Yamada International House

OHIO’s National Resource Centers Awarded SSRC Grant
Projects to promote public understanding of Islam in Africa and Southeast Asia

ATHENS, Ohio (April 25, 2008) – Polls show that Americans are deeply concerned about Islam, but know comparatively little about the religion, often mistakenly connecting the religion with negative stereotypes. For the vast majority Americans, what they know about Islam they learned from the media.

Ohio University’s African Studies and Southeast Asian Studies National Resource Centers have been awarded a joint two-year Social Science Research Council grant to develop a series of media events that will draw attention to reform and progress in the contemporary Muslim world. The goal of the project is to increase public understanding of the religion and the diversity of viewpoints that can be considered “Muslim.”

“There is an urgent need to introduce to media professionals, university educators and students the idea that there are progressive forces at work in Islamic communities around the world,” said Steve Howard, Director of the National Resource Center for African Studies.

Howard authored the grant proposal in collaboration with Elizabeth Collins, Associate Professor of Classics and World Religions and former Director of the National Resource Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

The upcoming 100th anniversary of the birth of Sudanese teacher and Islamic reformer Mahmoud Mohamed Taha (1909-1985) provided inspiration for the cooperative project. Taha is a well respected teacher and promoter of individual freedom, gender equality, and democratic values throughout the Muslim world.

Planned projects include a lecture series featuring contemporary Islamic thinkers and scholars, workshops for journalists, press conferences and a series of radio interviews.

The Mahmoud Mohamed Taha Progressive Islam Lecture Series will kick off in May with Dr. Abdullahi An-Na’im, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law from Emory University. The series will continue into next year with speakers from South Africa, Malaysia and Indonesia.  

“Academia in the Pubic Sphere: Islam and Muslims in World Contexts” is a new SSRC grant program, made possible by funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. OHIO is one of ten universities to receive funding, joining Harvard University, Indiana University, New York University, University of California at Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign, University of Minnesota and University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Click here to see past events.