Islam and Islamophobia

Muslims refer to the One God as Allah. In the popular imagination, the Muslim God is often perceived as alien and other than Christian and Jewish conceptions of God. Through study of the Muslim conception of God, we uncover a Qur’anic posture of interreligious dialogue that affirms sameness and difference alike.

Salat, the ritual prayer performed by Muslims five times each day, is the centerpiece of Islamic spiritual practice. What is the significance of prayer in the daily life of Muslims? How does it encapsulate the whole of Islamic tradition? What is its content, structure, and meaning? ICJS Muslim Scholar Zeyneb Sayilgan, Ph.D., led an exploration of these questions through the study of Islamic texts: the Qur’an and Hadith.

In his book, Scripture People: Salafi Muslims in Evangelical Christians’ America, ICJS Protestant Scholar Matthew D. Taylor explores the experiences of the Salafi community in America after 9/11 through a comparison with American Evangelicals. In conversation with ICJS Muslim Scholar Zeyneb Sayilgan, Matt shares his insights on this growing and morphing American Salafi movement.

What do Antisemitism and Islamophobia look like in everyday life? Can we recognize them? How do we respond when we see them? ICJS scholars Benjamin Sax and Matthew Taylor—and visiting scholar Halla Attallah—examine instances of religious bias and bigotry in our everyday lives that are sometimes subtle and go unnoticed or unconfronted.

Islam is a religion that nourishes body, heart, mind and soul. The word Islam literally means peace, surrender and submission. A Muslim is one who has made a conscious decision to freely surrender and submit to the one and only God, the creator of every thing and every being. In this online event, ICJS Muslim Scholar Zeyneb Sayilgan explained how Muslims try to embody these ideals in everyday life.