CommentarySexual Assault During Hajj: Will #MosqueMeToo Lead to Reforms in Mecca?In February of 2018, inspired by the #MeToo movement, Muslim women took to social media to describe sexual harassment and assault in the holiest shrines of the Islamic faith: the Kaabah in …Topics: Gender, Muslims and Islam, Place and Religion, Violence
CommentaryThe Women Sustaining Sufism—and an Activist—in TunisiaPriyadarshini Sen reported from Tunisia as part of CRCC’s Global Project on Engaged Spirituality. On a hilltop overlooking western Tunis, the whitewashed shrine of Syeda Manouba—a Sufi saint of the 13th century …Topics: Engaged Spirituality, Gender, Middle East and North Africa, Muslims and Islam, Spiritual Exemplars
CommentaryIt Takes a Community and Resources to Become an ExemplarI had the chance to meet with two exceptional women for the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture’s global project on engaged spirituality: Makvala Margoshvili and Marie Stella Kouak. They were …Topics: Catholics and Catholicism, Engaged Spirituality, Faith-Based Organizations, Muslims and Islam, Nuns and Women Religious, Spiritual Exemplars, weforum
ArticleSameer: Leading the Peaceful Resistance Against Israeli OccupationThis radio documentary was produced by KALW’s The Spiritual Edge, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. Listen to it on The Spiritual Edge website. In the Palestinian town of …Topics: Engaged Spirituality, International Affairs and Policy, Middle East and North Africa, Muslims and Islam, Spiritual Exemplars, Violence
ArticleDr. Mohammed Elgazzar: Saving Lives Across the Battle LinesThis article was originally published in Religion Unplugged, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. ALEXANDRIA, Egypt — the city of learned philosophers and a once-great library, named after …Topics: Engaged Spirituality, Healthcare, Middle East and North Africa, Muslims and Islam, Spiritual Exemplars, Violence
ArticleThe Moroccan School Training Women Imams To Combat ExtremismThis article was originally published in Religion Unplugged, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. It supplements Priyadarshini Sen’s profile of Ahmed Toufiq. RABAT, Morocco — Wearing an embroidered …Topics: Engaged Spirituality, Gender, Middle East and North Africa, Muslims and Islam, Religious Leadership, Spiritual Exemplars, Sub-Saharan Africa
ArticleImam Ashafa and Pastor James Wuye: Bringing Peace to Warring Nigerian CommunitiesThis article was originally published in Premium Times, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. For the greater part of May 2, 2004, 40-year-old Amina Abubakar endured nine-month-old pregnancy …Topics: Christians and Christianity, Engaged Spirituality, Interfaith/Multifaith Movements, Muslims and Islam, Religious Extremism, Religious Leadership, Spiritual Exemplars, Sub-Saharan Africa, Violence
ArticleAhmed Toufiq: The Quiet Sufi Behinds Morocco’s Islamic AffairsThis article was originally published in Religion Unplugged, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. In the cavernous dining room of an artist-friend, Ahmed Toufiq quickly eats a fresh …Topics: Engaged Spirituality, Government and Religion, International Affairs and Policy, Middle East and North Africa, Muslims and Islam, Religious Extremism, Spiritual Exemplars
ArticleFachruddin Mangunjaya: Fusing Faith, Education and EnvironmentalismThis article was originally published in Global Landscapes Forum, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. When Fachruddin Mangunjaya was researching his master’s dissertation in 2006 on attitudes toward …Topics: Asia, Engaged Spirituality, Environment, Muslims and Islam, Spiritual Exemplars
ArticleBadr Baabou: LGBTQ Activist in TunisiaThis article was originally published in Religion News Service, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. Every month, 39-year-old Badr Baabou visits the whitewashed Sufi shrine of Aisha Al-Manoubya …Topics: Engaged Spirituality, LGBT Issues, Middle East and North Africa, Muslims and Islam, Spiritual Exemplars
ArticleAfrican American Muslims and the LAPD: Moving from Stories to SolutionsThis article originally appeared in BOOM California. “We don’t want to walk into a kumbaya situation,” said Umar Hakim. The sixteen men and women gathered around a conference table in Inglewood simultaneously …Topics: Community Organizing, Criminal Justice, Muslims and Islam, Southern California, Violence
CRCC in the NewsLA Times: Thai Masjid Serves Diverse Group of MuslimsMasjid al-Fatiha started as a Thai Muslim house of worship, and has grown to incorporate worshippers from around the globe. The Los Angeles Times featured the masjid–started by the family of CRCC’s …Topics: Muslims and Islam
CRCC Experts
To schedule an interview with one of our experts, please contact CRCC:
crcc@usc.edu or 213-743-1611
Sumaya AbubakerProject ManagerSumaya Abubaker manages leadership and civic engagement programming for minority faith communities.
Hebah FarragAssistant Director of ResearchHebah Farrag manages the center’s research and evaluation projects while engaging in research focused on religion, social change and new spiritualties.
Brie LoskotaExecutive DirectorBrie Loskota researches how religions change and make change in the world, and works to build the capacity of religious communities around the globe.
Napah Phyakul QuachManaging DirectorNapah Phyakul Quach manages CRCC’s contracts and grants as well as oversees operations.
Amanda QuraishiContributing FellowAmanda Quraishi is a digital media strategist, writer, public speaker and activist with an expertise in interfaith engagement.
Nadia RoumaniContributing FellowNadia Roumani has worked with a wide range of organizations over the past decade to better understand the needs of Muslim communities across the United States.
Rhonda RoumaniContributing FellowRhonda Roumani is a freelance journalist who writes about both the Middle East and Islam in the Muslim world and in the United States.