In the post-9/11 era, the Muslim American service member, a walking contradiction to those who believe that Islam and America are polar opposites, has emerged as yet another sign of the nation’s ultimate significance. Muslim Americans are G.I. messiahs promised to redeem American nationalism and U.S. foreign policy. This blog post explores the religious meaning of fallen Muslim service members in U.S. nationalism. Read the … Continue reading Muslim Messiahs? American Civil Religion and U.S. Military Service

The Association for the Academic Study of New Religions has announced that Edward Curtis is the first prize winner of the 2017 Thomas Robbins Award for Excellence in the Study of New Religions for his article, “Science and Technology in Elijah Muhammad’s Nation of Islam: Astrophysical Disaster, Genetic Engineering, UFOs, White Apocalypse, and Black Resurrection,” in Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, … Continue reading Curtis Wins Thomas Robbins Award

Muslims in Carmel, Indiana, have faced a lot of local opposition to their proposal to build a new Islamic center. Whatever the motivations of the opponents, I try to contribute to the debate by offering some analysis of the functions of mosques as religious congregations in the United States. “The rise of the mosque as the preeminent religious institution among Muslims in the United States,” … Continue reading “Indy Star”: What’s American about American Mosques?

Terrorism. Anti-Muslim prejudice. Sexism. Culture clash. Political controversy. These concerns have so dominated the study of Islam in the United States, according to Edward Curtis, Millennium Chair of the Liberal Arts and Professor of Religious Studies at IUPUI, that we don’t have reliable, peer-reviewed research on how Muslim Americans pray, fast, get married, or welcome a child into the world. Funded by grants from Indiana … Continue reading How do Muslim Americans Practice Islam? Scholars, Community Members Contribute to New Book

INDIANAPOLIS — Original Muslim American poetry displayed at Indianapolis’ Monument Circle. Muslim and Christian youth documenting each other’s faith communities through a joint photography exhibit. A Holocaust museum conducting Islamophobia workshops for students. An original children’s play based on Muslim folklore. Muslim youth learning how to confront anti-Muslim bias. Those are five projects that could help prevent Islamophobia in greater Indianapolis, and they will all … Continue reading Millennium Chair’s Awards to Prevent Islamophobia Announced

The 2017 Pew Research Center’s poll of U.S. Muslims released today has one overarching message: even though half the country might disagree, Muslim and non-Muslim Americans really are more similar than different. Muslim Americans may have distinct religious cultures, but the fear stoked by the election of Donald Trump is not turning Muslim Americans into more alienated citizens. They strongly identify with their fellow Americans … Continue reading “Indy Star”: Muslims proudly embrace America