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What are the histories and stories of Muslims in America's Midwest? Muslim Americans have helped to shape the contours of life in the Midwest, serving as restauranteurs, soldiers, workers on the factory floor and in the corporate boardroom, activists in the Civil Rights movement, and researchers bringing innovations to many sectors of the American economy. 

This 2023 Institute invited teachers to explore this history and create innovative curricula to take back home. Over 50 Participants from a wide range of US states were able to:

• Gain basic knowledge of Islam in its geographical, national, ethnic, and ideological diversity.
• Learn about Muslims of America’s Midwest through fiction and non-fiction texts.
• Develop curriculum projects promoting a pluralistic approach to religious understanding.

Over the course of the two-week program, participants met with scholars in the fields of religious studies, children’s/young adult literature, cultural studies, journalism, and education who highlighted new knowledge in their fields. Participants attended a prayer service and ate meals with Muslim community members from a broad range of ethnic heritages during a site visit to a local mosque. Four visiting scholars (a scholar of contemporary Islam in the Americas with a specialization in Black American Muslim practices; a publicly-engaged scholar of Muslim American, African American, and Arab American history and life; an ethnographic ethicist who produces public-facing scholarship on how and why Muslims wear pious dress; and a journalist who has written about successes and failures in K-12 school programs on Islam) shed light on histories and recommend best practices that teachers drew upon as they imagined and designed curriculum related to Muslim-American experiences. A wealth of guest scholars were also part of the Institute as local or virtual visitors to facilitate knowledge development.

Our Institute offered a range of tools that teachers could incorporate into their work. Their projects included the development of regional knowledge about and networks with Muslim American communities served by their schools/districts. Such regional knowledge enabled teachers to develop curricula that could make use of and speak to the particular contexts of their community and their students’ lives. Participants collaborated to build curricula that countered misinformation. Working groups were organized to promote critical thinking about key aspects of the dominant narrative of Muslims in America (e.g., presumed patriarchy, lack of diversity, political disloyalty, etc.). Beyond the Institute, these working groups continue to be a source of information, support, and further learning as teachers implement and adapt their curricula over time in their home classrooms.

High-quality curriculum projects were a critical outcome of the institute. Participants developed their project ideas through interaction and consultation with scholars, our Institute K-12 Leader, as well as a team of research librarians. They fine-tuned their projects before sharing with the group for peer critique. Educators had an additional month beyond the time of the Institute to work on projects as they process the experiences and reflect on emerging insights in the field.

Institute Faculty Co-Directors

• Professor Kathleen Knight Abowitz
• Professor Liz Wilson

K-12 Leader

• Melissa Insko

Visiting Scholars

• Kayla Reneé Wheeler, Assistant Professor, Gender and Diversity Studies Program, Xavier University
• Edward E. Curtis IV, Professor of Religious Studies at Indiana University, Purdue University-Indianapolis
• Elizabeth (Liz) Bucar, Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Northeastern University
• Linda K. Wertheimer, journalist and author ofFaith Ed: Teaching About Religion In An Age of Intolerance.

Other Institute Faculty

• Loukia Sarroub, Professor of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Brenda Dales, Professor Emeritus of Children’s Literature, ߣߣÊÓƵ University
• Asma Mobin-Uddin, author
• Scott Henderson, Professor of Education, Furman University
• Jason Palmieri, Professor of English, ߣߣÊÓƵ University
• Syed Hassan Raza, Pakistani K-12 educator and PhD student, ߣߣÊÓƵ University