Dr. Haque At The World Congress Of Middle Eastern Studies
In summer 2018, Dr. Jameel Haque travelled to Spain through the support of a Faculty Improvement Grant. Dr. Haque was one of two MSU faculty members at the World Congress of Middle Eastern Studies (WOCMES). WOCMES occurs every four years as a way to gather people who work on or in the Middle East to share ideas, network and develop ideas. At the conference, Dr. Haque attended panels and presentations, engaged with cultural programing and “met interesting scholars, activists, writers, and musicians.” It wasn’t all just academic work, Dr. Haque had time to attend a concert of the Royal Seville Symphony Orchestra, and visit the Alhambra in Granada. We can only imagine how amazing the Spanish food must have been!
Dr. Haque is the department’s authority on Middle East and Islamic culture and history. His courses include entry-level forays into Islamic Civilization, and advanced courses in Middle Eastern History. Furthermore, Dr. Haque teaches a popular comparative history of religion course: Foundations of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Popular perceptions of Spain might imagine that the country’s historical cultures and traditions are predominantly Catholic. In fact, Spain has a rich history of Jewish and Islamic cultures. Dr. Haque travelled to Spain to learn more about its rich Islamic history. While there, Dr. Haque observed that “many sites in Spain involve Muslim culture, but weren’t marked so tourists could know about them.” Dr. Haque also expressed interest in developing a study abroad to Spain and Portugal. He notes that there are established Islamic heritage routes through the countries that our students could explore.
-Maria Lezama-
