CIS News for September 2017

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Center for Islamic Studies

News from the Center for Islamic Studies at the GTU

The Center for Islamic Studies welcomes all new and returning students, instructors, and visiting scholars for the academic year 2017-2018. We are honored and grateful to have Professor Mark Massoud, Associate Professor of Politics and Legal Studies at UC Santa Cruz as a Mellon Visiting Scholar, and Dr. Jessica Chen, PhD in Islamic Studies from Stanford University, working on Muslim-Buddhist dialogue while at the CIS/GTU. We are delighted that Carol Bier, Historian of Islamic Art, will continue her work with the CIS/GTU as Research Scholar, and also delighted that Dr. Kei Takahashi from Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan, will continue to be a visiting scholar in Islamic Studies at CIS/GTU through September.

CIS is pleased to share that Carol Bier is traveling in Uzbekistan through Sept 15 with a group of textile specialists focusing on craft, architecture and technology. Selected works by Carol Bier can be viewed at: https://works.bepress.com/carol_bier/. Congratulations!

Dr. Munir Jiwa, CIS Director, was nominated and accepted to serve as a faculty representative on the GTU Board of Trustees, and as a faculty member of the Haas Institute Religious Diversity Cluster at UC Berkeley. Congratulations!

In celebration of its 10th year anniversary, CIS will be presenting an exhibition at the GTU library this September through January 2018, on the themes of Knowledge and Diversity. The exhibition will highlight the work of students, faculty, and visiting scholars in Islamic Studies at the GTU, along with showcasing art works and public programs. For more information, visit the GTU Library Exhibition page or contact Rania Shah, CIS program coordinator: rshah@gtu.edu.

Congratulations to CIS on receiving a Henry Luce Foundation grant for 2017-2018 to help support programs and conferences during the CIS 10th anniversary. CIS/GTU is deeply grateful to the Henry Luce Foundation for its generous support over the years.

CIS wishes a blessed journey to all those making the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. We wish our Muslim colleagues, families and friends Eid al-Adha Mubarak. May this be a time of greater understanding, unity, and peace.