Sufism in Britain: Past, Present and Future -Dr Hafza Iqbal, Markfield Institute of Higher Education:June19,2025

 YouTube Video:

https://youtu.be/755Bm8eephs?si=88wfnYRB-WdqNC79

In this episode, Dr Hafza Iqbal (Lecturer and Course Lead for Islam and Pastoral Care, MIHE) discusses the history of Sufism in Britain, the development and beliefs of the Barelwi movement, and the future of Sufism in a digital age. Dr Hafza Iqbal is Course Leader for Islam and Pastorial Care. She completed her PhD in the field of Sufi studies and Islamic Practical Theology at Coventry University’s Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations. Prior to the commencement of her doctoral research, based on Muslim communities in contemporary Britain, she completed a Masters in Theology at the University of Birmingham and studied Islamic Theology in the faculty of Usool in Madina Institute, South Africa. Her areas of research and writing continue to be based on contemporary religious communities and the history, development and modern expressions of Sufism. She has also theorised Islamic Practical Theology and is dedicated to highlighting and using the lived experiences of contemporary Muslims to produce new, contextualised and innovative theological understandings and adding nuance and depth to contemporary theology and Islamic studies.

Markfield Institute of Higher Education:https://www.mihe.ac.uk/

Madina Institute UK:Ustadha Hafza Iqbal has a university degree from the University of Wolverhampton in "Politics and World Religions." She has spent several years studying at "Sultan Bahu Trust" in Birmingham (UK) focusing on Arabic grammar. Her passion in the study of the Islamic Sciences took her to South Africa, where she studied at the Faculty of the Madina Institute and study "Usul-Ud-Deen" where she studied under several reputable scholars like:

Aqeedah, Ulum-ul-Hadith, Usul-ul-Fiqh with Shaykh Muhammad bin Yahya al-Ninowy
Arabic with Shaykh Ameinullah Abdur-Raoof
History and Uloom Ul Hadith with Shaykh Fukhrudeen Owaisi
Tazkiyyah with Shaykh Seeraj Hendericks
Hanafi and Shafi Fiqh, and Usool with Mufit Haroon al Azhari, Shaykh Ibrahim Moos and Shaykh Ahmad Saad al-Azhari

https://www.madinainstitute.org/instructors/ustadha-hafza-iqbal/

"Interactions with Sufi scholars throughout my teens including Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi, Habib Khadim, Shaykh Babikr Ahmad, culminating into the initiation into the Rifa’i Qadiri Sufi order at the hands of Shaykh Muhammad an-Ninowy in my early twenties. And the subsequent work with Sufi organisations and their 33  community outreach projects including the Zawiyyah Foundation and Madina Institute UK."Source: Hafza Iqbal'sPh.D Thesis pdf 

Hafza Iqbal's Ph.D Thesis:Sufi Hybrids: Theorising Islamic Practical Theology An Exploration of Sufism in Contemporary Britain:Coventry University 2023

https://pure.coventry.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/85044367/Iqbal2023PhD.pdf

Muslims in the Neoliberal Empire - Tea Over Books with Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad & Dr William Barylo: Cambridge Muslim College- Jan7,2026

 YouTube Video:

https://youtu.be/viY0DplG2BA?si=h2OzFebokTRxMIyQ

Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad sits down with Dr William Barylo to discuss his latest book, Muslims in the Neoliberal Empire, exploring questions of community, leadership, and responsibility, with particular attention to the role of grassroots initiatives, the evolving function of mosques, and the social and ethical challenges facing Muslim communities today. The discussion also considers the impact of modern political, economic, and technological pressures, including the rise of influencer culture and emerging technologies.

Amazon:British Muslims in the Neoliberal Empire: Resisting, Healing, and Flourishing in the Metacolonial Era (Oxford British Muslim Studies): William Barylo

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0198924941?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

More than twenty years after 9/11, what has changed for Muslims in the West? From the occupation of lands, the world has entered a new era: the occupation of minds. State strategies have evolved to offer a dangerous gamble to people from post-colonial diasporas: remain at the margins or silently blend-in for the sake of an illusory liberation. From power-hungry Muslim politicians in elite private clubs to politically apathetic social media influencers, multi-million-pound neo-colonial 'humanitarian' charities, Muslim far-right sympathisers, and Muslim white supremacists, this new form of colonialism - Metacolonialism - has effectively turned the oppressed into the new oppressors. Under the promise of financial stability and representation, it has effectively put God for sale at the cost of people's culture, ethics, identity, and faith.
However, in the wake of the new Roaring Twenties marked by social justice movements, Muslims in Britain have crafted creative responses inspired by their faith in order to resist, heal and flourish despite minimal resources and support. Informal and independent from institutions, they have established pioneering alternatives in the fields of mental health, community organizing, the protection of the environment, heritage, the arts, and more. Since leadership divides, they have undertaken a duty of stewardship: considering the world and humanity as one ecosystem that one needs to care for future generations. This work is both a diagnosis and a toolbook looking at the initiatives that reshape public debates and offer working ideas for building a fair and just society.
William Barylo, Research Fellow, Sociology Department, University of Warwick
William Barylo is a Sociologist and visual artist using film and photography to explore issues around race, class, gender and belief through the perspective of decoloniality, restorative justice and stewardship. He looks at how grassroots initiatives in Europe and North America navigate societal challenges and find ways to resist, heal and flourish. Committed to diverting power from the ivory tower and developing practical solutions through his research findings, he co-creates fictions, documentaries and experimental works with community artists and activists.

 Dr William Barylo's Website:https://williambarylo.com/

YouTube Video:Did I make a mistake when choosing Islam? Pt1: Dr William Barylo - Faith & Sociology-April 28,2023

https://youtu.be/wssALO1HXbU?si=sHADL8937scEsYt_

YouTube Video:My Journey to Islam Pt.2 – Love & Hate Reactions: Dr William Barylo - Faith & Sociology -April28,2023

https://youtu.be/Fo2u-r6WVKE?si=NPm98q1jUNM-KVlW

YouTube Video:Polish Muslims: an unexpected meeting - full documentary: Light Inc. by William Barylo

https://youtu.be/mhVDtIuXfVg?si=qBOMU8QEwLUVolcP

Dec 12, 2014, Documentary about Muslims in Poland shot in Warsaw, Katowice, Bialystok, and the Tatar villages of Bohoniki and Kruszyniany.

Amazon:Young Muslim Change-Makers: William Barylo

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1138054151?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

The Muslim charity sector is stronger than ever, attracting thousands of volunteers and millions of pounds in donations. In times of mobile internet and social media, young people have set up small scale charities in urban areas, providing general social services to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Breaking away from bureaucratic non-governmental organisations and traditional faith-based charities, these smaller local associations are an attractive alternative to young people.
This book offers an exploration of the Muslim charity sector, from multi-million pound NGOs to discrete grassroots charities who are quietly giving rise to the next generation of Muslim entrepreneurs, scholars, politicians and other influencers. From studies of eleven charities across France, Poland and the UK, it investigates key questions around this young and dynamic movement. What motivates these young Muslim volunteers? What shapes the socially-engaged behaviour of young Muslims? What is the place and the role of Islam in their involvement and commitment to their causes? What social impact do these organisations have in their local area? How do they understand religion, faith, participation and citizenship? What challenges do they face and how do they overcome these? The book also examines how these grassroots are successful in helping to prevent extremism, curb Islamophobia and challenge colonialism.
The analysis of these small, local and original initiatives is fundamental in understanding the role of religiosity for these younger generations who are trying to articulate their multiple identities, cultures and traditions in a modern, secular society. Rich, detailed and vivid, the booksheds new lights on a popular field of research, unveiling exclusive key information on the subject of young European Muslims.

YouTube Video:The Empire Within: Muslim Subjectivity and the Umma: Ummatics and Dr William Barylo - Faith & Sociology-May 30,2026

https://youtu.be/xr0PdCLlRfE?si=O701jnFS76YoVWe_

Muslim life in the West has often been examined through the visible structures that shape belonging: state policy, surveillance, institutional regulation, and public debates over integration. Yet some of the most powerful forms of domination today may no longer operate primarily from above, but from within: through culture, aspiration, consumption, and the internalization of dominant norms. If colonial power once governed through direct rule, what happens when it begins to shape how Muslims understand themselves, relate to one another, and imagine their place in the world? This session explores that question by examining how contemporary forms of power shape Muslim subjectivity and collective life in Euro-American contexts. Moving beyond classical accounts of colonial domination, the discussion introduces the concept of “metacolonialism” to describe a more diffuse system of control that operates through neoliberal values, social conformity, and the pressures of legitimacy. At the same time, it asks whether localized forms of resistance—community organizing, alternative spaces, and practices of healing and renewal—can move beyond survival toward a broader horizon of collective agency. In this context, the deeper question emerges: can the Umma still be imagined not only as a shared identity, but as a meaningful form of social and political organization? Dr. William Barylo (@williambarylo) is a scholar of Muslim communities, decolonial thought, and political sociology, with research focused on the intersections of coloniality, neoliberalism, race, and Muslim collective life in contemporary Europe. His recent book, British Muslims in the Neoliberal Empire: Resisting, Healing, and Flourishing in the Metacolonial Era (Oxford University Press, 2025), examines how Muslim communities navigate structures of domination while creating alternative spaces of belonging, resistance, and renewal. His work brings together critical theory and grounded ethnographic engagement to rethink the possibilities of Muslim agency in the present. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Hamdija Begovic.

A Muslim American Slave: The Life of Omar Ibn Said:Omar Ibn Said (Author), Ala Alryyes (Editor)

 Amazon:A Muslim American Slave: The Life of Omar Ibn Said:Omar Ibn Said (Author), Ala Alryyes (Editor) https://www.amazon.com/dp/146967467X?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

Born to a wealthy family in West Africa around 1770, Omar Ibn Said was abducted and sold into slavery in the United States, where he came to the attention of a prominent North Carolina family after filling “the walls of his room with piteous petitions to be released, all written in the Arabic language,” as one local newspaper reported. Ibn Said soon became a local celebrity, and in 1831 he was asked to write his life story, producing the only known surviving American slave narrative written in Arabic.
In A Muslim American Slave, scholar and translator Ala Alryyes offers both a definitive translation and an authoritative edition of this singularly important work, lending new insights into the early history of Islam in America and exploring the multiple, shifting interpretations of Ibn Said’s narrative by the nineteenth-century missionaries, ethnographers, and intellectuals who championed it.
This edition presents the English translation on pages facing facsimile pages of Ibn Said’s Arabic narrative, augmented by Alryyes’s comprehensive introduction, contextual essays and historical commentary by leading literary critics and scholars of Islam and the African diaspora, photographs, maps, and other writings by Omar Ibn Said. The result is an invaluable addition to our understanding of writings by enslaved Americans and a timely reminder that “Islam” and “America” are not mutually exclusive terms.
This edition presents the English translation on pages facing facsimile pages of Ibn Said’s Arabic narrative, augmented by Alryyes’s comprehensive introduction and by photographs, maps, and other writings by Omar Ibn Said. The volume also includes contextual essays and historical commentary by literary critics and scholars of Islam and the African diaspora: Michael A. Gomez, Allan D. Austin, Robert J. Allison, Sylviane A. Diouf, Ghada Osman, and Camille F. Forbes. The result is an invaluable addition to our understanding of writings by enslaved Americans and a timely reminder that “Islam” and “America” are not mutually exclusive terms.
Best Books for General Audiences, selected by the American Association of School Librarians

Review:
This "autobiography of a Muslim slave is challenging an American narrative."--PBS Newshour "An indispensable introduction to the writing and world of Omar Ibn Said, whose Arabic slave narrative, masterfully translated and contextualized here, challenges our every assumption about American literature."--Keith Cartwright, University of North Florida"Expertly introduced, edited, and translated from the Arabic by Ala Alryyes, A Muslim American Slave: The Life of Omar Ibn Said offers the fullest historical, cultural, linguistic, and religious contexts for an understanding of this fascinating American slave narrative."--Werner Sollors, Harvard University"This critical study will enrich any undergraduate and graduate seminar on slavery, religion, literary resistance, and the development of an African American Islamic tradition under slavery."--H-Net Reviews"A rich exploration into the history of Islam and slavery in America."--Library Journal"In 'A Muslim American Slave,' Mr. Alryyes's excellent commentary is accompanied by other scholarly essays that examine Ibn Said's West African homeland and Michael Gomez's history of the antebellum influx of Muslim slaves to the United States. The reader gleans a sense not only of Omar Ibn Said but also of the historical forces that shaped him."--The Wall Street Journal
From the Publisher
Ala Alryyes is associate professor of comparative literature and English at Yale. He is author of Original Subjects: The Child, the Novel, and the Nation. He lives in Brooklyn.

YouTube Video:Conversation on the Omar Ibn Said Collection: Library of Congress - Feb27,2019

https://youtu.be/afSiWmkVAg8?si=ZiwjMOBPHsZ_GYEX

Scholars discussed the autobiography of Omar Ibn Said, the only known autobiography by a slave written in Arabic in the United States. It is a historically unique and important primary source for those trying to understand the connections between the Muslim communities in Western Africa and the slaves who continued to practice Islamic faith after being captured during the Atlantic slave trade. 

Speaker Biography: Mary Jane Deeb is chief of the African and Middle Eastern division at the Library of Congress. Speaker Biography: Ala Alryyes is a visiting associate professor of English, Queens College, CUNY. Speaker Biography: Sylviane A. Diouf is a visiting professor at Brown University. Speaker Biography: Adam Rothman is professor of history at Georgetown University.

Amazon:I Cannot Write My Life: Islam, Arabic, and Slavery in Omar ibn Said's America: Mbaye Lo, Carl W. Ernst 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/146967467X?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

Omar ibn Said (1770–1863) was a Muslim scholar from West Africa who spent more than fifty years enslaved in the North Carolina household of James Owen, brother of Governor John Owen. In 1831 Omar composed a brief autobiography, the only known narrative written in Arabic by an enslaved person in North America, and he became famous for his Arabic writings. His enslavers also provided him with an Arabic Bible and claimed Omar as a convert to Christianity, prompting wonder and speculation among amateur scholars of Islam, white slave owners, and missionaries. But these self-proclaimed experts were unable or unwilling to understand Omar’s writings, and his voice was suppressed for two centuries.
Mbaye Lo and Carl W. Ernst here weave fresh and accurate translations of Omar’s eighteen surviving writings, for the first time identifying his quotations from Islamic theological texts, correcting many distortions, and providing the fullest possible account of his life and significance. Placing Omar at the center of a broader network of the era’s literary and religious thought, Lo and Ernst restore Omar’s voice, his sophisticated engagement with Islamic and Christian theologies, his Arabic skills, and his extraordinary efforts to express himself and exert agency despite his enslavement.

YouTube Video:What is the autobiography of Omar ibn Said?: The Sohaib and Sara Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies, Stanford University -Jan 23,2023

https://youtu.be/k_HUDTls7lY?si=yiG0ukk9QHrtH0oY

Omar ibn Said (1770-1863), a Muslim scholar, was captured in West Africa and sold into slavery in America, where he spent over half a century enslaved to a prominent North Carolina family. He left behind a small collection of documents in Arabic that have remained poorly understood to this day. This presentation, based on the first critical edition of Omar’s Arabic writings, analyzes the longest of these documents , his 1831 “Autobiography.” Why did he announce twice, at the beginning of this document, "I cannot write my life"? What is the significance of his quotations from Islamic theological and mystical texts, which have escaped notice until now? These and other questions will be addressed, as part of a major reassessment of this important witness to the presence of Islam and Arabic at the beginning of Americas history. 

 Speakers:Carl Ernst: Professor Emeritus & William R. Kenan, Jr., Distinguished Professor; Co-Director, UNC Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies; Associate Professor of the Practice of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Duke University 

Mbaye Lo: Associate Professor of the Practice of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Duke University

Sufi Master and Qur'an Scholar: Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri and the Lata'if al-isharat: Dr.Martin Nguyen

 Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Sufi-Master-Quran-Scholar-al-Qushayr/dp/0197265138

This book is the first extensive examination of the medieval Qur'an commentary known as the Lata'if al-isharat and the first critical biography of its author, the famous spiritual master Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri. Written in 5th/11th century Nishapur, an intellectual and cultural crossroads of the Muslim world, the Lata'if al-isharat has endured down through the centuries as an important work of Sufi exegesis. A mystical vision of reality is taught through its line-by-line treatment of the Qur'an as its author was writing as both a Sufi teacher and scholar. This study fully investigates al-Qushayri's life and historical horizon and carefully analyses the structure and method of the commentary. The primary aim of the book is to draw greater attention to the other traditions of exegesis that inform the Sufi approach of the Lata'if al-isharat, an understudied feature of many Sufi commentaries in general. In the case of this commentary, scholarly and pedagogical concerns for language, prophetic sayings, law and theology are interwoven into al-Qushayri's overarching mystical exegesis. Other important aspects of the author's intellectual identity and education clearly influenced the formation of al-Qushayri's Sufi worldview and as a consequence his interpretation of God's word. By delineating these other traditions of exegesis mentioned in al-Qushayri's biography and embedded in his Lata'if al-isharat, we can better appreciate how he and his commentary were part of a wider Sunni historical heritage in addition to the developing Sufi tradition.
Review:
"The detailed analyses and the vast cumulative data presented in Nguyen's work have produced a fresh, original, thorough and well-articulated book. It has the potential to become one of the main textbooks in the study of Sufism as well as, more generally, in the fields of hermeneutics and medieval Muslim culture." --Sara Sviri, Department of Arabic and Department of Comparative Religions, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
"This excellent book is the first in-depth study in English of one of the monuments of Sufi Qur'an commentary, the Lata'if al-isharat of Abu'l-Qasim al-Qushayr?. Clearly written and well-annotated throughout, this timely study brings to light some important and hitherto unexplored aspects of the celebrated Sufi theologian Nishapur." --Annabel Keeler, Wolfson College, University of Cambridge
About the Author:
Dr. Martin Nguyen is Assistant Professor of Islamic Religious Traditions at Fairfield University, CT.

Website: Dr.Martin Nguyen, Scholar. Professor. Bibliophile. Theologian.

https://drmartinnguyen.com/

PDF:Laṭāʾif al-Ishārāt: Subtle Allusions:Sūras 1–4 -Abū l-Qāsim ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Qushayrī -Translated by Kristin Zahra Sands - Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought

https://rissc.jo/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Abul-Qasim-al-Qushayris-Lataif-al-Isharat-ebook.pdf

Book Review:Sufi Master and Qur'an Scholar: Ab ul-Qasim al-Qushayri and the Lata'if al-isharat: Dr.Martin Nguyen by Francesco Chiabotti Teaching and Research Temporary Attaché, The Institute for Research and Studies on the Arab and Muslim World (IREMAM) Aix-Marseille Université de Provence, France

https://distantreader.org/stacks/journals/ajiss/ajiss-962.pdf

PDF:Al-Tafsīr al-kabīr: An Investigation of al-Qushayrī’s Major Qur’an Commentary: Martin Nguyen Fairfield University USA

https://islamicana.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/martin-nguyen-al-tafsir-al-kabir-jss.pdf

Abstract: The mystic and scholar of Nishapur, Abū l-Qāsim al-Qushayrī, is widely acclaimed for his important treatise on the Sufiji Path, al-Risāla, and his Sufiji commentary of the Qur’an, Laṭāʾif al-ishārāt. However, a commentary composed during his early career has been largely overlooked despite its wide attestation in the biographical literature. Called al-Tafsīr al-kabīr or “the Major Commentary,” this work may only survive in manuscript form. At the center of the present study are two manuscripts from Leiden and Istanbul that appear to partially preserve Qushayrī’s earliest work of Qur’anic exegesis. By examining the various authorities cited in the text and cross-referencing relevant works, this study works to date the commentary of each text, to identify their respective commentarial influences and authorities, and to draw possible conclusions concerning how the manuscripts relate to one another and ultimately to Qushayrī, the alleged author.

A Cartography of Love: In Malcolm, with Malcolm, and through Malcolm I Martin Nguyen:Bridges of Virtues,Unity Productions Foundation- August4,2026

 YouTube Video: Malcolm X & the Virtue of Love

https://youtu.be/WolO0brI5rI?si=pXfeqXZmDT6WvldL

What if Malcolm X’s life was not simply a story of political awakening, but a profound spiritual journey shaped by love, imagination, and the search for God? In this feature interview with Bridges of Virtue, Martin Nguyen—Professor of Religious Studies at Fairfield University and a scholar of Islam, theology, storytelling, and the religious imagination—offers a fresh reading of Malcolm X’s life and legacy. Moving beyond familiar narratives of activism and racial justice, Nguyen explores how Malcolm’s intellectual and spiritual evolution reveals a deeper map of human transformation. Through the lenses of Islamic thought, memory, and moral imagination, the conversation examines Malcolm X as a figure whose life traced a path from anger to compassion, from certainty to openness, and from division toward a more expansive vision of human dignity. Together, we reflect on the role of faith, storytelling, and love in reshaping both individual lives and collective futures. This conversation invites viewers to reconsider Malcolm X not only as a revolutionary leader, but as a spiritual seeker whose journey continues to illuminate the possibilities of transformation today. Martin Nguyen is a Professor of Religious Studies at Fairfield University engaged in and committed to the work of Islam, theology, storytelling, and the religious imagination. Support our mission by: Subscribing ► @UPFTVWATCH Donating ► https://tinyurl.com/7dnxvcdn Learning more ► https://www.upf.tv 

Host: Abdul-Rehman Malik is an award winning journalist, educator and cultural organizer. Since June 2019 he has been Lecturer and Associate Research Scholar at the Yale Divinity School. He also serves as the Program Coordinator at Yale University’s Council on Middle East Studies & Director of the Muslim Leadership Lab, an innovative student leadership program being incubated at the Dwight Hall Center of Social Justice at Yale.

https://about.me/abdulrehmanmalik

Professor Martin Nguyen's Website:

https://drmartinnguyen.com/

Bridges of Virtues-Brochure PDF:Unity Productions Foundation:How Islam, the Abrahamic Faiths, and Philosophy Illuminate Love 

https://www.upf.tv/wp-content/uploads/sites/196/2025/09/Bridges-of-Virtue-Classroom-Guide.pdf

YouTube Video:The Life and Legacy of Malcolm X :: with Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah and Imam Zaid Shakir-Ta'leef Collective January 18,2015

Ta'leef Collective presents, in its entirety, a lecture given by Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah and Imam Zaid Shakir on the life and legacy of our beloved leader and teacher Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz).

https://youtu.be/dtpITUa8t2k?si=HR73bSRPOmupirAF

The Qur'an and the Just Society - Dr. Ramon Harvey: Centre for Islamic Knowledge-July,2024

 YouTube Video:

https://youtu.be/XNZlEkMXwL8?si=-NtdoyHsOGgIYamu

Dr. Ramon Harvey is Aziz Foundation Lecturer in Islamic Studies at Cambridge Muslim College where he teaches Revealed Foundations on the BA in Islamic Studies. He received his MA and Ph.D. in Islamic studies from SOAS, University of London. His research focuses on Qur’anic studies, philosophical theology, and ethics, both studying the intellectual history of these disciplines and making his own contemporary interventions. Dr. Harvey’s first book, The Qur’an and the Just Society, was published by Edinburgh University Press in 2018. His latest book is Transcendent God, Rational World: A Maturidi Theology (Edinburgh University Press, 2021). It is a work of contemporary Muslim theology, drawing substantially on the Maturidi tradition (especially its eponym Abu Mansur al-Maturidi), as well as modern analytic and continental philosophy. He is also a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Comparative Islamic Studies and the series editor of the Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Scripture and Theology. Alongside his academic training, he has spent several years studying with traditionally trained Islamic scholars in the UK, has attended an intensive programme at Al-Azhar in Cairo, graduated from the Al-Salam Institute Islamic Scholarship Programme and was awarded the shahada al-‘alimiyya (Licence in Islamic Scholarship) under the supervision of Shaykh Mohammad Akram Nadwi.

Amazon:The Qur'an and the Just Society: Ramon Harvey (Author), M.A.S. Abdel Haleem (Foreword)

https://www.amazon.com/Quran-Just-Society-Ramon-Harvey/dp/1474403298

What is justice? How can it be realised within society? These are universal concerns and are central to the primary scripture of Islam, the Qur’an. Utilising a pioneering theological and hermeneutic framework adapted from both classical Muslim literature and contemporary academic studies of the Qur’an, Ramon Harvey explores the underlying principles of its system of social justice. Dividing his book into four parts, he covers Qur’anic Ethics, Political Justice (politics, peace, war), Distributive Justice (fair trade, alms, marriage, inheritance) and Corrective Justice (public and private crimes). His reading of the Qur’an reconstructs the text as normatively engaging these spheres of justice in their socio-historical context and lays the foundations for future contemporary articulations of Qur’anic ethics.

Review:
An excellent book, clear, comprehensive, and well-argued throughout...for anyone interested in this aspect of the Qur’an this monograph is going to be an important addition to the literature...If the book has one merit above others, and it has many merits, it is in the close reading that Harvey gives to the text and the very varied sources of interpretation on which he draws; it really is an exercise in hermeneutic virtuosity. -- Oliver Leaman, University of Kentucky ― Journal of Qur’anic Studies

This is a very significant study of the Qur’an… Insightful and timely, it leads the reader on an exploratory journey through the various manifestations of the objective of divine scripture, "so that people may uphold justice". ― M. Abdel Haleem, School of Oriental and African Studies

Book Review:The Qur'an and the Just Society:Arnold Yasin Mol -The Maydan-Sept4,2019

https://themaydan.com/2019/09/book-review-the-quran-and-the-just-society-by-ramon-harvey-part-i-reviewed-by-arnold-yasin-mol/

Amazon:Justice in Islam: New Ethical Perspectives: Ramon Harvey, Daniel Tutt 

https://www.amazon.com/Justice-Islam-New-Ethical-Perspectives/dp/1642056561

From its roots in the Qur’an and the life of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) to its branches in contemporary political and social movements, Islam has always been concerned with the question of social justice. The promise of a just order on earth has motivated both the reflections of the community of scholars and the actions of Muslims who have striven to realize it within their societies. Despite the disappointments that history has often delivered, the hope for justice remains undimmed as does the struggle to achieve it today. This concise volume focuses on some of the ways that the theme of justice is explored in emerging currents of Islamic thought. Chapters discuss new theological and ethical proposals in the light of contemporary philosophical developments; ideas of gender justice that provoke a reformist challenge to the received tradition; and regional contexts, such as Turkey, Iran and Japan, in which the question of Islam’s relationship to justice is sharpened by the particularities of history and locale. The contributions to this collection raise the prospect that if justice can be imagined more perfectly as an Islamic ideal, perhaps it can be brought into reality.

Ramon Harvey, Ed. (Aziz Foundation Lecturer in Islamic Studies, Cambridge Muslim College) works in the fields of Qur’anic studies, theology, and ethics, both as an intellectual historian and theologian. He is the author of The Qur’an and the Just Society (2018) and Transcendent God, Rational World: A Māturīdī Theology (2021), which are published by Edinburgh University Press. He is also the editor of the monograph series Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Scripture and Theology. He earned his doctorate from SOAS, University of London. 

Daniel Tutt, Ed. (Lecturer in Philosophy, George Washington University) works on continental philosophy, contemporary social and political movements, Islamic thought and psychoanalysis. His forthcoming book is entitled Psychoanalysis and the Politics of the Family: The Crisis of Initiation and will be published in the Palgrave Lacan Series in 2022. His writing has been published in Philosophy Now, The Islamic Monthly and Crisis and Critique, among other publications. He teaches philosophy at George Washington University, Marymount University and has taught inmates through the Georgetown University Prisons and Justice Initiative.

Daniel Tutt's Website: https://danieltutt.com/

Daniel Tutt, Producer & Director of Programs, Unity Productons Foundation

https://www.upf.tv/about-upf/upf-team/daniel-tutt/

PDF: Justice in Islam: New Ethical Perspectives:Ramon Harvey, Daniel Tutt

https://ramonharvey.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/justice-in-islam-new-ethical-perspectives-harvey-and-tutt.pdf

Modern Muslim Theology:Engaging God and the World with Faith and Imagination- Dr. Martin Nguyen (CICW Book Talks): CICW Media-April 10,2020

 YouTube Video:

https://www.youtube.com/live/2MUdXva5j68?si=z_wkW5CY5D6fJ9sL

Dr. Martin Nguyen (Professor of Islamic Studies at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut, USA) is interviewed about his latest book, "Modern Muslim Theology: Engaging God and the World with Faith and Imagination." This book aims to bring Muslim theology into the present day. Focused on the relationship of the human to the divine and of faith to righteousness, the book presents a new theological vision rooted in the practice of the religious imagination. Rather than a purely academic pursuit, Modern Muslim Theology argues that theology is a creative process and discusses how the Islamic tradition can help contemporary practitioners negotiate their relationships with God, with one another, and with the rest of creation. Center for Islam in the Contemporary World (CICW) at Shenandoah University is a non-profit, 501(c)(3), tax-exempt private foundation, affiliated with Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia, USA. You can learn more about CICW at https://www.contemporaryislam.org/.

Host: Ermin Sinanović: Executive Director of the Center for Islam in the Contemporary World (CICW) at Shenandoah University. 

Website of Ermin Sinanović: Scholarship and Policy analysis:The Muslim world
https://www.erminsinanovic.com/

Amazon:Modern Muslim Theology: Engaging God and the World with Faith and Imagination- Martin Nguyen 

https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Muslim-Theology-Engaging-Imagination/dp/153811500X

his book aims to bring Muslim theology into the present day. Focused on the relationship of the human to the divine and of faith to righteousness, the book presents a new theological vision rooted in the practice of the religious imagination. Rather than a purely academic pursuit, Modern Muslim Theology argues that theology is a creative process and discusses how the Islamic tradition can help contemporary practitioners negotiate their relationships with God, with one another, and with the rest of creation. The book re-conceptualizes key religious ideas, symbols, and rites - like revelation, tradition, and prayer - in order to develop an engaged approach to Islam that simultaneously fosters faith and enacts righteousness in the modern world. The theological framework developed within draws widely from the intellectual and spiritual traditions of Islam that stretch from the religion's prophetic past up to the present. With the aim of making the work of theology accessible to all, Modern Muslim Theology uses vivid narratives and evocative images of famous religious personalities, sacred sites, and aspects of everyday life to explore and define concepts central for a theology of engagement.
Review:
“Muslim theology has traditionally been understood as involving doctrines and beliefs, as emphasizing the conceptual and cognitive aspects of the faith. Nguyen (Fairfield Univ.) considers Muslim theology in a different way. He understands it as encompassing all aspects of a believer’s life―the intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual elements. He believes Muslim theology should lead people to see their lives as an ongoing response to God involving active engagement with others and society. Nguyen looks at prayer, the Koran, imagination, creativity, Muslim tradition, prostration before God, righteousness in words and actions, and protest. He intends this book for both laypersons and scholars, since he believes that theology should address all believers and not just a small, elite segment of them. Nguyen's fresh approach makes Islam relevant to the present time, in which people are influenced by postmodernism and need to see faith in action and not simply through its doctrines and ideas. Nguyen likely will encounter resistance and criticism from other Muslim scholars, but his creative vision for theology may well have significant influence.
Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers.” ―Choice Reviews
“Informed by his deep reading of scripture and the Islamic tradition, as well as his grounding in the academic study of religion, Nguyen offers a theology that is of interest to academics as well as to people of faith, and to those who wish to learn more about Islam regardless of their orientation.” ―Zayn Kassam, Pomona College
“Nguyen successfully inhabits the pastoral voice―the book is as much an intellectual and spiritual reflection as a motivating call to action.” ―Mairaj Syed, University of California, Davis
“This is a courageous and bold voice which brings together the layers of tradition and worship in an engaged conversation on the topic of theological ethics. Learned as well as accessible, Martin Nguyen shows how a lived Islam reflects the ethical life Muslims around the world as well as in America practice and cherish. It is a fascinating search of a scholar and an engaged participant for a Muslim ethical narrative in late modernity.” ―Ebrahim Moosa, professor of Islamic Studies, University of Notre Dame
From the Back Cover:
This book aims to bring Muslim theology into the present day. Rather than a purely academic pursuit, Modern Muslim Theology argues that theology is a creative process and discusses how the Islamic tradition can help contemporary practitioners negotiate their relationships with God, with one another, and with the rest of creation.
About the Author:
Martin Nguyen is Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Faculty Chair for Diversity, and Director of Islamic Studies at Fairfield University. His work revolves around the Qur'an and its interpretation, theology and ethics, Sufism, and the intersection of race and religion.

PDF: Book Review:Faraz Sheikh Assistant Professor of Religious Ethics College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/file:///Users/User/Downloads/Modern+Muslim+Theology-Engaging+God+and+the+World+with+Faith+and+Imagination+(by+Martin+Nguyen).pdf

PDF: Book Review:Amani Khelifa -Journal of Islamic Faith and Practice | Vol. 4, Issue 1

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Article PDF:Faith-Rooted Thinking on Matters of Public Concern: A Muslim Response to William L. Sachs :Martin Nguyen 

https://www.anglicantheologicalreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Nguyen_102.2.pdf

Article: Could the Kaaba Represent Tradition? Martin Nguyen - Renovatio, The Journal of Zaytuna College-Feb6,2018

https://renovatio.zaytuna.edu/article/could-the-kaaba-represent-tradition

"Today, many avenues exist for Muslim communities to pursue the pressing theological questions they face. Unsurprisingly, the doors of possibility opened by the imagination are manifold. Past generations found theological recourse in scholastic theology and in the rhetoric of eschatology. They found it in deep readings of the word of God. They found it in art, poetry, and sacred spaces. They found it in transformative experiences and pious pursuits of many varieties. By what routes of the imagination can theologies be crafted that respond most faithfully and effectively to the religious expectations, lived realities, and salvific aspirations of communities of faith today? Or phrased differently, where will our traditions take us and where will we take our traditions?"