The Muslim Student Experience on the College Campus

The current socio-political climate has increased Islamophobia and anti-Muslim rhetoric across the country, and that has naturally manifested itself in institutions of higher education. The objectives of this discussion are to create a conversation and dialogue about sensitivities, misunderstandings, and controversies about Islam while increasing awareness about challenges faced by Muslim students across the university.

About the Speaker

Faiyaz Jaffer, PhD

Faiyaz Jaffer, PhD, is a Research Scholar for the Islamic Center at New York University and an Associate Chaplain for the NYU Global Center for Academic and Spiritual Life. He lectures across the United States, Canada, Europe, East Africa, and the Middle East and regularly leads prayer services and delivers sermons across North America. He is also a professor at NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, teaching Islamic Law and Islamic Spirituality and a visiting professor at the Chicago Theological Seminary. In 2019, he co-founded Pillars of Peace, a non-profit organization that addresses a gap in appropriate services for survivors of domestic and gender-based violence from all backgrounds and in particular within the Muslim community. He holds a doctorate in education from New York University, with a focus on the identity development of Muslim youth in the United States. Pursuing the classical course of Islamic education, he studied in the Seminary of Karbala, Iraq, one of the most prominent centers for Islamic learning.