Mediating God: Muhammad Ghazali and the Politics of Divine Presence in 20th century Egypt (Oxford UP, 2025) is a fascinating and compelling intellectual biography of the Egyptian Muslim theologian, scholar, and activist, Muhammad al-Ghazali (1917–1996). Al-Ghazali shaped the views of multiple generations of Muslim activists and was a one-time leading intell ... Show More
Oct 30
Radio ReOrient 15:3: The Othered Woman, with Shahed Ezaydi, hosted by Amina Easat-Daas and Chella Ward
In this episode, Amina and Chella had a wide ranging conversation with Shahed Ezaydi about her recent book, which explores the interconnectedness between white feminism and Islamophobia, and how Muslim women are frequently harmed by both. This episode took us into discussions aro ... Show More
1h 5m
Oct 23
Theologies of Remembering: Modernity, Ambiguity, and Transcendence in Islamic Indonesia with Verena Hanna Meyer (U California Press, 2026)
The claim to moderate or modernist Islam in Indonesia is particularly contentious today, as these labels participate in the global politics of identity for Muslims past and present. Who gets to claim to be representative of an Islam that is modernist, progressive, or tolerant? Wh ... Show More
47m 45s
Oct 18
Islamic Ethics and Spiritual Sovereignty: Genres of Tradition in Muslim South Asia with Ali Altaf Mian (U Notre Dame Press, 2026)
Islamic Ethics and Spiritual Sovereignty: Genres of Tradition in Muslim South Asia (U Notre Dame 2026) explores the rich vast textual archive of Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanavi, a South Asian Muslim theologian and Sufi. Mian’s deep and careful reading of Thanavi’s diverse genres of te ... Show More
1h 12m
May 2023
Waqas Butt, "Life Beyond Waste: Work and Infrastructure in Urban Pakistan" (Stanford UP, 2023)
Over the last several decades, life in Lahore has been undergoing profound transformations, from rapid and uneven urbanization to expanding state institutions and informal economies. What do these transformations look like if viewed from the lens of waste materials and the lives ... Show More
55m 51s
Aug 2022
Trying To Heal The Wounds Of Partition, 75 Years Later
75 years ago this week, British colonial rule ended in India. Two new nations emerged - Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India. But that freedom was followed by chaos and bloodshed. Partition triggered a mass migration across a shared border, as millions of Muslims fle ... Show More
11m 22s
Oct 2021
How Hindustan became India
Manan Ahmed Asif discusses his book The Loss of Hindustan, the Invention of India, which has just been shortlisted for the Cundill History Prize
Historian Manan Ahmed Asif discusses his recent book The Loss of Hindustan, the Invention of India, which has just been shortlisted for ... Show More
59 m
May 2019
The Three A’s Of Pakistan
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan was born on August 14, 1947, with the partition of British India. This partition divided the former British colony into two nations, India and Pakistan. There is a saying in Pakistan that the country is run by the Three A’s: Allah, the army and Am ... Show More
1h 12m