Martin Nguyen is Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Faculty Chair of Inclusive Excellence, and Director of Islamic Studies at Fairfield University. His areas of research include the Qur’an and its exegesis (tafsīr), Muslim theology, Sufism, Islamic history and the intersection of race and religion. Martin received his B.A. in Religious Studies and History from the University of Virginia and then went on to earn a Masters of Theological Studies (M.T.S.) from the Harvard Divinity School. Following this, he joined the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University where he completed a joint-program Ph.D. in Middle Eastern Studies and History. His latest book Modern Muslim Theology: Engaging God and the World with Faith and Imagination (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018) presents a contemporary theology rooted in the practice of the religious imagination. His first book Sufi Master and Qur’an Scholar: Abu’l-Qasim al-Qushayri and the Lata’if al-isharat (Oxford University Press, 2012) explores the confluence of Qur’anic exegesis, theology, and Sufism in the life of al-Qushayri, a prominent mystic and scholar of 5th/11th century Nishapur. Presently he serves on the editorial board of The Wabash Center Journal on Teaching and the monograph series The Modern Muslim World from Gorgias Press.
Kiran Tahir is an independent archival researcher. She graduated from Long Island University in the Spring of 2011 with a Masters of Science in Library and Information Science. Kiran interned at the Barnard College Archives where she was responsible for processing two related collections on the black student organization at Barnard. She was also briefly at the Hunter College Zabar Art Library helping to build their online art database. Currently, she is working as an administrator for the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation and also serves as an independent consultant assisting researchers and scholars with archival research. She is especially interested in archiving the history of Islam and Muslims in the United States.
Islamicana 