''Islamica Magazine'' was a quarterly magazine in the United States with editorial offices in

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

, Jordan; Cambridge, Massachusetts; and London, UK, dedicated to presenting various perspectives and opinions on Islam and the Muslim world. It is currently on hiatus due to financial constraints. The magazine's concept and relaunch were achieved through the efforts of Sohail Nakhooda, a Jordan-based LSE graduate who was the first Muslim to study Christian theology at the Vatican. His vision for the magazine, as is the vision of the current staff, aims to broaden perspectives on

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

and provide a forum for

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

to articulate their concerns while establishing cross-cultural relations between Muslims and their neighbors and co-religionists. The magazine is produced in English and draws from scholars, thinkers, writers and activists from around the world.

History and profile

The magazine was first published in 1992 in the UK, and re-launched in 2004 from

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. In 2009 the magazine was renamed as ''Islamica''. ''Islamica'' is published in English on a monthly basis.

Editorial perspective

Since the re-launch, ''Islamica'' has developed a diverse advisory board of

scholars A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher ...

, thinkers, and

academics An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

to help define its editorial perspective. This board includes the following individuals:

Umar Faruq Abd-Allah Umar Faruq Abd-Allah (born Wymann-Landgraf; born 1948) is an American Schools of Islamic theology, Islamic theologian, author, Sufi spiritual guide, and educator. Biography Umar Faruq Abd-Allah was born in 1948 in Columbus, Nebraska, Columbus, N ...

Osman Bakar Osman Bakar (born 1946) is an emeritus professor of philosophy at the University of Malaya, the Chair Professor and Director of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Centre for Islamic Studies (SOASCIS), Universiti Brunei Darussalam and an Islamic philosop ...

John Esposito John Louis Esposito (born May 19, 1940) is an Italian-American academic, professor of Middle Eastern and religious studies, and scholar of Islamic studies, who serves as Professor of Religion, International Affairs, and Islamic Studies at Geor ...

Hamza Yusuf Hamza Yusuf (born: Mark Hanson; 1958) is an American Islamic neo-traditionalist, Islamic scholar, and co-founder of Zaytuna College. He is a proponent of classical learning in Islam and has promoted Islamic sciences and classical teaching metho ...

, Jeremy Henzell-Thomas,

Anwar Ibrahim Anwar bin Ibrahim ( ms, انور بن ابراهيم, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset, IPA: ; born 10 August 1947) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia since November 2022. He served as the 12 ...

, Enes Karic, Nuh Keller, Joseph Lumbard,

Ingrid Mattson Ingrid Mattson (born August 24, 1963) is a Canadian activist and scholar, A professor of Islamic studies, she is currently the London and Windsor Community Chair in Islamic Studies at Huron University College at the University of Western Ontario ...

Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore (July 30, 1940, Oakland, California – April 18, 2016, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was a U.S. poet, essayist and librettist. In 1970 he converted to the Sufi tradition of Islam and changed his name to Abdal-Hayy (eventu ...

, Abdal Hakim Murad,

Sulayman Nyang Dr. Sulayman S. Nyang (1944 - 12 November 2018) was a professor and former chairman of the African Studies Department at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He was a co-principal investigator of the Project MAPS and also a former deputy ambassado ...

, S. Abdallah Schleifer,

Zaid Shakir Zaid Shakir ( ar, زيد شاكر; born Ricky Daryl Mitchell, May 24, 1956) is an American Muslim scholar"Lonny Shavelson, Fred Setterberg", Under the Dragon: California's New Culture, Oakland Museum of California, Heyday Books, p.64, "Edward ...

The magazine generally takes an orthodox

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

perspective. In its earlier years, ''Islamica'' had a more

Anglo Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from, the Angles, England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term '' Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people ...

-European outlook on issues, as was reflected by its primarily British-educated editorial team. In 2004, its core editorial staff was expanded to include six editors based in the United States. It was during this time that a more subtle transition was made towards addressing issues related to Islam for a primarily US or American audience. Evidence of this shift can be found in recent articles published by

Sherman Jackson Sherman A. Jackson, also known as Abdul Hakim Jackson (born 1956) is an American scholar of Islam. Career Jackson is the King Faisal Chair of Islamic Thought and Culture and Professor of Religion and American Studies and Ethnicity at the Univer ...

, David Cole, Samuel Huntington,

and other prominent American thinkers. Additionally, regular columnists based in the US including the comedian

Azhar Usman Azhar Muhammad Usman (born December 23, 1975) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, and producer of Indian descent. He is a former lecturer, community activist and lawyer and has been referred to as the "Ayatollah of Comedy" and "Bin Laug ...

, the award-winning poet Daniel Abdal Hayy Moore, the essayist and writer

Haroon Moghul Haroon Moghul is a Pakistani-American author and commentator. He is the author of several books, including ''How to be a Muslim: An American Story'' (2017) and the upcoming ''Two Billion Caliphs: A Vision of a Muslim Future'' (2022). His essays ...

and Asma Uddin, a lawyer and research associate for Umar F. Abd-Allah were also added to the magazine. Uddin is also a fellow with the Becket Fund for Religious Freedom. Other regular columnists include

Faraz Rabbani Faraz Rabbani is a Pakistani-Canadian Islamic scholar, instructor in online Islamic institutes, of which he has been a developer, and the translator of books on Islamic teachings. Work Faraz Rabbani is the founder, education director, and instr ...

, Yusuf Zanella, the British academic, H A Hellyer and Jeremy Henzell Thomas. However, the editor-in-chief, Sohail Nakhooda, remains in Amman.

References

External links

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DeenPort Interview with Sohail Nakhooda, Editor Islamica Magazine

''Persian Mirror'' Review of ''Islamica Magazine''
1992 establishments in the United Kingdom Islamic magazines Defunct political magazines published in the United States Quarterly magazines published in the United States Religious magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1992 Mass media in Amman Monthly magazines published in the United States English-language magazines {{US-poli-mag-stub

History and profile

Editorial perspective

See also

References

External links