The Promise of Piety: Islam and the Politics of Moral Order in Pakistan (Cornell University Press, 2024) by Arsalan Khan is an incisive ethnographic study of Pakistan’s Tablighi movement. This piety movement attracts Pakistani Muslim men across class, caste, and social contexts and as such Khan is particularly attuned and reflexive as he navigates the bounda ... Show More
Yesterday
Faisal Devji, "Waning Crescent: The Rise and Fall of Global Islam" (Yale UP, 2025)
Faisal Devji's Waning Crescent: The Rise and Fall of Global Islam (Yale UP, 2025) is a compelling examination of the rise of Islam as a global historical actor. Until the nineteenth century, Islam was variously understood as a set of beliefs and practices. But after Muslims began ... Show More
1h 4m
Nov 21
Jasbeer Musthafa Mamalipurath, "TEDified Islam: Postsecular Storytelling in New Media" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024)
Jasbeer Mamalipurath’s TEDified Islam: Postsecular Storytelling in New Media (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024) is the first of its kind in-depth examination of the TedTalk phenomenon and in particular how Islam and Muslim experiences are represented in these talks. Mamalipurath argues t ... Show More
1h 14m
Nov 14
Basit Kareem Iqbal, "The Dread Heights: Tribulation and Refuge after the Syrian Revolution" (Fordham UP, 2025)
Basit Kareem Iqbal's new book The Dread Heights: Tribulation and Refuge after the Syrian Revolution (Fordham UP, 2025) uses ethnographic scenes from Jordan and Canada to contextualize the role of Muslim charities and community organizations that support displaced refugees from t ... Show More
1h 16m
Apr 2024
Arsalan Khan, "The Promise of Piety: Islam and the Politics of Moral Order in Pakistan" (Cornell UP, 2024)
The Promise of Piety: Islam and the Politics of Moral Order in Pakistan (Cornell University Press, 2024) by Arsalan Khan is an incisive ethnographic study of Pakistan’s Tablighi movement. This piety movement attracts Pakistani Muslim men across class, caste, and social contexts a ... Show More
1h 21m
May 2023
Pragmatism, Politics and Power with Dr Yasir Qadhi
Please consider making a donation, however small, to The Thinking Muslim, to receive a share in the reward and to help us make a greater impact. https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/DonateFrom its first moments, Islam was linked to a state-building process, and the shari’ah expli ... Show More
1h 35m
Jan 2025
Science, Mysticism and Islamic Reform with Dr Arash Naraghi | Ep. 1
In this thought-provoking first episode of the 'Islam and Contemporary Challenges' series, Syed Arman Kazmi sits down with Dr Arash Naraghi, a Professor of Philosophy and Global Religion at Moravian University, to explore the nuanced relationship between science, mysticism, and I ... Show More
1h 8m
Mar 2025
Imran Khan: The People's Champion or a Populist Illusion? with Professor SherAli Tareen
Pakistan is an enchanting country, fertile and vast, with a talented young population and, at least on paper, all of the ingredients of a regional powerhouse. But the country is experiencing a tumultuous time. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan languishes in prison while the countr ... Show More
1h 33m
Nov 2022
What is Shia Islam? - Twelverism
<p>In this episode, I attempt to give you an overview of the vast and complex Twelver school of Shi'ism across history.</p><br><p>Sources/Suggested Reading:</p><ul><li>Abdulsater, Hussein Ali (2017). "Shi'i Doctrine, Mu'tazili Theology: Al-Sharif al-Murtada and Imami Discourse". ... Show More
42m 50s