a year
of
growth

Institute for Social Policy
and Understanding Annual Report 2021

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Mission

The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) provides objective research and education about American Muslims to support well-informed dialogue and decision-making.

Vision

At ISPU, we envision an America where Muslims are thriving and equal.

Our values

Collaborative

We actively seek to work with, not in competition against, others in the field.

Actionable

We conduct research to find solutions that are realistic and implementable.

Rigorous

Our research is objective, thorough and evidence-based.

Responsive

We conduct research on what is relevant to the American Muslim community.

Visionary

We continuously look for emerging challenges and opportunities.

Excellence

Quality and professionalism are key throughout all that we do.

Meira Neggaz
Executive Director

When I look outside of my window in DC, I see the flowering trees that dot the capital’s streets. Just a few weeks ago, thousands walked our streets to admire the cherry blossoms. Everywhere I look, natural wonders are sprouting taller and rooting deeper.

I’ve been thinking a lot about growth as we examine our impact from 2021. And that’s because amid a continuing pandemic that changed our work and how we do it, against so many odds, ISPU grew in 2021. We built our capacity in research and education, adding scholars and educators. We took on new research projects, met the challenges of the day, and built new partnerships to do collaborative work smarter and more effectively. We established a new fellowship and working group, both of which spotlight Black Muslim experiences. We engaged new funding partners and formed new programmatic connections. In all sectors of our work, we’re blooming.

I am enormously proud of our team at ISPU, and grateful to all of you who have made our work possible. And, though the Zoom screens we use to complete our work together may be small, the impact is huge.

From informing the Biden administration, to shaping the conversations around the impact of 9/11 all these years later, from painting a portrait of how Muslim communities have responded to COVID, to publishing results from the highly anticipated 2020 US mosque survey, we have continued to provide essential evidence-based resources and education to Americans all across our nation. And that is thanks to you.

So, if you’re reading this, thank you.

If you’ve engaged with our work, from sharing a social media post, downloading a report, or forwarding a newsletter, thank you.

If you’ve supported our work this year with a financial gift, thank you.

If you’ve infused a conversation about American Muslims with objective facts, thank you.

By supporting our growth, you are bringing our mission and vision to life.

And for that, we are immensely grateful.

Meira Neggaz
Executive Director

discover

It’s so exciting to open a new data set full of pearls of insight waiting to be plucked. And that feeling can only be topped by what publication day feels like for the ISPU team: when we can finally share what we’ve discovered through our research processes. We’re sharing a snapshot of what we rolled out in 2021, in the midst of beginning a multitude of projects with results due in 2022.

Investigating COVID-19’s impact

Just a few weeks into the first shutdowns due to COVID-19 in March 2020, we knew we wanted to document how American Muslims were responding to the pandemic. A year later, in March 2021, we launched a survey measuring the pandemic’s impact on American Muslims. The result is a rolling series of analyses including new data on relevant topics facing American Muslim communities a year into the COVID-19 pandemic. This research includes an ongoing series of reports drilling down into the results of a non-probability, nationally-representative online sample of self-identified American Muslims and of the American general public fielded from March 22–April 8, 2021 by Qualtrics. Topics include data on vaccine uptake and hesitancy, masking attitudes, negative mental health impacts, and facing the pandemic through service and contributions, and more. The project has continued into 2022, and will stand as a landmark for years to come on documenting how American Muslims experienced the first 365 days of the pandemic.

A survey 20+ years in the making

Anyone who studies mosques in America is familiar with the groundbreaking work of ISPU Scholar Dr. Ihsan Bagby, who has served as primary investigator and report author for almost 30 years of studies of mosques. In 2021, we were honored to serve as co-publishers of the US Mosque Survey 2020, in collaboration with the Center on Muslim Philanthropy and the Islamic Society of North America. We published two reports that made up The American Mosque 2020: Growing and Evolving. Report 1: Basic Characteristics of the American Mosque, and Report 2: Perspectives and Activities, provide a detailed portrait of the American mosque that dispels misconceptions and helps mosque leaders and participants better understand their mosque, hopefully leading to improvements so that they can best meet the needs of their communities. This research is the latest in an ongoing decadal survey which was conducted previously in 2000 and 2010. The 2020 findings were covered in outlets such as the Washington Post (picked up by Religion News Service), Arab American News, and Christianity Today.

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active research projects covering family and wellness, American pluralism, Muslim contributions, and community capacity building
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ISPU Scholars active in our network
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Zoom calls between our research team members

Not an “off” year

This year, ISPUs’s research team compiled new analyses on topics including American Muslim policy priorities, substance abuse and addiction, disability in Muslim communities, divorce, and white Muslim political attitudes. New analysis was paired with an educational webinar, featuring experts from across several fields. For the first time since the publication’s inaugural release in 2016, no American Muslim Poll was published last year. But that doesn’t mean work on the vast and wide-ranging data set collected from our 2020 survey was halted. In fact, there was still a treasure trove of data to explore. A year off from the rigorous preparation for a new poll allowed us to dig deeper into topics that deserve attention.

Exploring Black Muslim experiences

Throughout history, Black Muslims pioneered the establishment and growth of Islam in America. And, they have borne the brunt of racial injustice and racism throughout our country’s history. ISPU continues to work on achieving justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, with a special focus on the presence of Black Muslim voices, experiences, and expertise in our work. While we have made strides over the years, we still have much to learn and a ways to go.

As part of our work to address this gap we established the ISPU Working Group on Black Muslim Research, a project we conceptualized years before as a part of our organization’s strategic planning. The esteemed scholars who make up the members of our inaugural Working Group are each a leader in their field. Those scholars include Dr. Quaiser Abdullah, Zaheer Ali, Dr. Muhammad Khalifa, Precious Rasheeda Muhammad, and Dr. Kameelah Mu’Min Rashad.

The working group provides a proactive way to examine our research and education projects to ensure that we are amplifying and uplifting Black Muslim experiences and creating an anti-racist organizational culture within our programming. The ISPU Working Group on Black Muslim Research is a key component of our research and education work generally, informing every aspect of our projects from inception to implementation. It is also part of our broader racial equity work.

Beginning a new fellowship

As we continue to work to address racial equity within our research and education work, in late 2020 we established our inaugural Black Muslim Experiences Research Fellowship, with support from the El Hibri Foundation. This paid, 18-month fellowship aims to provide support, financial resources, and a platform for much needed research and education centering and amplifying research on Black Muslim experiences.

Rasheed El Shabazz

After a thorough search concluding in the summer of 2021, the ISPU Working Group on Black Muslim Research members selected Rasheed El Shabazz as our inaugural fellow. His project, The Mosque and the Block, builds on findings in the US Mosque Survey 2020 showing a decline in the number of African American mosques. Shabazz is concerned with the impacts of neighborhood change, particularly gentrification and displacement, on the connections between African American mosques and neighborhoods. He also seeks to understand the housing experiences of African American Muslims and the impact on community engagement. We look forward to sharing work from Rasheed in the months ahead.

Researchers working together for better outcomes

Dr. Hamada Hamid

“As a clinical researcher and epidemiologist I am well aware of the financial cost, human resources, time, and energy required to deploy large scale surveys and national polls. Through the Institute of Muslim Mental Health and in partnership with the Stanford University Muslim Mental Health Lab and The Khalil Center, we have contributed several mental health related questions to the most recently analyzed ISPU American Muslim Poll. It was a win-win partnership.”

“With our collective expertise in Muslim mental health and their ability to collect high quality information, we have recently completed an analysis of American Muslims' attitudes and experience with mental health care. The research will continue to help mobilize resources to address the needs of the American Muslim community."

- Dr. Hamada Hamid Altalib, ISPU Scholar

educate

Our outreach and research staff can barely open their Gmail accounts without finding another request for a presentation of our data and resources. In our newly Zoom-ified world, that means we can reach more corners of the world than ever before, and 2021 surely put that challenge to the test. From reaching employees at Google and Facebook, to Muslim Student Associations, to schools, conferences, and much more, ISPU was (virtually) everywhere in 2021. Beyond our continuing focus on presentations, we identified new partnerships and outlets for educating the general public, allowing us to reach more people in more ways than ever before.

Online courses for all

Screenshot of ReligionAndPublicLife.org — Courses offered by ReligionAndPublicLife.org

In September, we were ecstatic to launch a project a half-decade in the making: a set of online courses hosted on ReligionAndPublicLife.org. Learning is a life-long pursuit. And, with these courses, millions of Americans now have the opportunity to engage with ISPU research in a brand new way. ISPU has collected and published research on Muslims in America for nearly 20 years. That research provides the bedrock and context for these online courses, supplemented by a collection of resources from other institutions and scholars. These courses equip adult learners to apply solution-seeking research in cultivating their understanding of American Muslim life.

Launching podcasts

As part of our ongoing effort to make ISPU’s research accessible and engaging across a variety of platforms, in December, we launched a podcast: Deep Dives with ISPU. The short yet content-rich episodes feature experts discussing the most pressing issues facing American Muslim communities today. We’ve welcomed Dr. Ihsan Bagby to share key and surprising findings from the US Mosque Survey 2020; Dr. Samah Choudhury, our first-place Young Scholar Awards winner, to dive into what makes humor “Muslim”; Native American and Indigenous Muslim Stories (NAIMS) project primary investigator, Brennan McDaniel, to introduce this one-of-a-kind research on a crucial and understudied segment of American Muslims. These and other featured experts are joined by ISPU staff in conversation on topical research that is accompanied by actionable resources and recommendations.

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mentions of ISPU research in media outlets–that’s more than 2 per day!
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new inductees to our ISPU Educators program, now totalling 15
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people following our social media channels
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mind-changing conversations

Raising awareness about suicide in Muslim communities

Screenshot of JAMA Letter — Research Letter to JAMA Psychology

Preventing suicide is a pressing issue of concern in mental health conversations, advocacy, and research. As part our 2019 American Muslim Poll survey, a group of scholars and organizations including ISPU scholars Dr. Hamada Hamid and Dr. Rania Awad, the Institute for Muslim Mental Health and the Stanford Muslim Mental Health & Islamic Psychology Lab (MMHIP), included a question on suicidality. What the researchers found was startling: Americans who are Muslim are more likely than other groups polled in our survey to attempt suicide. Their analysis of this topic was published as a letter in JAMA Psychology in July. This stark finding spurred many conversations, trainings, and other educational community initiatives.

Dr. Rania Awaad Discusses Suicide Attempts of Muslims Compared With Other Religious Groups in the U.S.

A Practitioner's Story

Using data for successful reentry

“Our organization, Tayba Foundation, has served the education and reentry needs of over 9,300 incarcerated men and women across 42 states in over 500 prisons. Over 90% of our student population are African American and the majority converted while in prison.

Webinar: Understanding the Decrease in African American Mosques and Attendees

“So, we were very excited to attend the ISPU webinar on African Americans and mosque attendance to see what we could learn and take back to benefit our students. Myself and a number of the Tayba team attended the event and then had multiple follow-up team discussions about what was shared. The event and the research gave us more insight into some of the dynamics that we must consider. We know that part of successful reentry for returning citizens is to be part of a masjid community, and the ISPU research will aid in how we coach our clients and students on how to best bring regular masjid attendance into one's life.

“For those who are still incarcerated, we know that not all will be active in their communities inside the prisons, and may or may not be attending the chapel for jummah, ta'leem or other functions. The questions in the ISPU research on mosque attendance will help our teachers and peer mentors ask more questions related to why or why not the student is attending their community's place of congregation in an effort to increase their community connections.

“We are deeply indebted to the ISPU research that is being done and are grateful for those who have supported ISPU's work over the years to allow them to provide such rich data to enhance the programs we offer to our students.”

– Rami Nsour, Founding Director of Tayba Foundation

An Educator's Story

Informing health textbooks for youth

Photo of the book Islamic Health Ages 9 and Up by Dr. Amber Khan — Islamic Health Ages 9 and Up by Dr. Amber Khan

Amber Khan, a health educator in Canton, Michigan, was writing a book on health for Muslim youth. She knew what she wanted to include – but she needed the data. That’s where ISPU comes in.

“I was creating a health textbook with an Islamic focus for middle and high school aged Muslim youth. Certain topics are quite sensitive and controversial (such as premarital relations, genders, same-sex attraction, racism, reproduction, intoxicants, contraception, abortion, low self esteem, bullying, mental illness, sexual violence, domestic violence, divorce, etc.).”

“I was able to cite ISPU's research as evidence on the need to address such heavy and sensitive topics with our Muslim youth. ISPU's research was an integral part in proving the reality of the struggles and hardship that many Muslim youth face.”

“Without this research, the Islamic Health series would not be able to provide evidence in most sensitive topics. It would have been based on speculation and assumptions, which is likely to be questioned.”

Her books, Islamic Health Ages 9 and Up (2nd edition coming Summer 2022 by Noorart Publications) and Islamic Health Ages 14 and Up (coming Summer 2022 by Noorart Publications) have been endorsed by The Family & Youth Institute, Muslim American Society Youth Ministry, Council of Islamic School of North America, and Islamic Schools League of America

Amber says, “ISPU is a a rare organization that brings light to the needs and care of Muslim youth. They enable parents and educators to better facilitate their needs and decision-making skills.”

equip

Change happens in all kinds of spaces–and ISPU endeavors to have our research present in the spaces where decisions about Americans who are Muslim are taking place. This makes up what we call our “equipping” work: the work with policymakers, educators, journalists, and leaders across many sectors who have the capability to create positive change. This year, as a new administration took over in Washington and new doors opened, policymakers were particularly front of mind. But work continued across many spheres, a selection of which we’re highlighting here.

Convening researchers for better conversations

In May, ISPU held our first researchers convening in more than a decade, hosting 50+ researchers from across the country who study topics related to American Muslims, including: faith, family and health, institution building and community development, American pluralism, and Muslim contributions. The convening included skills building workshops such as pitching to funders and an introduction to Wikipedia. Other convening sessions included discussions to prioritize future research directions, ways to foster greater collaboration among researchers, and discussions about research methodologies. The convening offered opportunities for this group to connect, build collective capacity, map the landscape, identify gaps, and plant the seeds for future collaboration. There was a clear appetite to join this community and to continue engaging together in the future.

As part of preparation for the convening, we combed through 20 years of ISPU research to identify 10 areas of need in American Muslim communities. These needs were presented and discussed with attendees. Read the report here.

Adding faith leaders to the mix

In October 2021, we held a training for a new cohort of ISPU Educators, each of whom serve as faith and community leaders throughout the United States. Our ISPU Faith Leaders Educators Cohort each bring unique expertise and experiences as local faith leaders. These five individuals are trained in the latest ISPU research and equipped with data to strengthen the important work they are already doing.

Informing conversations on the impact of 9/11, 20 years later

Screenshot of New York Times Article — New York Times essay by Meher Ahmad

Throughout the summer, we worked with a large number of journalists as they prepared pieces reflecting on the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and how American Muslims were impacted. For the first time, we observed a concentrated and widespread effort to investigate the impact of the charged political and social climate following 9/11 on American Muslims, including on security, mental health, instances of discrimination, and so much more. In addition to our direct work with journalists, ISPU’s recommendations were heavily used in a journalist’s guide for covering 9/11 jointly issued by the Asian American Journalists Association, Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association, National Association of Black Journalists, and South Asian Journalists Association. This guidance helped journalists and newsrooms more accurately and critically cover the commemoration, impacted communities, and policies that resulted from 9/11.

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partners engaged
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institutions trained on our research
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national, state, and local policymakers and community leaders equipped with new resources and information
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Americans benefiting from research-informed decisions made by leaders and changemakers

Continuing our work with journalists

For nearly four years, ISPU has convened journalists in various settings to share a training on covering American Muslims creatively and confidently. In July, we held a training for our ten existing ISPU Educators to equip them with materials to train local journalists in their own communities. This accomplishes a key element in demand for these presentations -- a local connection, embedding someone who is familiar with the community, current events, news, and history of the location the journalists are reporting from. The ISPU Educators are that perfect local connection for so many newsrooms—they have an understanding and particular insight into what their local community has experienced, and what journalists reporting there need to know.

In addition to equipping our Educators, we continued our partnership with the Pulitzer Center by hosting training sessions with outlets like Chicago Public Media and reaching emerging journalists at universities like Swarthmore College.

Equipping those in public service

Providing policymakers with research and education has always been a major focus for our outreach team. To that end, in early 2021, ISPU began a partnership with Muslim Americans in Public Service (MAPS), a non-partisan nonprofit network of professionals and organizations working to create an ecosystem for Muslim American public servants to thrive.

In August, MAPS publicly announced an action plan developed in response to President Biden’s Executive Order on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility. Their Blueprint for Action, which contains 12 recommendations on behalf of federal employees who are Muslim, aims to assist in creating a Federal workplace that is truly inclusive and welcoming to all who serve the United States every day. It’s also heavily informed by ISPU data.

This work with MAPS is part of our broader focus on informing policymakers and the White House, equipping Muslim leaders and institutions to work with changemakers in government, and informing other policy institutions. In 2021, that included:

Serving as a research and knowledge partner on Muslim Americans in Public Service (MAPS) Taskforce on Islamophobia
Equipping members of Congress with our research as they hold hearings and consider legislation
Equipping our ISPU Educators to meet with state and local officials in their communities, including Senators Mike Lee and Mitt Romney (UT) and Governor Greg Abbott (TX)
Sharing our research with a United Nations Panel focused on addressing religious discrimination and systemic racism in the United States

A Story of Impact

Establishing Eid as a national holiday

Infographic on Understanding the American Muslim Voter — Infographic: Understanding the American Muslim Voter

Grassroots organizers have worked to build relationships with key politicians in the Texas legislature in order to support a bill designating Eid to be recognized as a state holiday. ISPU’s data on civic engagement played a key role in this effort.

Screenshot of Texas Tribune article on inclusive calendar bill — The Texas Tribune article

“We showed data on the number of Muslim voters, how involved they were in their communities, the average education and income levels, and the issues that were most important to Muslims,” ISPU Educator Tara Turk-Zaafran, who was involved in the effort, says. The outcome? “The bill passed, and Eid is an official holiday in Texas!”

Effective September 21, 2021, H.B. 1231 amended the Government Code to designate Eid al Fitr and Eid al Adha as optional holidays for state employees. “The research ISPU provides has the power to change the course of Muslim lives in America if used properly,” Tara says.

SPOTLIGHT ON

Young Scholar Awards

The Young Scholar Awards for Outstanding Research on American Muslims, awarded biannually by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, recognize an emerging leader whose research focuses on American Muslims. In September of 2021, we were honored to award three outstanding early career researchers after deliberation with a panel of scholars and our team.

Dr. Samah Choudhury

FIRST PLACE: Dr. Samah Choudhury

Dr. Choudhury’s topic, “What Makes Humor Muslim?” explores how Islam is performed through standup comedy, partly through analysis of popular comedians such as Aziz Ansari, Kumail Nanjiani, and Hasan Minhaj. She is an assistant professor at Ithaca College and received her PhD in Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 2020.

Masooma Haider

SECOND PLACE: Masooma Haider

Masooma Haider, MA, was a graduate research assistant and research coordinator at the University of Chicago and recently began law school at Harvard University. Her research topic analyzes the rise in Muslim American civic participation after 2016.

Dr. Naheed Ahmed

THIRD PLACE: Dr. Naheed Ahmed

Dr. Naheed Ahmed, research scientist at the Medstar Health Research Institute, studies measurements of perceived interpersonal and societal anti-Muslim discrimination in the United States.

our finances

Revenue

57% Foundations

29% Individuals

14% Events & Other

Expenses

68% Programs

19% Fundraising

13% Administration

Revenue	2021 (Audited)	2020 (Audited)
Institutional Grants*	$795,730	$673,800
Individual Contributions	$413,833	$402,669
Event Revenue (net of expenses)	$73,728	$79,792
In-Kind Donations	$250	$287
Other	$121,805	$21,999
Total Revenue	$1,405,346	$1,178,547

Expenses	2021 (Audited)	2020 (Audited)
Programs / Research	$602,830	$707,933
Fundraising	$167,982	$169,421
Administration	$118,160	$103,687
Total Expenses	$888,972	$981,041

Assets	2021 (Audited)	2020 (Audited)
Net Assets (beginning of year)	$1,207,576	$1,010,071
Net Assets (end of year)	$1,723,950	$1,207,576
Change in Net Assets*	$516,374	$197,505

*ISPU was awarded several multi-year grants to be expended in subsequent years. Following generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), the entire amount of the granted funds were recorded as income in previous years while the expenses were recorded throughout the life of the multi-year grants.

your support

Friend, we not only survived and thrived in 2021, we grew. Despite the challenges to our families, communities, and the world, our resilience shone through and ISPU grew our revenue 120%. This translates into more discovering, more educating and more equipping. Your unwavering support contributed to that growth, and we are grateful to you and your families for staying engaged and adapting to new ways of living and working. Thank you.

Your dedication, investment, and vision for an America where Muslims are thriving and equal ensured ISPU made a difference in 2021. You supported this critical work monthly, during Ramadan, at our banquet, and through the end of the year. You solidified our ability to go into our 20th anniversary year with confidence to embark on our longer term vision for 2030 and beyond, to:

Be the go-to source for reliable, actionable, one of a kind, high quality research on American Muslims and issues that impact them.
Be an aggregator, translator and amplifier for research done by both ISPU staff and scholars and others on American Muslims and issues that impact them, highlighting and disseminating relevant research through webinars, podcasts, in person forums, blogs, and social media.
Be a catalyst to grow scholarship on American Muslims and issues that impact them by providing mentorship, resources, platforms and connections to scholars working on our issues.

Because of you, ISPU was able to gather critical data and research to serve American Muslims. ISPU knows that the right information in the right hands—policy makers, media, faith leaders, community leaders, practitioners, educators and the general public—will lead to policies, programs and perceptions based on facts, not guesses or misinformation, leading to more well-informed decisions.

In 2022, we celebrate our 20th anniversary, also because of YOU. In 2022 we will share more of what ISPU can do with continued and increased support. We look forward to growing our team, making a mission impact, and ensuring American Muslims are thriving and equal in the United States.

Thank you.

Jennifer Tepper, Interim Director of Development

Planned Giving

Often, it is our children that motivate us to prioritize the creation of a will and/or an estate plan. This planning provides peace of mind knowing that your legacy is solidified and that the work and community you’ve supported during your lifetime will live on.

There are many ways to establish your legacy at ISPU if you are considering how to create that peace of mind for whatever might come to pass in the future. In doing so, you can help fund quality research on American Muslims for decades to come.

If you see part of your legacy as contributing to a field of research on issues impacting American Muslims, please consider incorporating a planned gift to ISPU into your will or trust. If you, like ISPU, envision an America where Muslims are thriving and equal, your planned gift helps us reach that goal together. For more information on how to do this, click here. And if you have any questions, do not hesitate to connect with us.

Ways to Give

You can ensure that all dialogue and decisions affecting Muslims in America are well-informed, by…

JOINING our community by signing up for our newsletter and following us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and subscribing to our podcasts.
INVESTING in the future by supporting our work.
PARTNERING with us by using our research and tools in your own work.

Support our work

ISPU respects our donors’ personal privacy. We will never sell or share any of our donors’ information collected online or offline, or send mailings on behalf of other organizations. You will be able to unsubscribe from all communications from us at any time.

our team

Staff

Katherine Coplen
Director of Communications

Petra Alsoofy
Outreach & Partnerships Manager

Erum Ikramullah
Research Project Manager

Rebecka Green
Communications & Creative Media Specialist

Board of Directors

Iltefat Hamzavi
Founding Chair Emeritus
Michigan

Board of Advisors

Sherman Jackson
University of Southern California

ISPU remembers Dr. Sulayman Nyang and his profound contributions to ISPU and to scholarship on Islam and Muslims (1944-2018)

Scholars

ISPU Working Group on Black Muslim Research

Inaugural Black Muslim Experiences Research Fellow

ISPU Educators

Inaugural Cohort

Faith Leader Cohort

Remembering ISPU Scholar Dr. Debra Majeed

Dr. Debra Majeed

On March 20, 2022, the world lost a scholar, trailblazer, activist, and giant in her field: Dr. Debra Majeed. Debra Majeed, Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at Beloit College, was a religious historian who made the interconnection between religion, gender and justice central to her life’s work. With the publication of her groundbreaking work, Polygyny: What It Means When African American Muslim Women Share Their Husbands in 2015, Dr. Majeed worked with mosque communities for the cultivation of resources and support for healthy marriage regardless of form. Her other research interests included the care and support of Muslim widows, domestic abuse as an act of violence that happens in the lives of women, and the advocation of the normalization of Muslim marriage contracts.

Concern for family life issues led Dr. Majeed to develop Queen City Family Advocates, a grassroots initiative that interrogates and challenges attitudes, norms and policies that undercut the health and wellbeing of families in Charlotte.

Dr. Majeed retired from Beloit in 2020; she was the first African American female and first Muslim to be tenured in the 175-year history of the college, and the first to be awarded Emeritus status. Her contributions to social justice on the campus and in the wider community during her 21 years of teaching led the City of Beloit to proclaim January 21, 2011, “Dr. Debra Majeed Day.” Dr. Majeed received her doctorate in Religious & Theological Studies from Northwestern University in 2001. ISPU will continue to share and uplift Dr. Majeed’s important scholarship.