Chicago Theological Seminary Names Dr. Uzma Jamil Fellow in Muslim Studies for the InterReligious Institute

CHICAGO – August 29, 2018 – Chicago Theological Seminary today announced the appointment of Dr. Uzma Jamil as Fellow in Muslim Studies for the InterReligious Institute.

Dr. Jamil’s appointment will help the seminary better intersect academia, theology, and the public square in a more profound and explicit way, working against hate, anti-Muslim bias, and the often insular nature of the work.

Jamil’s work will build on the CTS legacy of interfaith work, the groundbreaking work of Dr. Rami Nashashibi as visiting professor in Sociology of Religion & Muslim Studies, and the recent establishment of the InterReligious Institute (IRI), and will strengthen the institution’s impact in dismantling Christian privilege and anti-Muslim bias through education and activism.

“Dr. Jamil has shown extensive commitment to interfaith engagement through her research. Her background in Muslim Studies will be of great benefit not only to our faculty and students but to CTS constituencies and the community. We are delighted she will be teaching both online and face-to-face courses,” said Rev. Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder, PhD, vice president of academic affairs and academic dean. “We welcome Dr. Jamil as a Fellow in the InterReligious Institute and look forward to working closely with her over the next three years.”

As the Fellow in Muslim Studies for the InterReligious Institute, Dr. Jamil will teach courses and collaborate on programming, interfaith engagement, and research. Dr. Jamil will also co-facilitate a cohort of religiously diverse students. Her expertise in critical Muslim Studies, Islamophobia, racialization and securitization of Muslims in the war on terror will provide crucial learning opportunities for students and the wider community. This position is made possible with support from a philanthropic Muslim family and the InterReligious Institute.

“We are eager to have Dr. Jamil join us at CTS,” said Rev. Lisa N. Zook, Director of the IRI. “With her experience and knowledge, she will help shape the future of the IRI and interfaith engagement as a whole at CTS. This work necessitates leaders who can bring people together, challenge structures of discrimination and intolerance and foster meaningful interreligious engagement. I welcome her collaboration and partnership.”

Dr. Uzma Jamil’s current research focuses on how Muslims are constructed as religious and racialized minorities in the West, using a postcolonial/decolonial approach based in Critical Muslim Studies. Dr. Jamil is a sociologist with an interdisciplinary background, including a BA (magna cum laude) in International Relations from Mount Holyoke College and MA in Political Science from McGill University. She is also a Visiting Scholar at the Islamic Studies Institute at McGill University and an affiliated faculty member with the Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project at UC Berkeley. She was previously a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the International Centre for Muslim and Non-Muslim Understanding at the University of South Australia.

Dr. Jamil begins her work at CTS on September 4, 2018.