Welcome!

I am an Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Religious Studies. I am currently on research leave Spring and Fall of 2026. Spring of 2026 I served as a research fellow at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.  My research interests include Islam in the United States; Islam and American Empire; religion and race; nineteenth and twentieth century Muslim history; modern Islamic intellectual history, Islamic reform movements, and Islamic theological diversity.

My monograph in progress, Dreams of a Muslim World: The Racial Geographies of Twentieth-Century Muslim Americans, traces early twentieth-century Muslim movements that emerged at the intersection of two migrations, one to the United States and one within it. By imagining a utopic Muslim world, these movements aspired to a universal Islamic identity that they believed would resolve racial inequity. My most recent article, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, is entitled "Moors, Moslems, and Maps: The Self-Naming of Twentieth-Century Muslim Americans."

I have taught a range of courses related to Islamic Studies and Religious Studies more broadly. I have a background in interfaith and educational equity work, and I am passionate about my role as an educator. I am strongly committed to the public humanities and have presented on the history of Muslims in the United States in many different contexts, including non-profits, for profit working groups, public high schools, community colleges, and universities. In my free time I enjoy reading and writing poetry, and I often incorporate poetry into my courses. You can reach me at YAF41@pitt.edu