Asmae Hadidi
Asma is a PhD student in Islamic Studies and American Religion. Her research centers around exploring the intersections of material culture, embodiment, and Muslim identity in contemporary Muslim communities in the United States. She is particularly focusing on exploring material culture among Muslims, using ethnography and historical and social theory of religion to examine the representations of material culture among American Muslim communities, the experiences of Muslimness in relation to materiality, and the ways embodied Muslim identity intersects with other layers of individual identity. Her research employs ethnographic methods, focusing on sites such as Halal markets, Muslim-owned shops, and other public spaces dedicated to Muslims. She is also interested in examining the role of the physical body in meaning-making among Muslims. She explores how engaging physically with religion, through daily prayers or Sufi rituals, bridges the abstract divine realm with the mundane world. Her advisors are Brannon Ingram and James Bielo.