For more than 1,400 years, Muslims have helped shape the very foundations of human civilization—advancing knowledge, art, science, and the shared values that unite humanity. Yet too often, these remarkable stories remain untold, overshadowed by misunderstanding and a lack of visibility.
The Center of Muslim Experience at Arizona State University is committed to changing that narrative. We invite you to join us in building a transformative platform that celebrates Muslim contributions, fosters understanding, and strengthens the sense of belonging for Muslims as Americans and as citizens of the world. Together, we can illuminate the past, inspire the present, and shape a more inclusive future.
Global Muslim Digital Repository
The Global Muslim Repository (GMDR) is a digital archive and virtual museum currently in development at the Center of Muslim Experience in the United States (CME-US) at Arizona State University. The project is being built to preserve, document, and share the many ways Muslims have shaped human civilization, with a particular focus on American Muslim experiences and their global connections.
For more than fourteen centuries, Muslims have contributed to fields such as science, education, architecture, medicine, art, literature, and social thought. Yet these histories are often fragmented, overlooked, or presented without context. The GMDR is being created to address this gap by bringing together materials that illuminate Muslim life in its full intellectual, cultural, and human richness.
What Is Being Built?
At its core, the GMDR is being developed as an open, digital space that will bring together a wide range of materials, including manuscripts, photographs, oral histories, visual art, personal documents, and everyday cultural artifacts. Rather than functioning as a static archive, the Repository is being designed as an interactive and evolving platform where history, scholarship, and lived experience intersect.
The project centers American Muslim stories while placing them in dialogue with Muslim histories across regions and time periods. This approach highlights both the distinctiveness of Muslim life in the United States and the deep global networks of knowledge, creativity, and exchange that have long shaped Muslim societies.
Guiding Themes
The Repository is being organized around five broad thematic areas that reflect key dimensions of Muslim contributions to the world:
Scientific innovation and architectural knowledge
Education, learning, and the transmission of ideas
Health, well-being, and holistic approaches to care
Freedom, ethics, and social responsibility
Creative expression through art, music, and literature
These themes guide research and curation while allowing flexibility as new materials and stories are identified.
Planned Exhibits and Public Engagement
A central feature of the GMDR will be a series of interactive, thematic exhibits designed for public engagement. These exhibits are being developed to translate archival materials into accessible storytelling, pairing historical sources with contemporary reflections.
By connecting American Muslim experiences with global histories, the exhibits will invite visitors to explore how ideas, values, and cultural practices travel across time and place, and how they continue to shape the present.
Why This Work Matters
The GMDR is grounded in the belief that access to history shapes belonging. When communities see their stories preserved with care and presented with intellectual rigor, it strengthens cultural understanding and challenges narrow or incomplete narratives.
As the GMDR takes shape, it aims to support educators, students, researchers, journalists, and community members seeking reliable and nuanced resources on Muslim histories and lived experience.
An Ongoing, Collaborative Project
The GMDR is being built as a long-term, collaborative effort involving scholars, cultural institutions, and communities. As research continues and collections grow, the platform will evolve to reflect the diversity, complexity, and dynamism of Muslim life across generations and geographies.
By documenting the past while engaging the present, the GMDR is being created as a resource that fosters learning, dialogue, and a deeper sense of shared humanity.