March 2026 Highlights
In Scholarship / Research
Preaching Pious Rulership in Medieval Islam
Ibn al-Jawzi's Political Thought - by Han Hsien Liew
"In this book, I study the relationship between political thought, preaching, and emotions through the writings of Ibn al-Jawzi (c. 1114–1201), a celebrated preacher in late Abbasid Baghdad. I wrote this book to challenge a common scholarly narrative that frames the history of Islamic political thought as a gradual slide into legitimizing absolutism and tyranny. Instead, I show readers that medieval Muslim thinkers did not simply accept a "might is right" view of power, but developed more complex and contested ideas about political authority. This can be shown through Ibn al-Jawzi's ideal form of rulership, which reflected the emotional norms and pietistic moral virtues promoted in Muslim hortatory sermons. In highlighting the importance of what I call 'homiletic piety' in Ibn al-Jawzi's political writings, the book calls for the need to rethink notions of 'politics' and the 'political' when studying Islam."
- Han Hsien Liew
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In Student Success
There is no shortage of research to be done when it comes to documenting Muslim life in the United States. The depth and breadth of contributions, stretching back to the country’s earliest histories, continue to surface in ways that remind us how much there is still to gather, preserve, and share.
As part of this ongoing effort, we’re excited to welcome Miles Nichols to the CME-US team as our new Student Research and Content Aide. Miles will be supporting research projects connected to the Global Muslim Digital Repository (GMDR), our initiative focused on preserving and sharing stories, histories, and lived experiences of Muslim communities.
This work is inherently collective. If you have research papers, archival materials, or stories you would like to share, we welcome you to be part of this growing effort.
If you come across research, primary sources, or news you think we should see, feel free to send them to [email protected].
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In Community Engagement
College is often where people begin to find their sense of identity, and for many, that happens through the communities they build and the spaces they gather in.
We saw this clearly across ASU during Ramadan and Eid, where people came together in meaningful ways. The Bangladeshi Student Association, Muslim Student Association, and Barrett Honors College each hosted gatherings that brought students together around food, reflection, and celebration, giving people a chance to gather, connect, and observe Ramadan and Eid together.
Moments like these matter. They reflect how identity and belonging take shape in real time, through shared experiences that connect us to one another and to something larger than ourselves.
On Eid, CME-US also set up a small table with treats, a banner, and a short introduction to the holiday, a simple way to share in the day and invite curiosity from the broader community.
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Bridging Worlds: What Four Muslim Educators Knew About Learning and Becoming - By Yasmin Saikia
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To Gaza With Love - By Samina Salim
We often think we understand a place long before we’ve actually encountered it.
To Gaza With Love by CME-US faculty affiliate Dr. Samina Salim is a collection of reflections, poetry, and visual art that engages Gaza through human-centered storytelling, inviting readers to move beyond the abstract and sit with experiences that are often purposefully kept at a distance from us.
It’s easy to underestimate how much our understanding of a place is shaped before we ever encounter it. Decades of research in social psychology show that repeated associations, especially in media, don’t just influence what we think, but how we perceive and interpret people and places, often without us realizing it, a pattern well documented in studies on implicit bias and perception. Over time, certain narratives become so familiar that they begin to feel like reality itself.
That shows up in the kinds of negative stories we’re exposed to every day. And while it can be uncomfortable to sit with feelings of grief and helplessness, this is where a book like To Gaza With Love really matters. It offers a more human, less filtered way of engaging, one that makes it harder to fall back on those usual assumptions.
Proceeds from the book support the We Love Reading program, advancing literacy and community-based healing for children in refugee communities.