The Muslim Student Association (MSA) is having a week-long Islamic Awareness Week March 21-24.  This week is a great opportunity to learn about Islam and its values with Notre Dame Muslims, What Is Islam?…

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The national philanthropy world learned about Zoreen and Rafat Ansari in 2017 when they gave $15 million to the University of Notre Dame. The gift was to launch the Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion, a scholarly center devoted to nurturing better understanding of the world’s religions and the roles they play in world events. To those in South Bend, Ind., however, the Ansaris have been well known as committed and reliable philanthropic leaders for four decades.

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We are writing this because we want Notre Dame, as a nationally ranked Catholic research university in the US that supports justice and democracy, to now support the people of Iran. After George Floyd, the University mobilized for racial justice. After Ukraine, the University has mobilized against the war. It is time for Notre Dame to stand with Iranians crying out for justice. Iranian lives matter, too.

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In an opinion piece for The Hill, Executive Director Mahan Mirza critiques US rhetoric about democracy and calls for a sustainable foreign policy that addresses today’s big challenges.

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Ansari Institute Faculty Fellow Sarah Shortall, assistant professor of history at the University of Notre Dame, has earned a prestigious honor for recent book, Soldiers of God in a Secular World: The Politics of Catholic Theology in Twentieth-Century France.

Read More about Faculty fellow Sarah Shortall wins award for book exploring French theology, politics

Ansari Institute Faculty Fellow Rev. Emmanuel Katongole, professor of theology and peace studies, has published a book with the University of Notre Dame Press and is the recipient of a 2022 Sabbatical Grant for Researchers through the Louisville Institute.

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Writing for Maydan, an online publication of the Ali Vural Ak Center for Global Islamic Studies at George Mason University, Ansari Institute Executive Director Mahan Mirza draws on Indian intellectual tradition to explore the Russian war in Ukraine.   

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A new book by Ansari Institute Faculty Fellow Sarah Shortall offers a fresh look at theology's political role in a secular state.

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Recently, Ansari Institute Executive Director Mahan Mirza visited Westminster Presbyterian Church in Dayton, Ohio to present its third annual Lecture on Faith & Civic Life. In his Sept. 25 talk, “A Life of Faith Beyond Individual Worship—To Work for the Common Good,” Mirza made the case (drawing on his recent work exploring interreligious dialogue, peacebuilding, and the need for religious and scientific literacy) that Muslim scripture and tradition envisions a kind of individual faith that translates personal piety into public action.

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In an opinion piece for The Hill, Ansari Institute Executive Director Mahan Mirza advocates for engaging with the Islamic tradition of Sharia law to build peace and advance human rights in Afghanistan.

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The Ansari Institute and the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies and the Ansari Institute co-sponsored a Sept. 14 flash panel examining the mass internment of members of the Muslim Uyghur ethnicity in China’s Xinjiang province.

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In accordance with new University procedures, meant to safeguard the health and well-being of members of our community, the Ansari Institute is making alternative arrangements to continue our central work of education and research.

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As we pause to remember the fallen and stand in solidarity with victims, we call on devotees of all faiths and philosophies to change the conversation about religion.

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A flash panel on April 17 examined the root causes of the shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand in March.

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The Ansari Institute condemns the attack on Friday worshipers at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday March 15, 2019. We offer our condolences to all those affected directly and indirectly, in the Pacific and around the world. We cannot allow the shock of this horrific act of violence, which aims to divide us, slow our efforts to come together. At this historical moment when voices that promote hate and violence instantly cross the globe, we cannot hesitate to counter divisive voices and, with deep sadness but renewed resolve, rededicate ourselves to fostering peaceful and just communities that derive strength from diversity.…

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The Ansari Institute condemns the October 27 shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue. We mourn with friends and relatives of the eleven worshippers killed by gunfire, and stand in solidarity with all Jews in Pittsburgh, across the nation, and around the world. At a historical moment when ethno-religious nationalism is rising, and we see more and more anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim rhetoric, it is tragic but not surprising that the gunman, who “wanted all Jews to die,” also was outraged that HIAS, the global Jewish non-profit that protects refugees, had aided displaced Muslims and migrants of other faiths. Evidence suggests the assailant shot the worshippers because HIAS is resettling “invaders” that “kill our people.” But, for us, all …

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