Lecture Series
ISITA organizes monthly talks during the academic year, organized around three distinct lecture series.
To receive notifications of upcoming talks, join ISITA's email list.
Timbuktu Talks - New Books and Research
The Northwestern-UIUC Timbuktu Talks series provides a platform for authors of recently published books or emerging scholars in the field to share their research. Timbuktu Talks combines earlier iterations of Islamic Africa talk series at both ISITA and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Center for African Studies to form the premier speaker series in the field of Islam in Africa.
Monthly events alternate between online talks, in-person talks at Northwestern University in Evanston, and a special bi-annual lecture in hybrid format hosted by UIUC in Urbana-Champaign. The series is co-hosted by Zachary Wright, ISITA's Director and Professor of Liberal Arts at Northwestern University in Qatar, and Mauro Nobili, Professor of History at UIUC.
Fall 2026 Speaker Schedule
Find full event details at the links below.
Shamil Jeppie, Writing Timbuktu: The Book in West African History
Thursday, September 24, 2026
12-1 PM Central Time
Book Talk, online only.
Moses Ochonu: Boko Haram: The Past of the Present Upheaval
Thursday, October 8, 2026
12-1 pm Central Time
Book Talk, in person at Northwestern University.
Youssouf Sangaré, "Islam in Africa: Between Sufism, Salafism, and Indigenous Religious Authority"
Friday, October 30, 2026
2-3:30 pm Central Time
Special Bi-Annual Lecture at UIUC (with hybrid option)
Erik Meinema, Regulating Religious Co-Existence: The Intricacies of Interfaith Cooperation in Coastal Kenya
Tuesday, November 10, 2026
12-1 pm Central Time
Book Talk, online only
Spiritual Luminaries of Islamic Africa
A series of presentations shedding light on the renowned scholars, saints, teachers, activists, and other inspirational figures - historical and contemporary - of Muslim Africa. The presentations explore the lives, work, and impact of these figures, and their connections to broader spiritual and intellectual traditions of Islamic Africa.
To view upcoming events in this series, please visit ISITA's events calendar feed.
Recent talks in this series include:
October 16, 2025
Farah El-Sharif, Unearthing "The Yemeni Sword": An Early 20th Century Sufi Polemic
February 4, 2026
Shaykh Muhammad Shareef: Uthman dan Fodio and the Illuminated Esoteric School of the Fodiyawa
Watch the recording of Shareef's talk on ISITA's YouTube Channel.
April 23, 2026
Samiha Rahman: Black Muslim Freedom Dreams: Sufism and Islamic Learning in West Africa and America
Works in Progress
A lunchtime forum for Northwestern faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students to present their works in progress, especially early-stage work, and receive feedback from colleagues and peers.
If you are interested in presenting at this forum, please reach out at isita@northwestern.edu.
Recent talks in this series include:
October 16, 2025
Umar Yandaki (PhD student, History): The Cursed Gate: Kofar Kwaya and Other Discursive Landscapes of Islam in Katsina, 1450-1805