Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies at Stanford

08/10/2026

📣 𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻! 🎉

Follow our official LinkedIn page and stay connected with our scholarship, events, and news. ⤵️

www.linkedin.com/company/abbasiprogram

08/10/2026

📣 𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻! 🎉

Follow the program’s official page and stay connected with our scholarship, events, and news. ⤵️

www.linkedin.com/company/abbasiprogram/?viewAsMember=true

08/10/2026

📣 We are now on LinkedIn! 🎉

Follow our program for the latest scholarship, events, ans news. ⤵️

www.linkedin.com/company/abbasiprogram

08/05/2026

☪️📜💡 As we prepare to launch the 𝗔𝗯𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺’𝘀 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰-𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, we’re revisiting some of the thought-provoking scholarship that shaped the past academic year.

One of our featured interviews highlights the work of Hoover Institution Fellow Cole Bunzel, whose research sheds new light on the historical roots of Wahhabism and its enduring influence on Islamic political thought and contemporary Islamist movements.

Drawing on years of archival research and previously overlooked eighteenth-century manuscripts, Bunzel traces the evolution of from its origins in central Arabia to its role in shaping the modern Saudi state. His work challenges simplified narratives by showing how the movement developed over time and explores why its ideas have been interpreted so differently by the Saudi religious establishment and militant jihadist groups alike.

Beyond reconstructing the history of Wahhabism, Bunzel examines broader questions about religion, political authority, and ideological change, offering valuable insights into the intellectual foundations of contemporary debates across the Middle East.

👉🔗 Read the full interview on our website: islamicstudies.stanford.edu

07/28/2026

🇹🇷📊🗳️ Abbasi Program’s 2024-2025 Annual Report Highlights: As we prepare to release our 2025-2026 annual report, we’re looking back at three featured interviews with affiliated fellows and scholars from last year’s Spotlight report.

In a wide-ranging interview, political scientist Ali Carkoglu discussed his groundbreaking research on Turkey’s evolving religious and political landscape, revealing surprising findings that challenge conventional wisdom about secularism and democracy.

Drawing from over two decades of survey data through the Turkish Election Study, Carkoglu uncovers a paradoxical trend: while Turkey is experiencing European-style secularization with declining mosque attendance and rising religious doubt (“less doing, milder belonging, durable believing”), many citizens simultaneously support both secular civic frameworks and Sharia-based principles, reimagining democracy through a religious lens rather than viewing these as incompatible.

His research on the marginalized Alevi minority reveals how they maintain strong democratic commitment despite systematic discrimination, while his analysis of Turkey’s “tyranny of the majority” under pro-Islamist governance exposes the erosion of minority rights and civil liberties. Carkoglu argues that understanding Turkey’s complex interplay of religious identity, authoritarian resilience, and democratic backsliding offers crucial insights for broader questions about political transformation across Muslim-majority societies and the Global South.

👉🔗 Read the full interview on our website at islamicstudies.stanford.edu.

07/08/2026

Applications for the The Markaz: Resource Center at Stanford and Stanford Center for Comparative Studies in Race & Ethnicity (Markaz-CCSRE) Palestine Fellowship are now open!

The purpose of this fellowship is to foster inquiry and dialogue on topics related to Palestinian society and culture. In consultation with faculty and staff, the CCSRE-Markaz Palestine Fellow will identify themes of current interest and curate a dynamic speaker series, inviting distinguished scholars and researchers who are advancing knowledge related to Palestine, race, and ethnicity to campus.

Application will close on Sunday, July 12 at midnight.

More information and application available at tinyurl.com/CCSREMarkazFellow

07/07/2026

🎭🇹🇷 “They Can’t Steal Our Joy”: Deniz Göktaş, Humor, and Authoritarian Repression in Turkey

Join us for a screening of Deniz Göktaş comedy show at Stanford, followed by a discussion about this influential comedian’s recent detainment in Turkey.

🗓️ July 10, 2026
⏰ 6:00 - 7:30 PM
📍 Encina Commons
615 Crothers Way, Stanford, CA 94305

🎟️ RSVP: tinyurl.com/GoktasStanford

Co-sponsors: Stanford CDDRL Program on Turkey, Middle Eastern Studies Forum at Stanford, Turkish-American Solidarity Platform

We are gathering in solidarity with Deniz Göktaş. Humor and art are not crimes. Deniz Göktaş has never led us toward crime; he has reminded us, even in the face of difficult times, to hold on to our joy, to keep laughing, to keep thinking, and to refuse to leave one another behind.

In his comedy, many of us found more than laughter. We found a way to confront the truths we know too well while still holding on to the possibility of another Turkey—one we long for and continue to imagine. Through Deniz, we were reminded of the joy, wit, courage, and hope we have been missing.

After watching the show together, those who wish will be invited to share a few words. We will also collect notes of support to send to Deniz.

🍕👉 Please RSVP for pizza until 10 AM on Friday, July 10, if you expect to have dinner with us, so we have enough for you.

06/26/2026

🎥📜🌍 Ceren Ucan, Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Stanford, presents her research on largely overlooked Ottoman–German campaign against the British Empire during , exploring how it sought to mobilize Muslim opinion and challenge British imperial authority.

📺🔗 Watch the full talk on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies at Stanford

Ceren Ucan is an Assistant Professor of History at Dokuz Eylül University, Turkey, and currently a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Stanford University.

06/16/2026

05/29/2026

🖋️📜📚 Islam and Science Graduate Student Workshop

🗓️ Saturday, June 6, 2026
⏰ 9:30AM - 3:30 PM
🏫 Building 200, Room 307
450 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA 94305

🎟️ To RSVP, please email Fyza Jazra at [email protected]

Join us for an interdisciplinary graduate workshop featuring student paper presentations on research in Art History, Department of Languages, Cultures, and Languages, History of Science, Ottoman History, and Religious Studies. Each presentation will be 15-20 minutes, followed by a 5 minute response from an assigned respondent.

A Q&A discussion will take place after each presentation panel.

9:30-10:00 a.m.: Breakfast and opening remarks

10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Panel presentation I

12:30-1:30 p.m.: Lunch

1:30-3:00 p.m.: Panel presentation II

3:00-3:30 p.m.: Coffee and closing remarks