Samiha Rahman, "Black Muslim Freedom Dreams: Islamic Education, Pan-Africanism, and Collective Care" (NYU Press, 2026)

Samiha Rahman, "Black Muslim Freedom Dreams: Islamic Education, Pan-Africanism, and Collective Care" (NYU Press, 2026)

From New Books in Islamic Studies by Marshall Poe

May 11, 2026 · 1h 23m

About this episode

The episode discusses Samiha Rahman's book on the experiences of Black American Muslims in Islamic education and collective care through the Tijani Sufi order.

Samiha Rahman’s Black Muslim Freedom Dreams: Islamic Education, Pan-Africanism, and Collective Care (New York University Press, 2026) follows three generations of Black American Muslims as they pursue education through the Tijani Sufi order in Medina Baye, Senegal, outside the anti-Black and anti-Muslim racism of the United States. This deeply rich ethnographic book captures the transatlantic flows of Black American religious life through the prism of Black mothers and othermothers (as conceptualized by Patricia Hill Collins “motherwork”) and the young people whose lives are transformed through the process. By focusing on the Islamic education offered by the Tijani Order, such as Qur’an education, we learn about the intricate networks of kin that step in to support the young Black Muslims who have migrated for schooling, highlighting the tangible realities of collective care and service that circulates within the Tijani Order. These registers of care and service are informed by Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse, the Senegalese Islamic scholar, Sufi Shaykh, and pan-Africanist, whose teachings define these networks of education, organizing, and care work. The book then offers critical insights…

People in this episode

Host: Marshall Poe

Guest: Samiha Rahman

Topics covered

  • Islamic education
  • Pan-Africanism
  • Black Muslim identity
  • collective care
  • Sufism
  • ethnography

Keywords

  • Black Muslim Freedom Dreams
  • Tijani Sufi order
  • Islamic education
  • collective care
  • Pan-Africanism
  • ethnographic study
  • Black American Muslims

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: New York University Press

Places: Medina Baye, United States, Senegal

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