Join us for an insightful discussion on Defining Tradition, Shaping Modernity: Muslim Scholarly Responses to Colonization in the Early 20th Century, with Dr. Armaan Siddiqi!

Muslim scholarly responses to colonization in the early 20 century th In 1904, a Moroccan and an Indian scholar meet in Mecca during the Hajj pilgrimage. Though rooted in two distant corners of the Muslim world, their shared concerns as leading religious figures extended far beyond rituals and piety. Often dismissed as passive or stagnant, early 20th century Muslim religious scholars played a vital role in grappling with modern political and colonial pressures. This talk explores how traditional scholars—like Muhammad b. Jaʿfar al-Kattani, the Moroccan scholar—responded to a rapidly changing Islamic world not by resisting modernity, but by articulating alternative visions of religion, power, identity, and empire stretching from North Africa to South Asia. 

Dr. Armaan Siddiqi is a scholar of Islam in the modern Middle East. Her research explores the role of religious scholars (ʿulama) and literature in shaping sociopolitical change in colonial Morocco, reflecting a broader interest in the intersection of language, religion, and politics during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She recently graduated from the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University and is currently working with a team of Harvard researchers on a digital humanities project mapping the global influence of the 20th century Islamic periodical Al-Manar, published out of Cairo (1898 – 1935).

🗓️ Date: May 5, 2025
🕛 Time: 12PM - 1PM
📍 Location: SS&H 2203, Andrews Conference Room

We hope to see you there!