Dedicated to the Academic Research on Islam
News and Events
The 54th Annual Conference of the
North American Association of Islamic and
Muslim Studies (NAAIMS)
“Islam and AI: Challenges and opportunities”
Thursday, November 20, 2025
Cosponsored by:
Department of Romance and Arabic Languages and Literature
University of Cincinnati, OH
A Virtual Conference on Zoom
All Sessions held in Eastern Standard Time (UTC-05:00)
Deadlines:
Abstracts: July 11, 2025
Final Papers: October 20, 2025
- NAAIMS 3rd Bi-Annual University Lecture To be Announced (April 2025)
- Name Change: Welcome to our newly designed and updated website. After our name change (in 2013) to the North American Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies (NAAIMS), we began a restructuring phase, including a rebranded logo, updated literature, and this new website. Under our former name "AMSS," only the social sciences and Muslim scholars were highlighted. Actually, the themes of our conferences and lectures went beyond the social sciences, while our membership, conference participants, and board of directors included non-Muslims. Our new name accurately reflects the organization's broad appeal and identifies and amplifies the true legacy of the organization's interdisciplinary forum.
- Journals:
- NAAIMS launched the Journal of Islamic and Muslim Studies (JIMS) in May 2016, a double-blind peer-reviewed bi-annual production, published by Indiana University Press (IUP).
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- The publication is included in the journal archives of Johns Hopkins’ Project Muse’ “premium collection,” an online collection of authoritative humanities and social sciences journals. Project Muse is available online to universities, libraries and educational institutions across the globe.
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- Each issue includes five sections to help disseminate knowledge from interdisciplinary perspectives regarding Islam and the Muslim world: Scholarly Research Papers; Book Reviews; Film Reviews; Discussion and Debate Forum; and Conference Reports. For more details click here
- Academic Awards Program: This program, which includes an Annual Research Travel Grant, Annual Best Graduate Research Paper Awards Competition, and Doctoral Scholarship Program, is contingent upon funding. Application forms for each award will be available and announced on this website when funding becomes available. For more information about these three awards, click here.
- Donations: NAAIMS is a 501.c.3 Tax-Exempt Organization: Your donations help foster our interdisciplinary forum encouraging scholarship on Islam and the study of Muslim societies and identities and their relationship to Islamic traditions.
Mission Statement
The North American Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies (NAAIMS) is an organization whose mission is to provide a forum for the production and dissemination of academic research on Islam and the diverse lived experience of Muslims. Its conferences, lectures, award programs, research activities, and publications promote reflective and analytical studies about Islam and Muslim societies through the disciplines of the social sciences and humanities. NAAIMS pursues scholarship in an academic setting to provide a deeper and greater understanding of Islam and Muslims.
Goals & Objectives
The goals and objectives include, but are not limited to:
Providing an interdisciplinary forum for excellence in research and publications relating to the study of Islam and Muslim societies;
Encouraging the study of gender issues and alternative perspectives in the Muslim experience;
Providing critical, reflective, and rigorous scholarship;
Approaching the understanding of Islam as a diverse and global phenomenon;
Providing a platform for academic studies to encourage discussion and debate about Islam and the experience of Muslims from an interdisciplinary perspective; and
Encouraging the study of Muslim identities and their relationship to Islamic traditions.
Introduction
The North American Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies (NAAIMS), formerly the Association of Muslim Social Scientists of North America (AMSS), is an independent non-profit 501.c.3 tax-exempt membership-based academic organization run by a board of directors elected every two years. The organization encompasses the United States and Canada and is open to all scholars dedicated to promoting the study of Islam, the diverse lived experience of Muslims, and Muslim societies. It was established in 1972 by North American Muslim scholars as an academic forum to debate social issues relating to the study of Islam and Muslim experiences from an Islamic perspective. It developed a unique space for academics in the interdisciplinary subject areas within Islamic and Muslim studies. Through its conferences co-sponsored solely by universities, it created a unique niche in academia, encouraging the study of Islam and Islamic studies, which was unrivaled by other Muslim organizations. It organized and instituted university co-sponsored conferences, a lecture series in the United States and Canada, and an academic awards program beginning with the Best Graduate Paper Awards Competition in 2001. The following is a list of annual themes presented at its annual conferences since 2000:
2025: “Islam and AI: Challenges and Opportunities” Cosponsored by University
of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
2024: “Palestine, Israel, and Questions of Free Speech and Inter-religious Relations” Cosponsored by Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
2023: “Creating Islamic Spaces and Places” Cosponsored by Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN
2022: “Lives of Hadith” Cosponsored by University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
2021: “Approaches to Qur’anic Studies in the Western Academy” Cosponsored by University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
2020: “The Future of Islamic Studies” Virtual Conference Cosponsored by University of Oregon, Eugene, OR”
2019: "Muslim Communities in Europe and North America: Contemporary Developments and Challenges" Co-sponsored By: Boston University, Boston, MA
2018: "Impact of Emerging Digital Technology and Social Media on Muslim Communities" Co-sponsored By: City University of New York (CUNY), NY, NY
2017: "Muslims and the City" Co-sponsored By: Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA
2016: "War and Peace in Islam" Co-sponsored By: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
2015: "Sectarianism in Islam and Muslim Communities" Co-sponsored BY: Brown University, Providence, RI
2014: "The Concept of Authority in Muslim Societies: Political, Religious, Social and Literary" Co-sponsored By: Columbia University, New York, NY
2013: "Constitutions and Islam" Co-sponsored By: Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Upcoming Conferences & Lectures
The 54th Annual Conference of the
North American Association of Islamic and
Muslim Studies (NAAIMS)
“Islam and AI: Challenges and opportunities”
Thursday, November 20, 2025
Cosponsored by:
Department of Romance and Arabic Languages and Literature
University of Cincinnati, OH
A Virtual Conference on Zoom
All Sessions held in Eastern Standard Time (UTC-05:00)
Deadlines:
Abstracts: July 11, 2025
Final Papers: October 20, 2025
- University Lecture Series
- NAAIMS has re-launched its Lecture Series, initially established in 2008, as a (virtual) Bi-Annual University Lecture Series (cosponsored by universities in US and/or Canada)
- The First lecture via ZOOM Webinar scheduled for March 8,2024.
- Second Lecture via ZOOM Webinar scheduled for November 7, 2024
- NAAIMS 52nd Annual (Virtual) Conference:
The event was held as a virtual conference via ZOOM, cosponsored by Indiana University, Indianapolis, on October 19, 2023. The theme focused on “Creating Islamic Spaces and Places” in four panel sessions: “Place-Making at the Margins;” “What is Islamic Space?” “Muslim Spaces in Secular Places;” and “Internment/Interment.” The Keynote Address “Notes on the Social Production of Islamic Spaces and Places” was delivered by Mahbub Rashid, University of Kansas, KS.
- Conference Report:
To View 52nd Annual [Virtual] Conference Report on “Creating Islamic Spaces and Places” Click Here
2012: "Religious Dimensions of Democratization Processes in Muslim-Majority Nations"
Co-sponsored By: Yale Divinity School, & The MacMillan Center
Yale University, New Haven, CT
2011: "Looking Beyond 9/11: Islam in the West &Democratic Trends in the Middle East & North Africa"
Co-sponsored By: John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY, & Binghamton University, NY
2010: "Cosmopolitan Islam: Globalization Transnationalism and Muslim Diasporas"
Co-sponsored By: DePaul University, Chicago, Il
2009: "Islamic Traditions and Comparative Modernities"
Co-sponsored By: University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
2008: "Crossing Boundaries: Mobilizing Faith, Diversity and Dialogue"
Hosted By: Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, MA
2007: "Perils of Empire: Islamophobia, Religious Extremism and the New Imperialism"
Co-sponsored By: University of Maryland, College Park, MD
2006: "Muslim Identities: Shifting Boundaries and Dialogues"
Co-sponsored By: Hartford Seminary, Hartford, CT
2005: "Muslims and Islam in the Chaotic Modern World: Relations of Muslims among Themselves and with Others"
Co-sponsored By: Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
2004: "Revisioning Modernity: Challenges and Possibilities"
Co-sponsored By: George Mason University – Arlington Campus, VA
2003: "East Meets West: Understanding the Muslim Presence in Europe and North America"
Co-sponsored By: Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
2002: "The Muslim World after September 11: Agenda for Change"
Co-sponsored By: American University, Washington, DC
2001: "Religion and Society in the Global Epoch"
Co-sponsored by University of Michigan – Dearborn Campus, MI
2000: "Islam and Society in the 21st Century"
Co-sponsored by Georgetown University, Washington, DC