UM Islamic Studies

Please join us for 2 lectures by Diana Darke, one at MSU, another at Detroit Institute of Arts 3/24, 12:40-2pm, 303 Int’l Ctr: “How Islamic Architecture Shaped Europe” 3/25, 6-7pm, DIA: “How Syrian Art and Architecture Helped Shape Europe’s Romanesque and Gothic Styles”

A late Eid Mubarak from the Global Islamic Studies Center 🌙 May your Eid have been a time of renewal, connection, and community.

Next week! Will we see you there? Make sure to RSVP and come join us for this one-of-a-kind demo of Islamic VR apps! Wednesday, March 25th, 4:00 pm 555 Weiser Hall (5th floor) 500 Church St, Ann Arbor MI 48109 RSVP: myumi.ch/n1dZN

Thank you for supporting the Islamic Studies this Giving Blueday! We are so incredibly grateful.

NEXT WEEK: Islamic Virtual Reality Apps: "Pilgrim VR: Hajj & Umrah" and "Al-Aqsa VR" Wednesday, March 25th, 4:00 pm 555 Weiser Hall (5th floor) 500 Church St, Ann Arbor MI 48109 RSVP: myumi.ch/n1dZN Join the University of Michigan Global Islamic Studies Center (GISC) and Dr. Ermin Sinanović (Shenandoah University) on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 4:00 PM in 555 Weiser Hall for a demo of and conversation on two new VR apps for Islamic holy sites: one for experiencing and learning how to perform the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages to Mecca, and another for visiting the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Al-Quds or Jerusalem. Pilgrim VR: Hajj and Umrah is a one-of-a-kind interactive training through realistic, geospatially accurate 3D environments. It shows holy sites, offers ritual tutorials, and is made for prospective pilgrims to Mecca. Al-Aqsa VR is made for students, educators, historians, and explorers to experience the beauty of the Al-Aqsa Mosque without leaving home. For this talk and demonstration, we will use the Meta Quest 3 with a controller headset, and have several on hand for audience members to try out the VR apps! Cosponsored by @UmichDigital

Today!!

From classrooms to global research 🌍 GISC empowers students studying Islam worldwide. Donate today 💙 myumi.ch/qZe7X #givingblueday

Giving BLUEDAY is today! Support what you 💛 about GISC! We are dedicated to promoting a broader and deeper understanding of Islam by creating a supportive environment where scholars, educators, students, and communities can engage in projects, research, and teaching related to Islam, Muslim societies, and Muslim diasporas in the West. As home to both a minor and master’s program, we support a range of student opportunities, including summer fellowships, graduate student travel to conferences, internships with local Islamic organizations, and mentoring and support of campus events on Islam. Your support will help GISC expand our conference, lecture, and film festival programming, including our annual Halaloween Muslim horror film series, and events including talks and films on Islam in the Americas, Black Islam, women in Afghanistan, and Muslims in media and in the digital sphere. Your support would also help students traveling abroad and conducting research on Islam across the globe. DONATE TODAY: myumi.ch/qZe7X #givingblueday

TOMORROW! Iran: What’s Going On Thursday, March 19 @ 7:30PM Angell Hall auditorium D Refreshments provided! A discussions on how Iran got to its current state, life in Iran under the current regime, and public opinion of Iranians around the regime. A conversation with Dr. Babayan & Dr. Amin

March News: Islamic Virtual Reality: Hajj & Al-Aqsa - mailchi.mp/umich/march-20…

Continuing on the theme of jewelry, let’s dive deeper into the production techniques and design choices of Islamic jewelry. Get technical with Dr. Elizabeth Dospěl Williams. Find it in our Terms tab!/ myumi.ch/nyq5x #WorldJewelleryDay #IslamicArtHistory #Jewelery

Coming up! Islamic Virtual Reality Apps: "Pilgrim VR: Hajj & Umrah" and "Al-Aqsa VR" Wednesday, March 25th, 4:00 pm 555 Weiser Hall (5th floor) 500 Church St, Ann Arbor MI 48109 RSVP: myumi.ch/n1dZN Join the University of Michigan Global Islamic Studies Center (GISC) and Dr. Ermin Sinanović (Shenandoah University) on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 4:00PM in 555 Weiser Hall for a demo of and conversation on two new VR apps for Islamic holy sites: one for experiencing and learning how to perform the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages to Mecca, and another for visiting the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Al-Quds or Jerusalem. Pilgrim VR: Hajj and Umrah is a one-of-a-kind interactive training through realistic, geospatially accurate 3D environments. It shows holy sites, offers ritual tutorials, and is made for prospective pilgrims to Mecca. Al-Aqsa VR is made for students, educators, historians, and explorers to experience the beauty of the Al-Aqsa Mosque without leaving home. For this talk and demonstration, we will use the Meta Quest 3 with controllers headset, and have several on hand for audience members to try out the VR apps!

The Ramadan Crescent above the Prophets Mosque 🖤

Ramadan Kareem from Islamic Studies to you & yours!

Today at 3pm: SENSES OF MOURNING: WEBINAR When does mourning become protest—and how do devotional rituals carry political meaning? Join author Babak Rahimi in Zoom Webinar conversation with School for Advanced Research Senior Scholar Frank J. Korom for a discussion on Rahimi’s new book Senses of Mourning: Moharram Performances in Shi‘i Iran from the Qajar to the Covid Era (2026). Tuesday, February 17, 2026 1:00PM MT / 3:00PM ET RSVP: sarweb.org/date/senses-of…

Reflections on our Ancestors Behind Glass: A performance presentation and community discussion by HERitage emBODYment Sunday, February 15, 2026
12:00 p.m. ET – 1:30 p.m. ET
Free with RSVP Ahead of the National Tour premiere, in this special event, Dr. Sarah Fahmy and Nabra Nelson, the Co-Founders of HERitage emBODYment, will perform excerpts from their show and discuss how museum collections around the US–from New York to San Francisco–inspired the show. Participants will learn about the acquisition and legacies of Egyptian and Nubian artifacts in US Museums. Following the performance presentation, the audience will be invited to reflect on how museums impact their own cultures and influence their personal experiences of heritage in the US.

Anna Gade closes out the #NatureAndIslamicCreativeExpressions conference! Were so grateful to everyone who made it out!

Q&A with the final panelists on Oil & Desert Ecologies