contemporary scholarly debates, advocating for multi-perspectival research in Middle Eastern and Islamic studies.

• Early Modern Statecraft
• Evolution of Muslim Societies
• History of Ethics
• +9 more

Asad Q. Ahmed is the Magistretti Distinguished Professor of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures, Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies, and Affiliate Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley. He also serves as Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. Education: B.A. in Philosophy and Literature from Yale University (2000) Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University (2007) Research Interests: Professor Ahmed specializes in early Islamic social history and pre-modern Islamic intellectual history, with a particular focus on rationalist disciplines such as philosophy, logic, legal theories and astronomy. His current research delves into the post-classical period of Islamic intellectual history (ca. 1200-1900 CE), emphasizing developments in the Indian subcontinent. He also has expertise in Graeco-Arabica, classical Arabic poetry and poetics, and hadith and Qur'anic Studies. Publications: The Religious Elite of the Early Islamic Hijaz (University of Oxford, 2011) Avicenna's Deliverance: Logic (Oxford University Press, 2011) Palimpsests of Themselves: Logic and Commentary in Muslim India (University of California Press, 2022) The Islamic Scholarly Tradition (Brill, 2010) Islamic Cultures, Islamic Contexts (Brill, 2015) The Hashiya and Islamic Intellectual History (Oriens, special issue, 2013) Rationalist Disciplines and Postclassical Islamic Legal Theories (Oriens, special issue, 2018) Editorial Roles: Co-editor of the Berkeley Series in Postclassical Islamic Scholarship (University of California Press) Co-editor of The Cambridge Series in South Asian Intellectual History (Cambridge University Press) Co-editor of the journals Oriens (Brill) and The Journal of South Asian Intellectual History (Brill) Member of advisory boards for several international journals and book series Scientific Awards and Visiting Appointments: Institute for Advanced Study Fellowship, Princeton Stanford Humanities Center Fellowship National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship Term Chair at the EHESS, Paris Leverhulme Visiting Professor at the University of Cambridge

• Early Islamic social history
• Pre-modern Islamic intellectual history
• Arabo-Islamic philosophy
• +7 more

Brian A. Catlos is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder and Research Associate in Humanities at the University of California Santa Cruz. He serves as Director of the CU Mediterranean Studies Group and Co-Director of The Mediterranean Seminar, an international scholarly forum with over 1,900 members worldwide. His academic appointments span multiple disciplines including Religious Studies, History, Ethnic Studies, Asian Languages and Civilizations, and Jewish Studies. Dr. Catlos specializes in Christian-Muslim-Jewish relations, Medieval Mediterranean history, and ethno-religious minorities in pre-modern contexts. His research focuses on the complex dynamics of religious and ethnic identity in medieval Europe and the Islamic world, particularly in the Iberian Peninsula. He explores how religious minorities navigated political power structures while maintaining cultural and religious identities under majority rule. His publications reveal a consistent focus on challenging simplistic narratives about religious conflict in medieval Mediterranean societies. Rather than portraying these societies as defined primarily by religious division, his work emphasizes the practical accommodations, economic interdependencies, and complex identities that characterized daily life across religious boundaries. His research demonstrates how religious identity often functioned alongside other social markers like language, profession, and regional affiliation. Catlos has received numerous prestigious awards including the Medieval Academy of America's Charles Homer Haskins Medal (2018), the Middle East Studies Association's Albert Hourani Book Prize (2014), and a 2024 Guggenheim Fellowship. His books have been translated into numerous languages including Spanish, German, Polish, Korean, Russian, and Chinese. 2024 Guggenheim Fellow Medieval Academy of America's Charles Homer Haskins Medal (2018) Middle East Studies Association's Albert Hourani Book Prize (2014) American Historical Association's James A. Rawley Prize American Historical Association's Premio del Rey Boulder Faculty Association Award for Excellence in Research (2015) As an educator, Catlos mentors MA students interested in Mediterranean Studies and Christian-Muslim-Jewish relations, with recent students securing fully-funded PhD positions at Princeton, Brown, and Rochester. He has received multiple teaching and leadership awards from the Boulder Faculty Association. His current research includes 'An Age of Convergence: Christians, Muslims and Jews in the Pre-Modern Mediterranean' and 'James the Conqueror: A Crusader King in an Age of Faith and Reason.'

• Christian-Muslim-Jewish relations
• Medieval Mediterranean history
• Ethno-religious minorities
• +9 more

Professor Muhammad Qasim Zaman is the Robert H. Niehaus '77 Professor of Near Eastern Studies and Religion at Princeton University. He joined the Department in 2006 and holds dual appointments in Near Eastern Studies and Religion. His work focuses on the interplay between religious and political institutions in Islamic history, medieval and modern legal thought, and transnational intellectual networks between South Asia and the Arab Middle East. Key research areas include the evolution of religious authority in contemporary Islam, the socio-legal dimensions of South Asian Islam, and the historical trajectory of Islamic educational institutions. He has authored seminal works such as Islam in Pakistan: A History (2018), Modern Islamic Thought in a Radical Age (2012), and Religion and Politics under the Early Abbasids (1997). He is also an editor of influential volumes like Schooling Islam (2007) and Princeton Readings in Islamist Thought (2009). His current project explores South Asia’s engagement with the broader Muslim world during the 18th and 19th centuries. While no specific grants or awards are listed, his scholarship has shaped academic discourse on Islamic modernity and tradition. Advising and mentorship details are not explicitly provided in the text.

• Islamic Studies
• Religious Institutions
• Political Islam
• +3 more

Fayçal Falaky is the Department Chair and Associate Professor of French at Tulane University’s School of Liberal Arts. He holds a Ph.D. from New York University and specializes in 18th-century French literature, Enlightenment philosophy, and the history of ideas. His research bridges literary analysis with political and cultural contexts, focusing on themes like freedom, submission, and the interplay between religion and secularism in pre-revolutionary France. His notable works include Social Contract, Masochist Contract: Aesthetics of Freedom and Submission in Rousseau (2014) and co-edited volumes such as Modes of Play in Eighteenth-Century France (2021). Falaky’s publications appear in journals like Studies in Eighteenth-Century Culture and Journal of the History of Ideas , with recent focus areas including Barbary Kingdom documentation and the intersections of Wahhabism with Enlightenment deism. He has been a finalist for the Society for French Historical Studies William Koren Prize (2020) for his work on pre-revolutionary church suppression. Falaky’s current projects include a co-edited volume on Diderot’s landscapes and contributions to Frameworks of Time in Rousseau (forthcoming 2022).

• 18th-Century French Literature
• Enlightenment Philosophy
• History of Ideas
• +3 more

Nile Green is the Ibn Khaldun Endowed Chair in World History at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he served as founding director of the UCLA Program on Central Asia (2008-2016). His research bridges global history and Islamic studies, focusing on Muslim networks across India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Central Asia, and the Indian Ocean world. Specializes in inter-Asia and Indian Ocean studies Explores Sufism, Persian & Urdu travel writing, and Islamic print history Active on global Muslim interactions with non-Muslim societies His recent articles examine topics spanning Islamicate linguistics , transcultural art history , and historiographical methods , particularly in India, Afghanistan, and China. Earlier works established connections between colonial infrastructure and Muslim pilgrimage (Hajj), while his 2016 book The Love of Strangers documented early Middle Eastern students in Europe. Scientific awards include: Guggenheim Fellowship Luce/ACLS Fellow in Religion, Journalism & International Affairs Albert Hourani Book Award (MESA) Ananda K. Coomaraswamy Book Award (AAS) Bentley Book Prize (World History Association) Sir George Staunton Prize (Royal Asiatic Society)

• Global history
• Islam & Muslims in global history
• Inter-Asia
• +6 more

Usman Hamid is an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Northwestern University. He specializes in early modern South Asia, with a focus on Islamic devotional and cultural histories. His work examines the intersection of religious materiality, transregional connections, and the Mughal Empire's cultural dynamics. Previously, he taught at Hamilton College. BCom from McGill University’s Desautels Faculty of Management MA from McGill University’s Institute of Islamic Studies PhD from University of Toronto’s Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations His research explores how Indian Ocean networks shaped Muslim devotional aesthetics in Mughal-era South Asia, emphasizing material culture’s role in piety. Earlier work includes studies on Timurid Iran’s social history and Iranian migration to South Asia. His work has been supported by the SSHRC. Hamid collaborates with scholars like Pasha M. Khan, co-editing special sections in academic journals and co-authoring analyses on Persianate cultural exchange. Current projects trace the material and textual flows influencing Mughal-era religious practices.

• Early Modern South Asian History
• Islamic Studies
• Religious Materiality
• +4 more

Jonathan Brown is Professor and Chair of the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, where he holds the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Chair of Islamic Civilization. His scholarship examines Islamic intellectual history with focus on hadith studies, Islamic law, and social ethics. Research areas: Historical development of hadith literature Interpretation of Islamic legal traditions Historical and theological perspectives on slavery in Islam Modern reinterpretations of Islamic texts His publications explore challenges in interpreting Islamic texts across different historical periods and cultural contexts, including contemporary debates on religious authority and social justice. Professor Brown is editor-in-chief of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Law.

• Islamic Law
• Hadith Studies
• Islamic History
• +2 more

Feryal Salem is an Associate Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies and Director of the Master of Divinity in Islamic Studies and Muslim Chaplaincy Program at American Islamic College. Her research focuses on Islamic intellectual history, Hadith literature, Sufi traditions, and women's contributions to Islamic scholarship. She has authored books and peer-reviewed articles on topics such as early Sunni identity formation, women's scholarship in Damascus, and ethical philosophy in classical Islamic texts. Her work critically examines historical and contemporary roles of women in Islamic thought, challenging Eurocentric frameworks that overlook private-sector leadership. She also explores the evolution of Islamic ethics through figures like Ḥasan al-Baṣrī and Ṭaşköprüzāde, emphasizing the interplay between theology and social practice. Institutional contributions include shaping Islamic chaplaincy education to address challenges in multifaith settings, advocating for contextualized spiritual care models rooted in Islamic traditions. Her publications bridge historical analysis with modern applications, offering nuanced perspectives on Islamic law, gender, and interreligious engagement.

• Islamic Studies
• Hadith Literature
• Sufi Piety
• +3 more