I have just returned from four months in Morocco, where I was honoured to conduct fieldwork as part of a team collecting life stories of irregular migrants 'stranded' in Morocco and Mexico on there way to the core of the modern/colonial world-system. I was also able to deepen my knowledge of irregular migration by Morcoccans to Europe and the impact of modern/colonial border policies on people living in liminal spaces such as the southern shore of the Gibraltar Strait. In the West, irregular migrants are constantly framed by the arrogant Right as 'illegal aliens' who need to be kept away, and by the condesceding Left as 'poor babies' in need of care and pity. Listening to actual migrants tell their diverse and complex life stories gives a much more nuanced perspective.

It is somewhat depressing that one still only hopes that such efforts might 'humanize' people from the modern/colonial periphery in the eyes of those living in the core. But how many people are actually willing to listen?

No matter the broader impact, some of us are deeply touched by these stories and feel incredibly honoured to have developed friendships within this fascinating population living in the margins of the world-system. Many of the migrants I have met are true heroes who have confronted incredible obstacles simply in the hope of sending enough money back home for their mothers or siblings to have access to basic necessities. May Allah give them success! 

Check out my most recent publication, an article in the Maydan:
https://themaydan.com/2021/02/decolonizing-the-left-and-the-right-muslim-mistrust-of-foxes-and-wolves/

It is an honour and pleasure to have been hired as a contract faculty member by the Department of Global Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. One course I am especially delighted to teach is Ethical Encounters, a fourth-year seminar in which we are exploring ethical challenges related to globalization. Indeed, contemporary ecological systems and human cultures are threatened with extinction. The situation is so critical that the survival of life on earth as we know it is in question. My wonderfully diverse group of  students and I are critically discussing theoretical works and case studies by scholars and activists, from diverse cultures and intellectual traditions, who are engaged in conversations about moral responsibility and global survival. Moreover, we are considering our individual positions in relation to human and non-human others in this global system, and how we can take practical steps to approach these relations more ethically. So far, I am having a blast!

My dissertation has been published online. To access it, please click here: Tradition as Flow: Decolonial Currents in the Muslim Atlantic.

Here is video 1 of 5 presenting my dissertation findings. Yes, I successfully defended my dissertation on May 26th, 2020 (al-hamdulilah). The full text of the dissertation will be published and made available online this summer (in sha Allah). In the meantime, I am publishing videos presenting my research findings. Stay posted in the coming weeks for the other 4 videos of this series. Comments and questions are welcome. Enjoy!