(pleasant music)
You can't really understand the world without
understanding religion. I think there's a misconception that
religious studies is theological studies or it's some kind of
devotional approach to religion. Actually, we're not here
to promote a particular world view,
we're here to learn about world views.
We're talking about a force that affects many peoples lives.
Even if someone is an atheist, religion affects his or her life.
(mumbling)
The primary
goal of my research is
to highlight differences of opinion
I want students and readers and professors, colleagues
to challenge our assumptions and to see what is actually out there.
We're currently working on a project called "Muslims in the Midwest"
We're currently working on a project called "Muslims in the Midwest"
an oral history project. Muslims have played a big role in the midwest historically.
Many people don't know that it was a Muslim who
designed the Sears tower, now called the Willis Tower
The so called Mother Mosque of the United States
is in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The desired outcome is to produce a digital archive
documenting the history of Muslims in the heartland
(mumbling)
I myself am interviewing the founders of the Islamic Center of East Lansing
African American Muslims who knew Malcom X
I'm just excited about this idea of sort of challenging
monolithic understandings and challenging
one-dimensional portrayals of Muslims in America.
There's a rich history and we just want to
tell these stories, share these stories with the broader public.
(background noise)
I was honored to receive the MSU Teacher-Scholar award
what it says is that my students appreciate my abilities to teach
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In the classroom you have this collaborative experience
where I might say something, a student might ask a question
I begin to think about something from a different angle
The end result is extraordinary impact.
Michigan State University has been extremely
supportive of my research, of my teaching
of my service
and I feel welcome here
(pleasant music)
