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 cosponsored 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 cosponsored conferences and 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:

2014: "The Concept of Authority in Muslim Societies: Political, Religious, Social and Literary" Cosponsored By: Columbia University, New York, NY

2013: “Constitutions and Islam” Cosponsored By: Princeton University, Princeton, NJ

2012: “Religious Dimensions of Democratization Processes in Muslim-Majority Nations”
Cosponsored 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”
Cosponsored By: John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY, & Binghamton University, NY

2010:“Cosmopolitan Islam: Globalization Transnationalism and Muslim Diasporas”
Cosponsored By: DePaul University, Chicago, Il

2009:“Islamic Traditions and Comparative Modernities”
Cosponsored 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”
Cosponsored By: University of Maryland, College Park, MD

2006: “Muslim Identities: Shifting Boundaries and Dialogues”
Cosponsored By: Hartford Seminary, Hartford, CT

2005: “Muslims and Islam in the Chaotic Modern World: Relations of Muslims among Themselves and with Others”
Cosponsored By: Temple University, Philadelphia, PA

2004: “Revisioning Modernity: Challenges and Possibilities”
Cosponsored By: George Mason University – Arlington Campus, VA

2003: “East Meets West: Understanding the Muslim Presence in Europe and North America”
Cosponsored By: Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

2002: “The Muslim World after September 11: Agenda for Change”
Cosponsored By: American University, Washington, DC

2001: “Religion and Society in the Global Epoch”
Cosponsored by University of Michigan – Dearborn Campus, MI

2000: “Islam and Society in the 21st Century”
Cosponsored by Georgetown University, Washington, DC