Research Interests

Islamic studies, American Islam, hadith literature, gender studies, theories of the body, Deleuze

Professional Activities

Monographs (Partial List):

Muhammad: Forty Introductions. Berkeley: Counterpoint, 2018.

Magic in Islam. New York: Penguin Random House/Tarcher, 2016.

Why I am a Salafi. Berkeley: Soft Skull, 2015.

Why I am a Five Percenter. New York: Penguin/Tarcher, 2011.

The  Five  Percenters:  Islam,  Hip-Hop,  and  the  Gods  of  New  York.  Oxford:  Oneworld Publications, 2007.

Edited Volume Chapters:

“Islam.” In Companion to Sexuality in the Medieval West, ed. Michelle M. Sauer (ARC Humanities Press, forthcoming).

“Beware of Them Cameras: Film Representations of Malcolm X.” In Muslims in the Movies: A Global Anthology, ed. Kristian Petersen (forthcoming).

 “The  Islamic  Spirituality  of  Hip-Hop.”  In  The  Wiley  Blackwell  Companion  to  Islamic Spirituality, eds. Vincent Cornell and Bruce Lawrence (Wiley Blackwell, forthcoming).

 “The Five  Percenters.”  In  The Oxford Handbook on African American Islam, ed.  Aminah McCloud (Oxford, forthcoming).

“The Ansaaru Allah Community/ Nubian Islaamic Hebrews.” In The Oxford Handbook on African American Islam, ed. Aminah McCloud (Oxford, forthcoming).

“Islamotopia.” In Beyond Muslim Liberalism, eds. Faisal Devji and Zaheer Kasmi (Oxford, 2017).

“Ashura.” In Islamic Religious Practice in the United States, ed. Edward E. Curtis IV (New York University Press, 2017).

“Converts and Conversions.” In The Cambridge Companion to American Islam, eds. Juliane Hammer and Omid Safi (Cambridge University Press, 2013).

Encyclopedia Articles:

“Muslim Masculinities, Past and Present.” Oxford Bibliographies in Islam (forthcoming).

“The Five Percenters.” Oxford Islamic Studies Online.

“The Five Percenters.”   In The Encyclopedia of Muslim American History, ed. Edward E. Curtis IV (Facts on File, 201).

“Taqwacore.”  In  The Encyclopedia of Muslim American History,  ed.  Edward  E.  Curtis  IV (Facts on File, 2010).

Invited Lectures, Community Outreach, and Service (partial list):

Kathryn Fraser MacKay Memorial Lecture. St. Lawrence University, March 2018.

 “Islamotopia: American Exceptionalism and Muslim Reform.” Sponsored by the Islamic Studies Program, Arab and Muslim American Studies, and Digital Islamic Studies Curriculum. University of Michigan, September 2017.

Expert witness testimony. Coward v. Robinson et al. United States District Court, Western District of Virginia. August 2017.

“’I am Your Brother:’ Race, Resistance, & American Islam.” LaSalle Lectures on Religion and Culture. LaSalle University, February 2017.

“Magic in Islam.” University of Vermont, February 2017.

Expert witness testimony. Shabazz v. Lokey et al.  United States District Court, Western District of Virginia.  October 2016.

“Jesus  is”  interfaith  discussion moderator. Muslim Students Association and Cru, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. April 1, 2015.

“Examining Islamophobia,” featured lecturer. Islamophobia Teach-In Series, Muslim Students Association, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. March 5, 2015.

The Muslim Protagonist symposium, panelist. Muslim Students Association, Columbia University. February 2015.

Islam in America Colloquium, featured lecturer. Muslim Students Association, Emory University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Florida. September 2014 – February 2015.

“Faith and LGBT,” short talk and panel discussion. East Carolina University. April 7, 2014.

The Muslim Protagonist symposium, panelist. Muslim Students Association, Columbia University. February 2014.

Conference Presentations:

“’He Was of the Noble:’ Representations of Malcolm X in the Ansaaru Allah Community.” At The Legacy of Malcolm X: Afro-American Visionary, Muslim Activist. Duke University. February 21, 2015.

“Five Percenters and the Problem of Islamic Hip-Hop.” Contemporary Islam Group. American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting. San Diego, November 2014.

Panel Discussion of Amanullah De Sondy’s The Crisis of Islamic Masculinities. Men, Masculinities, and Religions Group. American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting. San Diego, November 2014.

“’His Own Self is a Righteous Muslim:’ Islam and Identity in the Five Percent.” Contemporary Islam Group. American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting. San Francisco, November 2013.

“The Five Percenters: Between Afrocentrism and Islam.” Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Conference. Harvard University. 2012.

Panel Discussion on contemporary Muslim art, music, and literature. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Conference. Harvard University. 2010.

“Death Angels and Muslim Sons: the Question of White Five Percenters.” Afro-American Religious History Group. American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting. Washington, DC., November 2006.