Date: Sunday, April 6, 2025
Time: 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM CT
4:00 – 5:30 pm Reception “Faith, Flavor, and Friendship”

Boarding: 12:45 PM / Depart: 1:00 PM from American Islamic College

Limited parking at 613 W. Bittersweet Place (rear of College)
Additional parking at Recreation Drive

Stops:

Return: 4:00 pm to American Islamic College

Join us on our 4th Chicago Interfaith Trolley Tour. This experiential learning opportunity presents the chance to learn about faith in practice, prayer and communal religious space, and some history of the neighborhood and its religious communities. You will get to meet people from other faith traditions and cultures and make connections with religious leaders. You will also learn about the various interfaith initiatives that these religious institutions host. This is a great way to learn more about your city and celebrate its vibrant diversity.

The Hassan Institute for Interfaith Encounter at American Islamic College, The Interreligious Institute at Chicago Theological Seminary, and A Center for Christian-Muslim Engagement for Peace and Justice at The Lutheran School of Theology will be your hosts on April 6th.

We will explore four sacred spaces in the northside neighborhoods of Chicago. The day will end with a reception, “Faith, Flavor, and Friendship” at 4 – 5 pm at American Islamic College.

A Center of Christian-Muslim Engagement for Peace and Justice at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago fosters and deepens relations between Christians and Muslims and builds bridges of mutual understanding, respect and cooperation among people of all faiths. To learn more visit www.lstc.edu

The Hassan Institute for Interfaith Encounter at American Islamic College is commited to thoughtful, respectful, and socially impactful inter-religious engagement. It is inspired by a shared belief in the value of transformative, relational, and experiential learning. www.aicusa.edu

At Chicago Theological Seminary, our mission is to educate and inspire the next generation of religious leadership. As a historically Protestant and now multifaith seminary, we are commited to racial and social justice, to gender equality and to deep interreligious engagement. www.ctschicago.edu

American Islamic College’s application for the Dana Abadi Pesantren Micro-Credential 2024 Initiative was selected by the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs resulting in a global partnership for intercultural and interreligious education. The Hassan Institute was honored to welcome 20 Indonesian scholars and teachers who journeyed for a 2-month non-degree certificate program titled “Religion, Peace, and Encounter: An AIC Certificate Program in Interreligious Peacebuilding.”

The program offered structured academic coursework and experiential learning opportunities through coordinated site visits to academic, civic, and religious facilities, as well as planned dialogue events across Chicagoland, as well as a trip to Washington D.C. The participants met with and learned from expert faculty and dedicated leaders about inter-and intra-religious understanding, cross-cultural dialogue, conflict management, and peace-building initiatives. In turn, we learned from them about their experience with religious moderation and madrasa education in Indonesia. View their public talk at AIC here. These exchanges were transformative in a multitude of ways and we were so grateful to have had these encounters, alhumdulillah.

Thank you to all the organizations that welcomed the delegation to learn more about your important work.

Mayor Brandon Johnson and The City of Chicago
The Illinois Muslim Civic Coalition
Interfaith America
Catholic Theological Union
World Council of Muslims for Interfaith Relations
Masjid al-Taqwa
Mosque Maryam
Salaam Community Center
Sajida House
Turkish American Society of Chicago
Mosque Foundation
Universal School
Viator House
The University of Notre Dame, Ansari Institute
The Lutheran School of Theology, CCME
The University of Chicago, Middle East Studies & Divinity School
Seldon Institute
CAIR-Chicago
Ta’Leef Collective
Darussalaam
MECCA Center
Bahai Temple
Indonesia Consulate General
The Zoroastrian Center of Chicago
Chicago Dawoodi Bohra Community – Masjid Anjuman-e-Saifee
Macedonian Orthodox Church Sv Kiril i Metodij

We cordially invite you to join AIC faculty, staff, students, trustees, and supporters for a pre-Ramadan dinner celebrating the College’s past and present milestones and sharing exciting new developments, Ramadan programming, upcoming courses and new programs, future plans, and ultimate aspirations.

We look forward to seeing you there, in sha’ allah!

Date: Friday, February 21, 2025
Time: 6:30 PM
RSVP: Required. Space is limited! Please RSVP by February 20, 12:00 PM

The expansive book by Dr. Omer Awass, Fatwa and the Making and Renewal of Islamic Law: From the Classical Period to the Present (2023), might be considered the culmination of a scholar’s lifelong research. For Dr. Awass, it’s just the start.

This winter break he spent in Dali, Yunnan province, China, where he immersed himself in Chinese language and culture. Over the last few years he has been studying Chinese with the aim of eventually being able to read Chinese historical texts. “After thoroughly exploring how Muslims have rationalized about the world,” he wonders, “How is it that other civilizations have reasoned? Long term, I would like to do a comparative view of the intellectual history of China.”

This Spring at American Islamic College, he is teaching Introduction to the Science of Hadith, Islamic History & Civilization 1800-Present, and a graduate course on Hadith Sciences. The history course parallels his forthcoming book, due out in 2026, Imposing Modernity in the Global South: Studies in the Coloniality and Decoloniality of Muslim Societies, a series of studies over the past two centuries concerning issues of coloniality and decoloniality. When talking about hadith sciences, he gets animated. “It’s really a uniquely developed way of doing historiography unlike other civilizations. The methodology is a distinct way of preserving history and historical reasoning. Here at AIC we get to teach our students these different ways of thinking. Hadith science wouldn’t be taught this way at other institutions,” he says. Beyond looking at it theoretically, he trains students to investigate hadith and practice the methodology. With so much focus on the breadth of history, when asked what he thinks about the future of Islamic law in light of the massive changes in technology and the impact of AI, he remarks, “Rationality is one of the characteristics that defines us as humans. How much of our own rationality are we going to surrender, instead of developing that which defines us? How can we purposefully use AI to enhance our humanity and not diminish it?”

Walking helps clear his mind, and he is drawn to doing his research by the water – whether that’s Lake Michigan in Chicago or Lake Erhai in Dali, Yunnan Province, China.

Dr. Omer Awass is Associate Professor of Arabic & Islamic Studies and the Director of the MA program in Islamic Studies at American Islamic College.

By Stephanie Mirza, Staff Writer

Date: Tuesday, January 28, 2025
Time: 6:00 PM Light Reception | 6:30 PM Talk – Central Time (Chicago)
Venue: American Islamic College, Limited parking available (613 W Bittersweet Pl)

Join us for a night of intellectual and spiritual stimulation with Dr. Yousef Casewit and enjoy some delectable Pakistani hors d’oeuvres.

Registration (Required):
Free, in-person & livestream. Please select in-person or livestream during registration.

In this talk, Dr. Yousef Casewit reflects on contemporary lessons drawn from the writings of the Contemplatives (Mu’tabirun), a remarkable school of Islamic mysticism that emerged in 12th-century al-Andalus in a world beset by war, social inequalities, economic instability, and political turmoil. The ethos of spiritual resilience cultivated by the Contemplatives offers a profound resource for Muslims in the US grappling with the emotional toll and moral injuries of witnessing war crimes from afar while striving to effect meaningful change at home. Their integration of scriptural, intellectual, and spiritual traditions forged a holistic response to societal crises, demonstrating how spiritual practices, ethical leadership, engaged scholarship, justice-oriented spirituality, and community solidarity can counter despair and inspire transformative action.

Feature your restaurant at our events! If you are interested in sponsoring one of our events, please contact programs@aicusa.edu

Professor Casewit is a Qur’anic studies scholar. His research interests include intellectual history of North Africa and al-Andalus, Muslim perceptions of the Bible, and medieval commentaries on the ninety nine divine names.

He has several publications, most recently The Mystics of al-Andalus: Ibn Barrajān and Islamic Thought in the Twelfth Century (Cambridge University Press, 2017), a study on Ibn Barrajan’s life and teachings. He is also the author of a critical edition of a Qur’an commentary by Ibn Barrajan (Brill, TSQ Series, 2016).

Prior to joining the Divinity School, Professor Casewit was a Humanities Research Fellow at New York University Abu Dhabi, and an Assistant Professor of Arabic Intellectual Heritage and Culture at the American University of Sharjah. He completed his M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. in Islamic Studies at Yale University’s Religious Studies Department.

Current projects include a translation and critical edition of a Sufi-Philosophical commentary on the divine names by the Algerian scholar ‘Afif al-Din al-Tilimsani (d. 1291) for the Library of Arabic Literature, NYU Press.

Born in Egypt and raised in Morocco, he is fluent in Arabic, French and Spanish. Yousef has traveled throughout the Islamic world, and has studied with Muslim scholars in Morocco, Syria, and Mauritania.

Dr. Shabana Mir’s fall courses on Islam & Gender, Cultural Anthropology, and Research Methods all relate to her extensive travels. Over the winter break, for example, she traveled to Pakistan, where she spoke at Lahore College for Women University on “The Religious Politics of Domination and Control in Marriage: Qualitative and Textual Analysis.” Reflecting now on the subsequent audience discussion she remarks, “Things are changing. Women (in Pakistan) are essential members of the economy and are in touch with the global discourse.” Women’s disempowerment is still a cultural issue, but she finds hope in the younger generation of men, such as those who choose to shut down jokes about polygamy.

Her spring courses at AIC couldn’t be more timely in the light of current events in the United States. They include, Introduction to Political Science, Islam in America, and, at the graduate level, Special Topics: Islam in World Cinema. The film course focuses on the representation of Islam and Muslims in popular media. While we are well aware of overt Islamophobic patterns in Hollywood, Dr. Mir points out that seemingly benign Islamophilic films can be subversive as well. She gives the example of Victoria and Abdul (2017), the British biographical historical film in which Abdul, a Muslim from India, piques Queen Victoria’s interest. As Dr. Mir points out, however fondly the Queen regards Abdul, his place is always that of a servant. In addition to the lineup of movies on the Muslim experience she selects for the class, Dr. Mir solicits suggestions from the students at the beginning of the term for possible inclusion in the syllabus. When it comes to teaching political science and Islam in America, she goes beyond the textbook approach to bring in critical readings to understand not just the theory, but the reality on the ground. She invites leaders of non-profit organizations , such as Muslims for Just Futures and CAIR, to talk to the class about their grassroots work to combat Islamophobia.

One of the first things you learn about Dr. Shabana Mir is her care and concern for students. Her keen observation picks up when a student is struggling, or when they’re having that lightbulb moment. When asked what activity makes her lose track of time, she replies instantly, “Gardening. I can work 10 hours in the garden and still feel energized.” She loves the coneflowers and cupped roses, yet when she describes them you get the sense she could be talking about her students. “When you’re a gardener, you notice, ‘that plant has a new leaf today’ – it’s so exciting.”