Tomorrow Mecca in Morocco Talk May 8th | AIC Graduation with Alia Bilal & Dr. Teepu Siddique
AIC BULLETIN
ACADEMIC LECTURE FORUM
Articulations of Muslim Pilgrimage in Moroccan Everyday Life
Date: Thursday, May 8, 2025
Time: 6:30 PM Light Reception | 7:00 PM Talk
Location: AIC Library, 640 W Irving Park Rd 60613
Moderator: Dr. Omer Awass
Dr. Al-Ajarma explores how pilgrimage to Mecca is imagined, experienced, and embedded in the social and religious lives of Moroccan Muslims.
Speaker: Dr. Kholoud Al-Ajarma
Kholoud al-Ajarma is Alwaleed Lecturer in the Globalised Muslim World and Deputy Director of the Alwaleed Centre, University of Edinburgh. Kholoud holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology and Comparative Study of Religion from the University of Groningen (Netherlands). Her PhD thesis focused on the socio-cultural embeddedness of Muslim pilgrimage (Hajj) in Moroccan everyday life. During her Ph.D. studies, she worked as a lecturer at the University of Groningen and delivered several courses including ‘Anthropology of Muslim Societies’, ‘Islam: History, Sources, and Practices’, and ‘Minorities in Contemporary Europe’. Her current research focuses on water resource management and contemporary environmental concerns in the Muslim World.
Moderator: Dr. Omer Awass, Associate Professor of Arabic & Islamic Studies, AIC
His current research interests center on religion, modernity, and globalization. He has been carrying out field research on contemporary fatwas across the Muslim world to assess how they are negotiating their postcolonial realities. His book Fatwa and the Making and Renewal of Islamic Law is published by Cambridge University Press (2023).
AIC 2025
assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu
On behalf of American Islamic College, it is with great joy and gratitude to God that we extend this invitation for you to join us for our first graduation ceremony since the onset of the pandemic. This occasion marks the culmination of years of hard work, dedication, and the relentless pursuit of knowledge -- for the love of God and the service of the creation.
We would be honored to have you join us for this celebration of student achievement and to join us in prayer for the continued success of our graduates, both in this life and the next!
Date and Time: Friday, May 9th @ 2:30pm
AIC Library
Honorary Doctorate Recipient:
Dr. Teepu Siddique, Neurologist
Keynote Speaker: Alia J. Bilal
Chief Executive Director, IMAN
Honorary Doctorate Recipient: Dr. Teepu Siddique, Pakistani American neurologist best known for his discoveries concerning the genetic and molecular abnormalities underlying the neurodegenerative disorder amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Dr. Siddique's distinction extends beyond the laboratory. He is a true "man of letters," an intellectual whose passion for knowledge encompasses vast landscapes of human thought.
This honorary degree acknowledges not only his long and impactful career as a scientist but also his lifelong embrace of learning in its widest sense, embodying the very essence of a liberal arts education that AIC champions. Dr. Siddique stands as an inspiring figure, demonstrating the harmonious coexistence of rigorous scientific inquiry and a deep appreciation for the humanities, a confluence that enriches both the individual and the world.
Commencement Speaker: Alia J. Bilal serves as Chief Executive Director at the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN), a nonprofit community organization based in Chicago that fosters health, wellness, and healing in the inner-city by organizing for social change, cultivating the arts, and operating a holistic health center. Alia co-leads and oversees the administration, strategic development, communications, and program implementation of the organization.
In her 15 years at IMAN, Alia has helped the organization grow from a small nonprofit with an operational budget under $1 million to an organization with over 100 full-time staff members, a federally qualified health center, multiple campuses in Chicago and Atlanta, and an operational budget of over $20 million.
OUR VISION
Welcoming students of all faiths and backgrounds, American Islamic College (AIC) is a Chicago-based institution of higher learning grounded in Islamic values and steeped in Islam’s rich and diverse intellectual and cultural traditions. AIC promotes appreciation for the scope and richness of Islamic history and civilization both in and beyond the classroom by means of significant research, impactful teaching, and informative public events highlighting Islam’s intellectual, artistic, and cultural expressions. Through rigorous scholarship and a commitment to social justice, the collective good, civic involvement, interfaith understanding, and intercultural engagement, AIC prepares students to become critical thinkers, visionary leaders,
and responsible global citizens.
Thank you for your support & contributions!
American Islamic College is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit institute of higher education. Contributions are tax-deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law.
AMERICAN ISLAMIC COLLEGE
American Islamic College | 640 W. Irving Park Rd | Chicago, IL 60613 US