Zeyneb Sayilgan, Ph.D., ICJS Muslim Scholar, shared how her own journey as an immigrant has shaped her professional interests and research. The daughter of Kurdish immigrants from Turkey growing up as a Muslim in Germany, Sayilgan often faced bigoted stereotypes and misperceptions. Interreligious engagement, therefore, has been an intrinsic part of her life from an early age.
In this conversation with Heather Miller Rubens, Ph.D., ICJS Executive Director and Roman Catholic Scholar, she shares how faith resources can inform Muslims with regards to questions of identity, belonging, integration and borders. Her journey and her perspective is valuable to people of any faith, as questions around belonging, identity, home, territorial borders, integration, and assimilation are common amongst so many of today’s marginalized communities.