Saba Fatima, "The Muslim-American Problem"

Saba Fatima, "The Muslim-American Problem"
November 16, 2016 - 2:00 PM

Saba Fatima, Assistant Prof. of Philosophy, SIU Edwardsville presents:

"The Muslim-American Problem"

Public Lecture, Wed. Nov 16, 2016, 2-3:15, Cone 210. Everyone welcome!

 

Abstract: Saba Fatima writes about issues of Muslim identity in the U.S.  Her recent work includes papers analyzing the difficulty that Muslim-Americans like herself face in being considered a full part of the American public, noting that they are expected to continually profess their undying loyalty to the U.S., which includes not criticizing, for example, torture policies that affect primarily Muslims: that criticism is interpreted as disloyalty if it comes from a Muslim.  Similarly, dominant narratives insist that loyal Muslims need to work hard to police out radicals in their midst - ignoring that Muslim communities have always been very proactive in working with law enforcement.  More generally, she is concerned with Muslim-American political disenfranchisement within the current and ongoing framework of terrorism and heightened security.  She also looks at the complicated ways that Muslim women are perceived in our public life.  Most broadly, her work thus asks: what does it mean to be an American, what kind of stories to we tell ourselves about being American, and how is it possible for Muslim-Americans to write their own part of that story?  For more, read an interview with her here.

Fatima appears as part of our series on "Being Muslim in America" - for a listing of events, see the series flyer here.

For a jpg of this announcement, click here.

 

Cosponsored by a Chancellor's Diversity Grant