Muslim Feminism(s): Community Based Approaches
Panelists: Ayeh, Sadiyah, Fardowsa, Shariq
Moderator: Dr. Amaarah DeCuir
Ayeh Hajjeri is a Le Moyne College alum, where I pursued a major in Sociology with a concentration in Research and Theory, while minoring in Middle East and Islamic Studies, Political Science, and Gender and Women's Studies. Outside the classroom, Ayeh has been heavily involved with peace and anti-war organizing across various organizations in the Central New York area including the Syracuse Peace Council and the Le Moyne College chapter of Peace Action New York State.
Shariq Farooqi (they/he/she) is a community advocate and poet based in Brooklyn. Shariq is also an alum of George Washington University and Johns Hopkins University, specializing in global health, sexual & reproductive health, and gender-based violence research. While at Hopkins, they worked with researchers in Nairobi to study youth gender norms and how they accessed sexual health services.Shariq currently serves as Anti-Violence Program Manager at Sakhi. In this role, they provide direct services to working class immigrant survivors with an additional specialization in elder, unhoused, and LGBTQ+ populations . At Sakhi, Shariq worked with his colleagues to develop a curriculum and workshop series aimed to de-stigmatize sexual education.
Sadiyah Bashir (she/her) is an award-winning poet, Muslim Womxn’s Organizing Institute fellow, and certified full-spectrum labor and abortion doula. Bashir holds a B.A. in Psychology from Marymount University. Her work as a writer has been featured on media outlets such as Al-Jazeera and the Washington Post. Her first self-published book, Seven, explores trauma and triumph through the lens of Black Muslim womanhood. Currently, she is the Programs Director at The Person Center DC, a nonprofit dedicated to assisting African survivors of domestic violence in DC, Maryland, and Virginia.
Amaarah DeCuir, EdD, is a Senior Professorial Lecturer at American University in the School of Education and an Executive Board member with the Center for Islam in the Contemporary World. Recently, Dr. DeCuir served as an Advisor in the Office of the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education, supporting the Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Her scholarship spans the areas of higher education pedagogies, Muslim student experiences, Prophetic pedagogy, faith erasure, equity and social justice policy, education leadership, school leadership & governance, and faculty development. DeCuir is Co-Chair of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Division A Leadership in Action Committee and founding Vice Chair of the Critical Muslim Education Research SIG. She has published peer-reviewed articles and chapters, co-edited a book in the Routledge series, Educational Leadership for an Equitable, Resilient and Sustainable Future, and co-authored Faith Honoring: Making the case for faith-inclusive pedagogy with Academic Studies Press. A highly regarded educator and facilitator, Dr. DeCuir brings over 30 years of teaching and leadership experiences from public and private K-12 schools to inform her current work in higher education.
