Description
The global Muslim popular culture is key to identity formation. As many young Muslims are caught between seemingly contesting national, religious and ethnic identities, we see how they have artfully fostered a third way by cultivating a global pop culture where faith emerges as the foundation of their shared identity. Through art, sports, social media, and digital technology, Muslim youth culture has inspired a global consciousness beyond state borders and national identities. Broader conversations about strengthening solidarity and cultivating third spaces for expressing their shared beliefs, creativity, and experiences have fostered a youth culture that gives new shape to what it means to be a Muslim youth today. This “ummatic” pop culture thrived under a generation of youth referred to as the September 11 generation. As the world grows increasingly interconnected, what avenues are Muslim youth exploring to nurture an ummatic youth culture, and how are these emerging transformations in global Muslim popular culture informing the identities of Muslim youth worldwide?
Dr. Kamaludeen Mohamed Nasir is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Nanyang Technological University Singapore. From 2023 to 2024, he was a Visiting Professor and the Malaysia Chair of Islam in Southeast Asia at Georgetown University. His extensive research focuses on the sociology of religion, cultural sociology, and the sociology of youth, with a particular emphasis on how young Muslims engage with popular culture and navigate their identities within the context of nationalism. Dr. Kamaludeen has authored several influential books, including Globalized Muslim Youth in the Asia Pacific and Representing Islam: Hip-Hop of the September 11 Generation, which explore the intersections of Muslim youth culture and state policies. He is finishing a book called Football and Islam: Negotiating Identity in the Global Game.
The discussion and subsequent Q&A session will be moderated by Dr. Usaama Al-Azami, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Please join us live on Saturday, October 12, 2024, at 11 AM ET.
Dr. Junaid Qadir
Junaid Qadir is a Professor of Computer Engineering at Qatar University, specializing in human-centered AI and AI ethics. He has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles in leading venues such as IEEE TPAMI, IEEE TAI, and JAIR, and has received major awards including the IEEE EMBC Prize Paper Award (2023), the Emerald Literati Outstanding Paper Award (2023), and Qatar University’s Dean’s Awards for Research (2024) and Service (2025). He co-organized the first international conference on Islamic Ethics and AI, contributed to the Lahore Declaration on Islamic AI Ethics, and has published work on Islamic virtue-based ethics for AI. Professor Qadir is an ACM Distinguished Speaker, an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer, a Senior Member of IEEE and ACM, and holds a PhD from the University of New South Wales.
