Islamic Studies Program at Indiana University Bloomington

The Islamic Studies Program advances critical research about Islam and the Muslim world and facilitates access to knowledge in the field for students, scholars, professionals and the general public.

About the Islamic Studies Program

Indiana University’s Islamic Studies Program has been around, in one guise or another, for decades. Beginning in 2009, the Program was reinvigorated under the leadership of Professor Kevin Jaques, who served as director until 2015. In 2010 the Program received funding from the US Department of Education to award Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships to undergraduate and graduate students during the 2010-2014 academic years and summers. Following several structural changes, we are now a program within the newly inaugurated School of Global & International Studies. Professor Ron Selawas appointed director in the summer of 2015.

The Program’s mission is first and foremost the advancement of research in all Islam-related fields. It develops and hosts a broad range of academic programs and initiatives on the Bloomington campus that enable meaningful scholarly encounters, as well as research opportunities for our students (such as scholarships that pair undergraduate students with faculty for a semester, in which the students experience first-hand what it means to conduct research as a scholar). We also offer a Certificate in Islamic Studies to undergraduates and we facilitate access to knowledge through several initiatives (an online portal under construction; partnership with DISC – Digital Islamic Studies Curriculum, etc.).

At IU, we enjoy collaboration with numerous departments, centers, and institutes. We’re especially proud of IU’s language offerings in “Islamic” languages (both Muslim majority and minority regions) that include offerings in Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Azeri, Bamana, Bengali, Bosnian, Chaghatay, Dari, French, Gujarati, Indonesian, Kazakh, Kurdish, Kyrgyz, Ottoman, Pashto, Persian, Russian, Swahili, Tajik, Tatar, Turkish, Turkmen, Urdu, Uyghur, Uzbek, and Wolof, among others. We also have Language Flagship Programs in Turkish and Arabic (as well as Chinese).

Please explore the following pages to learn more about our diverse research portfolio, faculty and students, as well as current and past projects. If you have any questions or suggestions, please write to us at islmprog@indiana.edu.

Mission

The Islamic Studies Program advances critical research about Islam and the Muslim world and facilitates access to knowledge in the field for students, scholars, professionals and the general public. The Program designs and supports curricular and collaborative initiatives and assists faculty and students in developing research projects that focus on the rich diversity of Muslim history, politics, culture, thought and practice. Relying on extensive faculty expertise and on Indiana University’s unrivaled reputation for profound linguistic and cultural training, the Program offers numerous opportunities for the study, exploration and the better understanding of Islam and Muslim peoples around the world.

Program

Advances scholarly research in all fields related to Islamic Studies, while also identifying specific themes for more focused studies;

Develops a broad range of research initiatives, academic curricula, and cultural programming on the IUB campus that enable meaningful exchanges among IU scholars and students and leading and innovative scholars from around the world and serve to inform both local and foreign constituencies and enhance their research agendas;

 Facilitates access to knowledge of Islam and the Muslim world for students, scholars, and the general public;

Supports and develops research opportunities and curricular development for undergraduate students;

Acts as the main nucleus for the scholarly study of Islam at Indiana University and as the main point of contact for national and international institutional collaboration with like-minded Islamic Studies units.

Islamic Studies Program Faculty

Indiana University has one of the largest and most diverse collections of faculty with research and professional interests in Islam and the Muslim World of any university in the United States. Currently there are over 75 professors and more than 100 graduate students who focus on Islam and the Muslim world.

Core Faculty

Asma Afsaruddin

Near Eastern Languages and Cultures

Quranic studies; hadith studies; intersection of religious and political thought; perspectives on jihad and martyrdom; Islam and religious pluralism.

Contact the Center

Address: Islamic Studies Program, Global and International Studies Building
355 North Jordan Ave.
Bloomington, IN 47405-1105

Phone: (812) 856-3977

Contact Dr. Ron Sela, Director:
rsela@indiana.edu
812-856-7017

Contact Robert Crouch, Program Manager:
rocrouch@indiana.edu
812-856-3977