Books on Religion

‘Tis the holiday season and one Eid is past, and another approaches. One of the things that happens around this time of year is that Muslim parents are asked to speak about Islam and (pick one: Jesus, Christmas, Eid, holidays, etc.), and/or recommend some books for various elementary levels. This year, since I have my own munchkin, I’ve been storming through books. Below are some of my favorites of Islamicate kids books (because they are not all about the religion of Islam, but about Muslims and Muslim societies). I have to say, one of the disappointing things about reading these…

My essay, “Nation and Narrative” is in the volume The Power of Words and Images. British Council – Society – Our Shared Future – Building a Shared Future. One of the key objectives of this conference was to help fill the gap between academic expertise and public knowledge of cross-cultural relations involving Muslims. Participants broke into discussion groups around five themes to pinpoint new, more inclusive narratives to reshape the conversation about intercultural relations. They explored areas of research and partnerships among institutions in the US, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa that can help shed light on deep connections…