Publications
Papers
The Nawawi Foundation Papers have been extremely influential in shaping ideas about Islam in North America & around the world.
Written by Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah between 2002 and 2008, during his time as resident scholar with the Nawawi Foundation, this series of monographs challenged a number of the ideas about Muslim identity that were prevalent in the US in the 1990s and early 2000’s. The Nawawi Papers were extremely well-received at the time of their publication, and had a transformative effect on many individuals and communities. They are still frequently read and studied today, both in academia and informally.
One God, Many Names
This paper addresses the primordial origin of the divine names of God in order to establish the equivalency of the Biblical ‘God’ to Islam’s ‘Allah’ and the need for American Muslims to embrace both. While Muslims affirm that they worship the ‘God of Abraham,’ recently America’s religious right has denied this common ground. This point is aided by English-speaking Muslims’ avoidance of the word ‘God,’ due to an erroneous assumption that ‘Allah’ alone carries legitimacy.
Mercy, the Stamp of Creation
This paper examines the role of mercy in the Islamic tradition and eternal salvation, and its imprint on all affairs of the universe. Although Islam is often proclaimed as the ‘religion of peace,’ theologically, it is more accurate to refer to it as the ‘religion of mercy.’
Islam & the Cultural Imperative
For centuries, Islamic civilization harmonized indigenous forms of cultural expression with the universal norms of its sacred law. It struck a balance between temporal beauty and ageless truth and fanned a brilliant peacock's tail of unity in diversity from the heart of China to the shores of the Atlantic.
Living Islam with Purpose
This paper complements Islam and the Cultural Imperative by offering an operational framework for accomplishing the task. This framework consists of “five operational principles,” which are discussed at length and illustrated with examples.
Innovation & Creativity in Islam
Islam is a global religion. Its followers constitute one of the world's largest religious communities. They are of every ethnic group and inhabit every type of geographical region. The religion's historical success as a universal religion arises in part from the simplicity of its message and its ability to make itself relevant to different times and peoples. Islam constitutes a "mobile idea" because it can be easily understood anywhere and is flexible enough to come together "in intriguing ways to produce unanticipated new configurations."
Turks, Moors, & Moriscos in Early America
This paper focuses on the first British colony in the New World, the so-called “lost colony” of Roanoke (1585-1590). Roanoke was established for the primary purpose of attacking Spanish ships bearing large amounts of gold and silver from Spain’s American colonies to imperial Spain, which, at the time, constituted England’s primary military, political, and religious rival.
Seek Knowledge in China
This paper casts light on Islam’s long history in China and the cultural genius of its indigenous Muslims, who fashioned a way of life that preserved their Islamic identity, while making them active participants in the highly developed non-Muslim civilization around them. The Prophet, God bless and keep him, said: “Seek knowledge even if in China, for the seeking of knowledge is incumbent upon every Muslim.” Naturally, Chinese Muslims cherished this widely-cited Hadith. But for all Muslims, the Prophet’s allusion to China indicates that there is something about the land that is unique and of lasting value. The Hadith rings as true today as ever.
