Event Archive

podcasting logoFraming Muslims seminar audienceFraming Muslims was inaugurated on September 8th 2007 with a one-day workshop at SOAS, University of London.

Over the course of the project a number of events are taking place, including a seminar series pairing scholars, journalists and practitioners working on aspects of the representation of Muslims. Venues alternate between the fund-holding institution, the University of East London, SOAS, and Senate House, University of London, but in due course the project will also travel, visiting venues both nationally and internationally. In the Autumn of 2007, Framing Muslims combined with the Inter-University Postcolonial Seminar series, run by Professor Susheila Nasta of the Open University Postcolonial Research Group, to explore ‘Postcolonial Muslim Cultures’.

In this archive you will find a selection of audio recordings from some of these events, available to download as podcasts. Click on the podcast logo to subscribe. You can listen to these in MP3 format or you can download a free QuickTime Player plugin to be able to hear the podcast in Apple Quicktime format, this format has clicable Chapter breaks.


Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam

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Last Updated on Tuesday, 29 January 2013 17:03

This event took place on 12th December, 2012 at SOAS, University of London

 

Journey into America: The challenge of Islam: Film screening and panel discussion

 

Journey into America is a groundbreaking and timely documentary that records Ambassador Akbar Ahmed and his team of American students as they travel to more than 100 mosques in cities, suburbs and towns across America. Journey into America brings the audience into the homes, schools and places of worship of Americans of all backgrounds in order to explore what it means to be American through the eyes of Muslims. The film portrays how many Muslim Americans have restored the faith of America's Founding Fathers, but it also goes beyond this to document how some Americans have lost sight of fundamental components of American identity such as tolerance, compassion and openness.

 

Speakers included:

 

Professor Akbar Ahmed is the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University in Washington DC, a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and a Visiting Professor at the US Naval Academic in Annapolis where he was the First Distinguished Chair of Middle East and Islamic Studies. He has taught at Princeton, Harvard, and Cambridge Universities and has been called "the world's leading authority on contemporary Islam" by the BBC. He is the author of over a dozen award-winning books, including Discovering Islam, which was the basis of a six-part BBC TV series called Living Islam, and the critically acclaimed Journey into Islam: The Crisis of Globalization. His book Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam (Brookings Press, 2010), culminated in the full length documentary, Journey into America, and won the American Book Award for 2011. Two of his books were re-published in 2011 as part of the Routledge Revivals - "restoring to print books by some of the most influential academic scholars of the last 120 years." Professor Ahmed published a book of verse, Suspended Somewhere Between in 2011, and his forthcoming book The Thistle and the Drone: How America's War on Terror became a Global War on Tribal Islam is to be published by Brookings Press in February 2013. The renowned American histories Professor Stanley Wolpert called him "the greatest scholar of Islam in America and the world… nobody else stands so high…he is the Dara Shikoh of modern Islamic leaders" (Pakistan Link, 30 December issue, 2011).

 

Craig Considine is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Sociology at Trinity College Dublin. He served as film director and research assistant to Ambassador Akbar Ahmed's unprecedented study of Muslim Americans, 'Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam'. Craig's film-work and photography have been vetted by CNN and his articles on issues relating to religion and American identity have been published in outlets such as The Huffington Post, Voice of America, Arab News, TheAmerican Muslim, and Common Ground, among many others. In September 2012, Craig created the One Film 9/11 interfaith initiative which has the goal of screening Journey into America around the Muslim and non-Muslim world on September 11th, 2013. Craig's doctoral research is exploring the experiences of young Pakistani men in Dublin, Ireland and Boston, Massachusetts. He's a native of Needham, Massachusetts.


Dr Anshuman Mondal
is Reader in English and AHRC Research Fellow at Brunel University. He is the author of Young British Muslim Voices (2008) and several media articles on Muslim literature, culture and politics. He is currently working on an AHRC funded project on Muslim-related freedom of speech controversies.

 

Professor Peter Morey is Professor of English and Postcolonial Studies at the University of East London. He is the author of a number of books and articles, including 'Framing Muslims: Stereotype and Representation after 9/11' (Harvard University Press, 2011), was Principal Investigator of the AHRC funded Framing Muslims International Research Network (2007-2010) and is currently RCUK Global Uncertainties Leadership Fellow directing an international project on 'Muslims, Trust and Cultural Dialogue'.

 

For more information, click here

   

Reframing the Study of Muslim Diasporas in Britain, SOAS, 15 September 2012

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Last Updated on Monday, 17 September 2012 18:30

This event took place on 15th September, 2012, in SOAS, University of London.

 

Reframing the Study of Muslim Diasporas in Britain: presentations and discussion

 

Organised by Framing Muslims International Research Network, Muslims in Britain Research Network and SOAS Centre for Migration and Diaspora Studies

 

How has the study of Muslims in Britain been transformed in the last decade? Global-local events, new government policies, changing community dynamics as well as associated research council programmes have all shaped mushrooming interest in this field, with many arts, humanities and social science disciplines now contributing to a massively expanded and more complex literature than was the case in the 1980s or 1990s. After a morning session of general research interchange on any aspect of current Muslims in Britain research, the afternoon provided an opportunity to reflect upon the emergence and insights of cultural, literary and media studies research, which have been crucial to postcolonial and diaspora studies more generally. There was also be an opportunity to compare and contrast this contribution to that of more empirically focused contributions to the study of Muslims in Britain in Anthropology, Sociology and Religious Studies, as well as heard input from iEngage's Shenaz Bunglawala.

 

This event was a collaboration between the MBRN, the Framing Muslims project and SOAS Centre for Migration and Diaspora Studies. It was aimed at all researchers interested in Muslims in Britain and especially postgraduate students.

 

Speakers included Seán McLoughlin (University of Leeds), Peter Morey & Amina Yaqin (Framing Muslims International Research Network) and Shenaz Bunglawala (iEngage).

 

 

   

Screening of 'At Her Feet' and Q&A with Nadia Davids

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Last Updated on Friday, 25 November 2011 14:08

This event took place on the 22nd of November, 2011 in SOAS, University of London.

 

A screening of 'At Her Feet' was followed by a Q&A with the award-winning South African playwright Nadia Davids (Queen Mary, London)

 

About the Speaker

 

Nadia Davids is an award-winning South African writer. She has published and produced work in Africa, Europe and North America; two of her play- texts, 'At Her Feet' and 'Cissie', are studied at a wide-range of universities including UCT, UWC, Stanford, UCLA and SOAS. She won the Rosalie van Der Gught Prize for Best New Director in 2003, was nominated for the Fleur de Cap for "Best New South African Play" in 2008 and was a finalist in the Africa Pen Award (judged by J.M Coetzee) in 2007 and 2009. 'At Her Feet' was nominated for the Noma Award in 2008 for best book published in Africa. Nadia holds a PhD in Drama from the University of Cape Town. She is currently lecturing at Queen Mary, University of London. Nadia is represented by the Wylie Agency and working on her first novel which has been optioned by Penguin.

   

Book Launch: Critical Muslims Quarterly

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Last Updated on Tuesday, 24 January 2012 20:06

 

This event took place on 11th of January 2012 in SOAS, University of London.

 

The broadcaster, writer and critic Ziauddin Sardar hosted the launch of Critical Muslim quarterly, alongside co-editor Robin Yassin-Kassab.

 

Critical Muslim is a new quarterly magazine of ideas and issues, presenting Muslim perspectives on the great debates of our times. It aims to emphasise the plurality and diversity of Islam and Muslims and promote dialogue, cooperation and collaboration between ‘Islam’ and other cultures, including ‘the West’. It looks at everything critically and challenges traditionalist, modernist, fundamentalist and apologetic versions of Islam as well as the established conventions and orthodoxies of dominant cultures. It seeks new readings of religion and culture with the potential for social, cultural and political transformation of the Muslim world and the world as a whole.

Edited by Ziauddin Sardar and Robin Yassin-Kassab, Critical Muslim is published by Hurst and Co, in collaboration with the Muslim Institute, London. It is both a ‘book’ and a magazine – each issue is devoted to a theme, which serves as the title of the book, but also contains commentaries, essays, columns and reviews that one would find in a magazine.

In the inaugural issue:
Ziauddin Sardar tries to understand the significance of what has just happened in the Middle East, Robin Yassin-Kassab spends some quality time in Tahrir Square, Ashur Shamis dodges the bullets of Gaddafi’s henchmen, Abdelwahab El-Affendi traces the roots of the uprisings,  Anne Alexander tunes into the digital revolution, Fadia Faqir joins women protestors, Shadia Safwan asks how long could Asad last, Jamal Mahjoub contemplates futures of the Sudan, Jasmin Ramsey joins the activists in Tehran, Ehsan Masood wonders if Arabs would ever promote science, and Jerry Ravetz ponders the significance of Ibn Khaldun to the Arab Spring.

Also in this issue: Rachel Holmes visits the Palestinian Festival of Literature, S. Parvez Manzoor asks if Turkey is a good model for the Muslim world, Muhammad Idrees Ahmad is overwhelmed by leaks, Taus Makhacheva takes ‘Affirmative Action’, Aasia Nasir accuses Pakistan and Merryl Wyn Davies’s ‘last word’ on Saudi women drivers.

Plus a new short story from Bilal Tanweer and revolutionary poetry from Nizar Qabbani, Tawfiq Zayyad, Abul-Qasim al-Shabi, Ayat al-Qormezi and Naomi Foyle.

   

Book Launch & Discussion: Framing Muslims: Stereotyping and Representation After 9/11

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Last Updated on Friday, 23 September 2011 07:27

This event took place on Thursday, 22nd September 2011 in SOAS, University of London.

 

Peter Morey and Amina Yaqin launched their book, 'Framing Muslims: Stereotyping and Representation After 9/11', published by Harvard University Press, followed by a discussion with Ziauddin Sardar, chaired by journalist and broadcaster Samira Ahmed.

 

Reviews

“Absorbing, disquieting, and compelling, Framing Muslims alerts us to the new and alarming ways that, in the aftermath of 9/11, ‘Muslims’ have come to represent a political problem waiting to be solved. With clarity, urgency and forensic skill, Peter Morey and Amina Yaqin explore and celebrate ways out of ‘the frame’ while unravelling the regulatory agendas of fanatics and liberal reformers alike that are currently breathing new life into discredited stereotypes. Essential wisdom for all who care and are daring to write about Islam, racism, and the politics of commodified multiculturalism today.” — Gerald MacLean (Co-author of Britain and the Islamic World)

“In this rich and methodical deconstruction of the thick frame that surrounds nearly all discussions about Muslim minorities in British and American culture today, Peter Morey and Amina Yaqin have exposed the dark power of stereotyping Muslims to the light by scrutinizing everything from ‘terror’ television shows to Muslim leaders’ own stereotypes. As an example of cultural studies, the book is exemplary. As an intervention into some of the most urgent political debates of our day, it is both compelling and necessary.”— Moustafa Bayoumi (Author of How Does It Feel To Be a Problem? Being Young and Arab in America)

“Framing Muslims is an enlightening book. It is sure to make us more critical of the power and influence of media in shaping our views on Muslims and Islam. Peter Morey and Amina Yaqin deserve applause for their worthy effort.” — Joseph Richard Preville (Saudi Gazette)

“Groundbreaking...Drawing on their diverse backgrounds in English and Urdu literary and cultural studies, Morey and Yaqin examine...[how] veils, beards, men at prayer, and minarets stand in for Muslims in all their heterogeneity and complexity...[An] illuminating work.” — Claire Chambers (Times Higher Education)

 

   

Seminar: Faiz Ahmed Faiz – Centenary Celebration 17th September

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Last Updated on Friday, 23 September 2011 07:26

This event took place on Saturday, 17th September 2011 at SOAS, University of London.

The Speakers included Iftikhar Arif, Salima Hashmi, Aamer Hussein, Aamir Mufti, Christina Oesterheld, Geeta Patel, Shahid Ali Syed and Amina Yaqin, with a specially curated exhibition by Maria Syed.

Faiz Ahmed Faiz has had, and continues to have, a national following as a people’s poet in Pakistan. He also remains a figurehead for the present generation of Urdu poets. He excelled in interweaving the classical ornamental style of an aristocratic Urdu rhyme and metre with modern social realism. He was a poet, a journalist, a policy advisor and cultural commentator whose career spanned the period of anti-colonial resistance and the aftermath of a post-partitioned state.

 

Read more: Seminar: Faiz Ahmed Faiz – Centenary Celebration 17th September

   

Ziauddin Sardar Book Launch

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Last Updated on Sunday, 18 September 2011 16:33

This event took on place Wednesday, 15 June 2011 in SOAS, University of London.

The broadcaster, writer and critic Ziauddin Sardar spoke from his book, Reading the Qur'an and was in conversation with Merryl Davies & Amina Yaqin followed by Q&A. A deeply spiritual endeavour, Zia's book is in dialogue with the many translations of the Qur'an in English engaging with the work of a range of translators from Marmaduke Pickthall to Abdel Haleem. He spoke of the relevance of his book for a contemporary Muslim audience who access the Qur'an in many different languages and wish to understand how to approach it in a modern context.

 

 

Read more: Ziauddin Sardar Book Launch

   

"Moth Smoke" and Pakistan after Bin Laden

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Last Updated on Thursday, 22 September 2011 17:20

This seminar took place on Wednesday, 25 May 2011 in SOAS, University of London

Literature was highlighted in a seminar on 'Moth Smoke and Pakistan after Bin Laden' with the acclaimed Pakistani writer Mohsin Hamid. He spoke about his book Moth Smoke which has been reissued by Penguin this year and topics under discussion included writing in English, the troubled masculinities in his novel and the repercussions of the on-going War on Terror for people in Pakistan.

 

 

Read more: "Moth Smoke" and Pakistan after Bin Laden

   

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