Education:
Ph.D., The New School for Social Research - 2018 (Anthropology )
M.A., The New School for Social Research - 2009 (Anthropology)
M.A., The University of Chicago - 2005 (Social Science )
Areas of Expertise:
Professor Rahman's primary interest is in global racial formations in relation to histories of Islamic practice and Muslim identity. Asking what it means to "do good," her research in Europe, Africa, and the United States employs an intersectional analysis of the material, ethical and political manifestations and implications of global humanitarianism. In her research and teaching she employs a decolonial methodology that emphasizes politicized and historicized analyses of both Islam and Africa.
Books and Publications
"Dignity, Not Pity: Fundraising, Zakat, and Spiritual Exchange." The Request and the Gift in Religious and Humanitarian Endeavors. F. Klatis, editor. New York: Palgrave. (Books and Publications: Book Chapter) 2017
"Islamic Relief." Religious Leadership: A Reference Handbook. S. Callahan, editor. New York: SAGE Publications. (Books and Publications: Book Chapter) 2013
Awards, Honors and Fellowships
PSC-CUNY 50 Research Award. University Committee on Research Awards, CUNY. (Grants and Fellowships) 2019
Wenner-Gren Dissertation Fellowship. (Grants and Fellowships) 2012
Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums
"Global Muslim Blackness: Grassroots Initiatives for a Humanitarianism Reimagined." Islam in Africa Lecture Series: Critical Perspectives on the Development and Dynamics of Islam in Africa. Harvard Divinity School, Harvard University, March 6. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2020
"Racializing Global Muslim Humanitarianism: Anti-Blackness and Islam in Africa." Critique: A Network for Political, Legal and Social Thought Occasional Seminar. University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, February 11. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2020
"Muslim humanitarians in Black, Brown and White: Racializing the White Savior Complex in Africa." "Racializing Muslims: Possibilities and Limits of Global Muslim Solidarity" panel. Racialization and Publicness in Africa and the African Diaspora Conference, hosted by the African Studies Centre at Oxford University, June 27-28. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2019
"Racializing the Good Muslim: The Whiteness of 'soft power' and Black Muslim Activism in South Africa." "Transnational Islam" panel, Africa, Globalization and the Muslim Worlds Conference, hosted by the Harvard Divinity School, September 19-21. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2019
"Racializing the Good Muslim: The Whiteness of 'Soft Power' Humanitarianism and Black Muslim Activism in South Africa." On the panel "Situating Islamic Aid in Transnational Encounters and Globalized Discourses." Islam and Humanitarianism: Interdisciplinary Inquiries on Islamic Forms of Aid Conference, hosted by the Ali Vural Ak Center for Global Islamic Studies, George Mason University, November 1-2. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2019
Presented on the panel, "The Studies in Religion Program: How Does Studying Religion Serve Our Students?" Brooklyn College 23rd Annual Faculty Day Conference. May 16. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2019
"Muslim humanitarians and African Afrofuturists: Interrogating the racialized aesthetics of the white savior complex in Africa." For the panel "Picturing African Futures: Visual Approaches to Aspiration." Society for American Ethnological Society and the Society for Visual Anthropology Meeting in Philadelphia, March 23. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2018
"Muslim humanitarians in Black, Brown and White: Interrogating the racialized aesthetics of the white savior complex in Africa." The University of Michigan AfroAmerican and African Studies Department's Diasporic Dialogues Fall 2018 Series. November 27. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2018
"Muslim humanitarians in Black, Brown and White: Racializing the white savior complex in Africa." For the panel Racialization of Muslims Lives: Africa and Beyond. American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting. San Jose, November 16. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2018
Professional Leadership
"How to Keep your Muslim Identity in the Work-Force." Invited Speaker for Muslim Women's Leadership Development Project at the Brooklyn College Women's Center. October 22. (Professional Leadership: Public Service) 2019
Invited speaker, Vigil in Solidarity with Christchurch with Brooklyn College Islamic Society & Young Progressives of America. March 21. (Professional Leadership: Public Service) 2019
"Muslim Humanitarians in Black Brown and White: Racializing the White Savior Complex in Africa." Faculty Talk in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, Brooklyn College. November 20. (Professional Leadership: Public Service) 2018
Community Activities
Grow the Outdoors Event Series - Accessing Nature Panel Discussion, Patagonia NYC Soho. Public event to discuss inequality and injustice in relation to outdoor recreation. Invited panel moderator. February 7. 2019
