The Muslims rarely heard
Harvard Divinity School (HDS) Professor Ousmane Kane’s work focuses on Muslim globalization and the history of Islamic religious institutions and organizations. His book “The Homeland Is the Arena: Religion, Transnationalism and the Integration of Senegalese Immigrants in America” looks at the community of the Senegalese who came to New York and the importance they assign to their religious communities. Kane will deliver an inaugural lecture on Thursday at Harvard Divinity School to celebrate the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Professorship of Contemporary Islamic Religion and Society. He spoke with HDS Communications recently about his work and the transformation of Islamic identities. HDS: In a recent Harvard Divinity Bulletin interview, you stated that until recently, “90 percent of books published on Islam dealt with the Arab world, yet Arabs represent only 20 percent of the global Muslim population.” Why do you think that was the case, and what has changed? KANE: Up until now,...