About Me

I am a scholar, writer, and educator focused on Islam and Muslim life in North America. My work explores how Muslims negotiate authority, belonging, and public life within institutions and structures of power, with particular interests in gender, religious leadership, politics, and representation.

I am broadly interested in how Muslims navigate questions of visibility, legitimacy, and belonging in contemporary North American contexts, as well as how institutions shape public discourse and determine what counts as legitimate knowledge, authority, and religious life. Drawing on Islamic studies, gender studies, and critical approaches to religion and politics, my work engages both scholarly and public conversations about religion, power, and social life.

Much of my research examines the tensions and possibilities that emerge when Muslims work within institutions not historically built for them, including universities, seminaries, interfaith spaces, and political systems. Across this work, I am interested in the ongoing processes of translation—ethical, political, and religious—through which Muslims negotiate public life, community, and belonging in liberal democratic societies.

In addition to my academic work, I am committed to public scholarship and accessible intellectual engagement. My writing and commentary engage broader conversations about Islam, media, higher education, governance, and contemporary political life. As an educator, I have taught courses on Islam, gender, politics, and Muslim experience in North America with an emphasis on critical inquiry, historical context, and public relevance.

Education:

Columbia University PhD, American Religions (North American Islam) (2016)

MPhil (2011)

MA (2009)

McGill University MA (South Asian Religions), 2006

Queen’s University (Canada) BA Honors (with distinction), 2003

McGill University MA (South Asian Religions), 2006

Queen’s University (Kingston, Canada) BA Honors (with distinction), 2003